Business Continuity and Emergency Planning Officer

East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service; Lewes; On-site; GBP 44,000 - 48,000; Part time

Benefits offered by this job

On-call allowance

Job summary

East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service is seeking a part-time Business Continuity and Emergency Planning Officer to join ESREP in Lewes. The role involves emergency planning, business continuity, and coordinating tests and exercises across Sussex with occasional regional duties.

The ideal candidate will hold a degree or equivalent experience, possess strong communication skills and be willing to travel across Sussex and beyond. The role includes an on-call standby commitment with added annual payment.

Qualifications

• Educated to degree level or substantial working knowledge of the Civil Contingencies Act and the Sussex Resilience Forum.
• Strong communication skills with a customer-focused approach.
• Must be able to drive to locations across Sussex and the wider country with a full UK or EU driving licence.

Responsibilities

• Respond to incidents and events requiring emergency planning support, including out of hours as part of ESREP.
• Report to Assistant Director Risk Reduction for ESFRS BC and Emergency Planning activities.
• Organise and deliver required business continuity tests and exercises.
• Update and improve contingency and emergency plans based on local and national learning.
• Work across the County of East Sussex (and Brighton & Hove) with occasional regional/national meetings.
• Attend identified emergency planning courses.

Skills

Communication

Customer service

Organisation

Attention to detail

Driving license

Education

Degree level

Job description

Business Continuity and Emergency Planning Officer

30 Hours per week (0.8fte)

Salary range = £44,362 - 48,398 (0.8fte) plus £1421 for the required out of hours standby commitment.

An exciting opportunity has arisen to work within East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service and undertake a key role in ensuring resilience with partner agencies in the County of East Sussex. The successful applicant will be seconded into the East Sussex Resilience and Emergencies Partnership (ESREP) based in County Hall, Lewes. The remit may involve some work for the Partnership working in a small team, The Service Emergency Planning Officer will play a key part in ensuring the Service fulfills its duties under the Civil Contingencies Act 2004, namely emergency planning and business continuity. This opportunity would suit somebody who is well organised and has experience and a good understanding of emergency planning, business continuity and knowledge of the Local Resilience Forum. You will be well supported in a friendly environment and have regular contact with staff across the service. The Partnership believe a more effective information flow will be able to be communicated to all staff, this includes information shared on our intranet, and there will be an opportunity for this role to play a key part in improving the availability of knowledge of Civil Contingencies and how this assists partner agencies.

Duties include but are not limited to:

• Responding to incident and events that require emergency planning support. This includes out of hours in line with the required on-call duty system as a member of the ESREP team. In return an additional annual payment of £1421 will be paid.
• Report to Assistant Director Risk Reduction primarily for ESFRS Business Continuity and Emergency Planning activity.
• Organise and deliver required business continuity tests and exercises.
• Updating and improving contingency and emergency plans in response to national and local learning.
• Working anywhere in the County of East Sussex (and Brighton & Hove) and attending occasional meetings in the South East Region and nationally.
• Attending a number of identified emergency planning courses

The contracted hours of work will be a total of 30 hours split across the working week between the hours of 9.00am – 4.30pm, although subject to agreement, there may be some flexibility to this.

The successful candidate will be educated to degree level or have considerable working knowledge of the Civil Contingencies Act and the Sussex Resilience Forum. You must have good communication skills with a customer service attitude and be able to use initiative, prioritise and organise your own workload. The successful candidate will be required to drive to different locations across Sussex and the wider Country, they will therefore require a full UK or EU Driving License.

Closing Date: 31/10/2026

Interview Date: w/c 16/11/26

East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service values diversity, promotes equality and challenges discrimination. We therefore welcome applications from all sections of the community. Please note that recruitment processes may be withdrawn or varied at short notice due to the Services’ Organisational Change Policy.

OUR PURPOSE, OUR VALUES AND OUR PRIORITIES

Our Service Purpose is: Reducing Risk, Saving Lives – Together.

We do this through our Service Priorities:

1. Delivering our community offer

2. Delivering our enabling offer

3. Achieving financial sustainability

4. Sustaining a high performing workforce

5. Improving service performance

Our Service Values support our purpose and priorities by making sure the way we operate is guided by strong principles:

We willingly accept ACCOUNTABILITY, taking responsibility for our actions and decisions.

We have PRIDE in the service we provide, striving to meet the needs of our communities.

We demonstrate PERSEVERANCE in the face of challenges, staying committed and resilient in everything we do.

We RESPECT our colleagues and members of the community.

We embrace ADAPTABILITY, responding positively to change and continuously seek to improve the way we work.

We show INTEGRITY in our work, being open and honest.

We act with SELFLESSNESS, recognising we are here to protect and support our communities. We foster a positive and inclusive culture where teamwork, mutual respect and a shared commitment to service are at the heart of everything we do.

We show EMPATHY to the community and our colleagues, treating everyone with kindness, compassion and understanding.

Purpose Values and Priorities | East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service

Diversity and Inclusion

We value the diversity of our employees and aim to recruit a workforce which reflects the communities we serve.

East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service, (ESFRS), are committed to equality of opportunity for all job applicants and aims to select suitably qualified people based on their skills, abilities, experience, knowledge, qualifications and training.

For more information please read our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion statement.

Safeguarding

East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service is committed to safeguarding children and vulnerable adults and expects all employees, volunteers and suppliers to share this commitment.

ESFRS is a member of the Brighton & Hove and East Sussex Safeguarding Children’s Partnership and Safeguarding Adults Boards.

You can read our safeguarding statement here.

DBS and Non-Police Personnel Vetting

All roles at East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service will be subject to either DBS checks (minimum standard level) or a Police vetting process (the latter for roles based at Joint Headquarters in Lewes). The check will take place for the preferred candidate at the end of the selection process, before a final offer of employment can be made. For more information about DBS and Vetting, please read our DBS and Vetting Policy.

Recruitment of Ex-Offenders

ESFRS are an Equal Opportunities Employer and therefore will consider ex-offenders for employment on their merits, (subject to the necessary DBS & Non-Police Personnel Vetting clearances required for the role). For more information please read our Recruitment of Ex-Offenders Statement.

Notes

Please note that recruitment processes may be withdrawn or varied at short notice due to the Services' Organisational Change policy.