Flood and Coastal Risk Management

Transcription

1 Flood and Coastal Risk Management Candidate Information Pack Please consider the environment and only print this document if you really need to.

2 Contents 1. Our Organisation 2. Flood and Coastal Risk Management 3. Employee Testimonials 4. Roles Available 5. Training and Development 6. Salary and Benefits 7. Further Information 8. How to apply

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4 2. Flood and Coastal Risk Management At the Environment Agency, our Flood and Coastal Risk Management (FCRM) team plays a huge part in the work that we do, helping to protecting people and property from flooding and minimising the risks caused by any floods that do occur. We re making 1.4 billion capital investment between now and 2021 that will reduce flood risk to 300,000 homes, improving the environment and protecting transport, businesses and creating 30.3 billion benefit to society. It s an exciting time and we need your help to ensure we re prepared for any future flooding. The Environment Agency are a Category 1 responder (the same as other Emergency Services). All our teams play an important part in incident management when flooding occurs. These vary from: - Going out to support communities at risk from flooding - Working in the incident room when a flood occurs - Helping to manage our response to flood risk and flooding There are many opportunities for you to get involved in incident management. With 70% of incident management roles being office based, it s a unique and exciting opportunity to have a direct impact on your local community. You ll also be making an immediate impact upon people s lives in their hour of need. We are passionate about employing people from all backgrounds that reflect the diverse communities we serve. Likewise, we respect family and caring responsibilities, religious practices and disabilities. We welcome applications from candidates seeking flexible working patterns, including job share and we also operate a Guaranteed Interview Scheme for candidates with a disability.

5 FCRM in Yorkshire The Environment Agency s Yorkshire Area covers 13,400 square kilometres. There are 7 cities within Yorkshire: York, Leeds, Hull, Sheffield, Bradford, Wakefield and Ripon. The Yorkshire area encompasses 4.7million people living in 2 million households and has 19 Local Authorities and 51 MPs. The landscape includes ancient and modern landmarks and some of England s major rivers including the Ouse, Calder and Aire. We have some of the biggest flood defence structures outside London including the Foss and Humber barriers. In total flood defences reduce the risk to 319,000 properties, and nearly 240,000 homes and businesses could receive flood warnings. Over the next 6 years there are programmed to be 222 projects - these will protect a further 127,000 houses in Yorkshire. We re out there every day looking for ways to manage the risk of flooding. We do this in many ways such as working with local communities to build awareness about protecting themselves; clearing rubbish from rivers; sending out flood warnings and building/maintaining flood defences. We are passionate about employing people from all backgrounds that reflect the diverse communities we serve. Likewise, we respect family and caring responsibilities, religious practices and disabilities. We welcome applications from candidates seeking flexible working patterns, including job share and we also operate a Guaranteed Interview Scheme for candidates with a disability. Environment Agency staff undergoing training at our depot and training facility in Riccall.

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7 One of our flood resilience team members engaging with the public and demonstrating our catchment model. Programme Team The programme team monitors; spending, delivery and our performance against our capital programme target. The FCRM programme includes the creation of new flood defences, repair and maintain of flood risk assets and routine river maintenance. The team provides information to national EA teams and Regional Flood and Coastal Committees (RFCC), in addition to briefing communities, politicians and partners on programme progress. The team advise on the status of the FCRM programme and any risks and opportunities. This role is key to the understanding of a large investment programme delivered by a range of different teams and organisations. MEICA Team MEICA (Mechanical, Electrical, Instrumentation, Control and Automation) is a multidisciplined area team covering Yorkshire, Northumberland, Durham and the Tees and are based in Beverley, East Yorkshire (consideration may be given to an alternative Agency office base within the Area for the successful candidate). We manage, maintain and modify all mechanical and electrical equipment on behalf of the asset owners, working closely with our internal partners and framework contractors. We take an active role in incident management, ensuring our assets perform when it really matters.

8 Examples of Our Work Leeds Flood Alleviation Scheme In October last year Phase 1 of the Leeds Flood Alleviation Scheme officially opened. It has been delivered by Leeds City Council in partnership with the Environment Agency. This scheme is one of the largest river flood defence initiatives in the country costing 50million. The scheme will provide a high standard of protection to more than 300 homes and 500 businesses. In addition it will reduce the risk of flooding to 300 acres of development land and open up key regeneration opportunities in the South Bank area of the city. Foss Community Engagement Following on from the flooding on the River Foss, in York in 2015 our Flood Resilience team have been working in the local community to improve the flood warnings in the area. We have proposed a series of new flood warnings and have worked with community to gain feedback on our proposals. They have also provided useful input on the possible names and descriptions of the new warnings. By doing this engagement the new flood warnings will be more relevant and identifiable for the community which they will serve. Hull Dry Dock The Development Planning and Permitting team within Partnerships and Strategic Overview work with developers and the local planning authority to ensure planning proposals are appropriate and do not increase flood risk elsewhere, and if possible reduce flood risk through developer contributions. A recent example of our success is the iconic Centre 4 Digital Innovation development in the City of Hull. The majority of Hull is at flood risk, therefore careful design is paramount. We worked with the developers to go above and beyond the required level of mitigation. As a result they are installing a new flood defence wall on site, this should reduce the impact of flooding now as well as in the future when the effects of climate change are taken into account.

9 3. Employee Testimonials Working as part of the Flood Resilience team is never dull... Working as part of the Flood Resilience team is never dull and every day can bring something new. It is my role to ensure the team is delivering its three main aims: managing the incident rooms, incident processes and the training programme of duty officers; improving, maintaining and promoting Yorkshire s vast network of Flood Warnings and working directly with communities to support them with their personal resilience to flooding. One day I can be delivering training to Duty Officers, the next I might have to drop everything to assist with a flooding event. When I started with the Environment Agency I had a background in engagement, but within a year I d learned new skills in incident Our Flood Resilience team ensure that our 24/7 duty team are prepared to respond to incidents. That variety, along with the sense of making a real difference to the resilience of vulnerable communities and people and the excitement that comes with being at the forefront of an incident, is what makes this role and team both interesting and fun but also very challenging. Carolyn Jarvis - Flood Resilience Advisor My role is very fluid, the range of work is broad and allows me to up my skills My role as an FCRM Officer in the Yorkshire Asset Performance team covers a variety of workstreams, from maintaining and updating our flood risk asset databases through GIS and online systems, to constructing contingency plans to avert flood risk during an event, to improving ways of working by contributing to updated survey tenders to improve our maintenance programmes. My role is very fluid, the range of work is broad and allows me to up my skills in a number of different areas. Working on a wide range of things has allowed me to understand the business and given me confidence in applying myself in unfamiliar situations where I would usually be apprehensive at first. Our Asset Performance team maintain assets such as the Foss Barrier in York. The supportive working environment has allowed me to further myself and feel included in every project I m involved in, and has played a major role in my personal development. Tom Blackburn - Asset Performance Team

10 4. Roles Available Role Salary Vacancy Ref Contract Asset Performance Officer Grade 3-22,443 (pro-rata if part time or an assignment) 8021 Permanent Asset Performance Officer Asset Performance Catchment Advisor Flood Risk Team Leader - Asset Management, Operation and Maintenance Local Delivery Lead (Asset Maintenance) Grade 4-27,138 (pro-rata if part time or an assignment) Grade 5-34,330 (pro-rata if part time or an assignment) Grade 5-34,330 (pro-rata if part time or an assignment) Grade 6-43,777 (pro-rata if part time or an assignment) 8027 Fixed-term Contract 8016 Fixed-term Contract 8039 Permanent and Fixed-term Contract 8028 Permanent FCRM Advisor Grade 5-34,330 (pro-rata if part time or an assignment) 8018 Fixed Term

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12 6. Salary and Benefits Grade Rate: Grade 3-22, 433 (pro-rata if part time or an assignment) Grade 4-27,138 (pro-rata if part time or an assignment) Grade 5-34,330 (pro-rata if part time or an assignment) Grade 6-43,777 (pro-rata if part time or an assignment) Hours of work: A full time position is 37 hours per week (unless stated otherwise in the job specification). Leave entitlement: We offer a generous leave entitlement starting at 25 days per year plus bank holidays. As part of our commitment to flexible working we offer up to 15 additional days flexi-time per year. These directly correlate with any hours worked above your core 37 hour contracted working week. We also offer up to two days paid environmental outcome days each year. These give you the opportunity to take part in community activities with a clear environmental outcome for people and wildlife. Pension: We will enrol you into the Environment Agency Pension Fund (EAPF) on commencing employment, if your employment contract is for 3 months or more. The EAPF is part of the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS). It is a career average scheme, which means you will build up benefits based on your pay each scheme year rather than your final salary. We will base your pension contributions on your actual pay and you will receive tax and national insurance relief on your contributions. The pension contribution rates currently range between 5.5% to 12.5%. Whilst you are in the scheme we will also pay an employer contribution into your pension pot. We currently pay 18.5%, so this is a very generous scheme. Work/life balance: We support flexible working hours and practices to help you strike a good balance between your work life and your personal life. We will also encourage you to keep developing your skills and professional knowledge throughout your career. Diversity: We are committed to diversity and inclusion. We aspire to be the best employer in the country for equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) and want all our staff to feel valued and respected and to see this as a great place to work. From our EDI executive champions to our EDI employee networks, everyone has a part to play to embed equality, diversity and inclusion in our organisation. Diversity: it s in our nature.

13 7. Further Information The Environment Agency values a diverse workforce and welcomes applications from all sections of the community who wish to join a workforce which embraces difference and welcomes everyone. We particularly welcome applications from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) and female candidates who are under-represented across our workforce. We will consider flexible working patterns for all our vacancies, including job share, so please include clearly any information regarding your preferred working arrangements on your application. Eligibility to apply and continuity of employment Employment agency workers and contractors are considered to be external candidates and should therefore only apply for positions that are being advertised externally. They are also not eligible to claim continuity of employment should they be successful in securing a position with the Environment Agency. If you have been a member of a Regional Flood and Coastal Committee in the last 12 months we will not be able to continue with your application based on agreed appointment rules related to employing ex-rfcc members. We would welcome an application from you once the 12 month period have passed. Please note that Environment Agency employees are not civil servants so you may wish to check your eligibility for continuity of employment by contacting your HR department. All eligible bodies are listed in the Redundancy Payments (Continuity of Employment in Local Government etc) (Modification) Order Pre-employment checks We apply the Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) check when recruiting staff to our posts. This includes a basic criminal records check. For the great majority of roles in the Environment Agency this will be sufficient and only certain roles will require a higher level of clearance. Should this be necessary, you will be advised of this during the recruitment process. Positions based at our London office or roles that require frequent travel to London require CTC level security clearance. This will be confirmed to you during the recruitment process. To find out more about what it s like to work at the Environment Agency, please visit: uk/government/organisations/environment-agency/about/recruitment.

14 8. How to Apply We use an online recruitment system. To make the application process simple and straightforward, and so that you know how it works and what we need from you, we ve put together a few hints and tips. Make sure you have all the information you need about the vacancy. For some jobs, you ll be asked to download a candidate pack, like this one, where you ll find specific application instructions. The first thing you need to do is sign up to our recruitment system. You will need a valid address to log in and apply for opportunities, as all communication from us will be via . You can do this via the vacancy you are interested in by selecting Apply at the bottom of the advert. Once you ve clicked this link you ll then be asked: - Do you have the right to live and work in the UK? - Do you have the required qualifications or equivalent experience, which were stated in the job advert? - Are you currently an employee of this organisation? Simply answer yes or no and you can carry on with your application. You ll then see the Register page. Simply complete the details and select Submit Registration and register to the system. You only need to sign up to the system once; you ll just be able to login next time. When it comes to the actual application, you need to fill out each section, please be aware that the system will automatically time out if you are inactive for more than 60 minutes. This will result in any unsaved information being lost so make sure you save what you are doing regularly. Once you ve finished, your details and information will be saved on the system for any future applications of course, you can edit your details at any point. When you apply to the Environment Agency for a job we will ask you to provide your personal data on our application form. We need this information so that we can establish your identity and your right to work in the UK. You can read our Data Protection Statement on the application process page of our recruitment system. It is also available for reference on each page of the actual application.

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