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Background
Bedford Borough Council is now the Lead Local Flood Authority (LLFA) for the Bedford Borough area as defined by the new Flood and Water Management Act 2010 and the Flood Risk Regulations 2009. We are able to provide an exciting opportunity for a graduate to gain invaluable experience in this continuously evolving new and exciting work area.
Work on this project will allow the graduate to gain valuable, relevant experience if they are keen to work in the environmental and water management sectors in the future, or within Local Authorities. This field is a high growth area and relevant work experience is a pre-requisite of most positions. Accompanying this is the on-going training and support offered through CHANGE AGENTS UK to successful candidates.
This project will give a graduate excellent work experience in both the Flood Risk and the wider environmental and planning sectors, as well as networking opportunities within this area. Previous officers have moved on to further education and research, and to develop careers in sustainability and local government.
Objective
The purpose of the role is to support the Borough Council to meet the technical responsibilities conferred on it by the Flood and Water Management Act 2010 and related legislation including the Flood Risk Regulations 2009.
Outputs:
• In conjunction with relevant partners help develop the Borough Council Local Flood Risk Management Strategy (LFRMS) in accordance with the project programme including community engagement, public consultations and communications. In particular this includes: (i) to review and input data on historic flood records onto a Geographical Information System, ESRI ArcGIS; (ii) to assist the Flood Risk Officer with community consultation and engagement on priority areas and options to manage risk; (iii) to assist the Flood Risk Officer with development of the Strategic Environmental Assessment and Equality Impact Assessment; (iv) to assist the Flood Risk Officer with the production of the draft LFRMS for full public consultation by March 2013
• and (v) Ensure that Bedford Borough Council is able to meet the technical responsibilities conferred on it by the Flood and Water Management Act 2010 and related legislation including the Flood Risk Regulations 2009
• Contribute to the development of the Flood Risk Asset Register
Essential selection criteria
• A relevant degree level qualification in a related field such as Environmental Sciences, Geography, Engineering or GIS (or equivalent).
• Demonstrable experience of using ESRI ArcGIS.
• Proven, strong analytical skills, in order to identify key messages from large amounts of complex information.
• Possess excellent organisational skills. The candidate should have the ability to make decisions on priorities of own workload, apply self-initiative and meet a strict framework of targets.
• Familiarity with various IT packages used in the preparation of reports and general office based duties including Microsoft Office and ESRI ArcGIS.
• Demonstrable attention to detail to ensure documents and data produced are coherent, accurate, appropriately formatted, and presented in a professional style.
• Must have the ability to work within a team and to engage with a wide variety of stakeholders - making use of strong interpersonal skills.
• Ability to interact effectively with other agencies and organisations and to be able to inform and communicate effectively.
• Possess a valid UK driving licence and vehicle for business purposes or access to a vehicle insured for business use and driver/assistance
Key tasks
• To collate, analyse and maintain data and input to a GIS database to support the work of the Flood Risk Officer.
• To assist the Flood Risk Officer with development of a Local Flood Risk Management Strategy in compliance with section 9, Flood and Water Management Act
• Manage the flood reporting system, collate flooding information and data, prioritise and risk assess flood events and publish flood investigations to meet our requirement under section 19, Flood and Water Management Act (2010).
• To support the Flood Risk Officer in developing procedures for processing, determining and adopting Sustainable Drainage System (SuDS) applications. In particular this includes:- Develop procedures for processing and determining SuDS applications. Provide support for SuDS project meetings. Produce briefings, updates and reports for the Flood Risk Officer on SAB provisions and duty. To develop SuDS awareness information for the public.