Emergency Planning Officer

West Northamptonshire Council; Northampton; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 55,000; Full time

Job summary

West Northamptonshire Council invites applications for an Emergency Planning Officer to help prepare for, respond to and recover from emergencies. You will join the Customer and Response Service and work with partners across local government, health and emergency services to develop plans, deliver training and coordinate exercises.

You will lead projects from inception to completion, translate complex information into practical plans, and participate in a paid standby rota to support incident

Qualifications

• Experience in emergency planning, resilience or civil contingencies.
• Strong ability to translate complex information into practical plans and solutions.
• Excellent communication and relationship-building with diverse partners.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate development, implementation and review of emergency planning and business continuity arrangements.
• Lead projects from planning through to completion and support multi-agency preparedness activities.
• Participate in a paid 24/7 standby rota approximately one week in six to coordinate incident responses.

Skills

Emergency planning

Resilience

Civil contingencies

Stakeholder engagement

Incident response

Job description

When an emergency or major incident affects our communities, effective planning and preparation can make all the difference. As an Emergency Planning Officer, you'll play a vital role in helping West Northamptonshire Council prepare for, respond to and recover from emergency situations, ensuring the safety and wellbeing of residents, businesses and communities across the area.

Working within our Customer and Response Service, you'll be part of a specialist team responsible for developing emergency plans, strengthening organisational resilience and coordinating responses to emergencies and business continuity incidents. This is a unique and varied role that combines project work, partnership working, training, planning and real-world incident response, offering the opportunity to make a genuine impact in a challenging and rewarding field.

You'll work closely with emergency services, health partners, neighbouring authorities, voluntary organisations and internal services, helping to ensure West Northamptonshire is prepared for a wide range of risks and incidents.

What will you be doing?

You’ll coordinate the development, implementation and review of emergency planning, resilience and business continuity arrangements across the Council. Working with a wide range of partners and stakeholders, you’ll develop and maintain plans, policies and procedures, facilitate training, exercises and workshops, and support services to improve preparedness for emergencies and major incidents.

A key part of the role will involve leading and delivering projects from initial planning through to completion, researching complex issues, developing practical solutions and supporting multi-agency preparedness activities. You’ll build strong working relationships across local government, health, emergency services and community organisations, representing the Council in resilience meetings and helping to ensure a coordinated approach to planning and response arrangements.

As part of the Council’s emergency response arrangements, you’ll participate in a paid 24/7 standby rota approximately one week in six, acting as a first point of contact for emergency services and helping to coordinate the Council’s response to incidents. This may involve providing expert advice to senior decision-makers, attending incidents and working under pressure to support effective response and recovery activities. Time off in lieu is provided for emergency call-outs where appropriate.

You’re a proactive and resilient professional who enjoys solving problems, managing projects and working collaboratively with a wide range of people. You have experience in emergency planning, resilience, civil contingencies or a related field, alongside a strong understanding of emergency management principles and the ability to translate complex information into practical plans and solutions.

You’ll be an excellent communicator with strong relationship-building skills and the confidence to influence and work alongside senior stakeholders, emergency responders and partner organisations. Whether presenting information, facilitating workshops or responding to live incidents, you’ll be comfortable adapting your approach and thinking on your feet when circumstances change.

Knowledge of the Civil Contingencies Act 2004, emergency planning legislation and guidance, including the COMAH Regulations, together with an understanding of mass fatality planning and the National Risk Register, would be advantageous. Experience of working within a local authority environment would also be beneficial. Most importantly, you’ll be motivated by making a difference, committed to continuous improvement and ready to play a key role in helping West Northamptonshire prepare for and respond to whatever challenges the future may bring.

At West Northants Council, it’s about our people. People who thrive with ambition, bubble with new ideas, demand better ways of working, caring about every detail, and who never shy away from a challenge. Our culture is a gateway for new experiences. A place to forge new opportunities. To empower you in your career and unite you with like-minded people.

Our vision is "to make West Northants a great place to live, work, visit and thrive". We truly stand by this and work hard every day to make this a reality. Our corporate values, THRIVE, stand for: Trust, High Performance, Respect, Innovate and Empower, they underpin everything we do and how we deliver services. Hear from our Chief Executive, Martin Henry, about building a career at WNC.

We are committed to ensuring diversity, equality, equity, and inclusion is woven into the fabric of WNC and everything we do, to enable all colleagues to develop and maximize their full potential. We are a disability confident employer, a member of the Armed Forces Covenant, and a Care Leaver Covenant partner.

The following film was created by us to communicate our intentions - watch WNC colleagues explain what DEI means to us.