Overview

Gloucestershire County Council declared a climate emergency in 2019 and have been working to reduce emissions within the council and across the county. To support the transition to net zero by 2045 we are growing our team.  The councils own corporate emissions have successfully been reduced at a faster rate than other emissions in the county.

About the role

The Climate Action Officer role will support our engagement work and focus on reducing carbon emissions across the wider county.

The role will be responsible for working in partnership, supporting community groups, businesses and individuals with their decarbonisation efforts. You will be delivering on work set out in engagement plans agreed with Climate Leadership Gloucestershire partners.

About you

The ideal candidate will be passionate and knowledgeable about the climate crisis. You will have excellent organisational skills and be able to effectively engage with people at different stages of their carbon journey. You will be a completer finisher with drive to take ownership of projects and take responsibility for your own output. You will be a creative thinker with ideas about how to reduce carbon emissions across the county and you must have excellent verbal and written communication skills and be able to adapt your style for a wide range of audiences.

This is what we need you to do…

  • Have a thorough understanding of sustainability, with the ability to give practical support and advice to householders, councillors, businesses, voluntary groups and other parts of the community on environmental sustainability, particularly the mitigation of carbon emissions.
  • Devise and implement schemes to support and encourage measurable reductions in carbon emissions.
  • Develop, maintain and support a network of volunteers engaged in decarbonisation and environmental sustainability work across the county.
  • Develop business cases for new initiatives and undertake procurement and contact award processes necessary for their implementation.
  • Support the wider work of the Climate Action Team in achieving decarbonisation and environmental sustainability objectives across a wide range of projects, providing expertise and practical assistance in their delivery.
  • To drive householder engagement in emissions reduction through the application of creative engagement techniques, working with designers, communication officers and website technicians to achieve this.
  • To monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of decarbonisation, and environmental sustainability schemes, taking ownership of outcomes and improvements, and preparing written reports.

The ideal candidate will have…

Experience

  • Demonstrable experience gained in sustainability, campaigning and/or community engagement.
  • Proven track record of delivering behaviour change, engaging with a range of stakeholders as individuals and as groups.
  • Experience of supporting, developing and reporting on new projects from start to finish.
  • Experience of conceiving, coordinating and delivering creative marketing approaches, including websites, social media and printed literature.
  • Experience of the performance monitoring and reporting of sustainability related activities.

Knowledge, Skills and Understanding

  • A good knowledge of environmental sustainability and climate change.
  • Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to develop and maintain working partnerships.
  • Numerate and literate, including report writing skills.
  • Ability to thrive as part of a supportive team.

Behavioural attributes

  • Demonstrates Gloucestershire Employee Behaviours.
  • Customer focused and approachable, with an ability to influence and
    communicate appropriately with a wide range of people.
  • Creative and innovative, open to new ideas.
  • Enthusiastic, self starter, completer- finisher.
  • Organised, with an attention to detail.

Education & Qualifications

Essential

  • Educated to degree level or equivalent experience.

Desirable

  • Membership of relevant CPD.
  • Certified carbon literate

About Us 

For all your hard work, you will receive the following:

Flexible and agile working opportunities

25.5 days annual leave rising to 30.5 days after 5 years continuous service

An option to purchase 10 days of additional leave per year (pro rata for part-time staff)

Family friendly employer offering benefits to help support you and your family

Career development and qualification opportunities

Supportive and positive working environment with regular, robust supervision

Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS)

Access to our Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) that provides free, confidential, counselling and advice for employees, available 24 hours a day, online and by telephone.

An in-house Occupational Health service

Employee discount scheme

Cycle to Work scheme

Gloucestershire Salary Sacrifice Green Car Scheme (T&Cs apply)

Links to employee networks such as Prism (LGBT+) network and the Young Employees Network.

 

How to apply

If you feel you have the skills, desire and experience required to make a positive difference then please submit your application and personal statement today by clicking the “Apply Now” Button.

For an informal discussion about the role please contact Sarah Danson via email at Sarah.Danson@gloucestershire.gov.uk

Closing date Monday 12th February 2024

Short-listed candidates will be contacted by e-mail and invited to interview week commencing 26th February 2024