Active Streets Engagement Officer

Active Streets Engagement Officer (12174)

Team: EHS - Sustainable Transport

Job Family: Providing - CBG8

Salary: £26,845 - £29,586 per annum pro rata

Hours: 37 hours per week

Location: Working from home and any CBC offices, including Priory House, Shefford. You will be expected to attend a CBC office location on a monthly basis, and as needed to carry out your role

Contract Type: Hybrid - Secondment/ Fixed term until 30/09/2025

Closing Date: 1st October 2023

Interview Date: TBC

About Us:

Central Bedfordshire is an ambitious authority, determined to be an exemplary one. Our strategic location and high quality of life mean we are one of the fastest growing areas in the country.

As a council we face the same challenges every business does - investing in the right places and delivering great results. Except for us, it’s all about our 289,000 residents. We’re totally focussed on helping to improve their lives and making Central Bedfordshire a great place to live and work.

We have set values and principles to represent the way we work and how we operate as an organisation. You can view a list of these in detail on our website.

This is a great time to join us on our journey.

About the role:

Central Bedfordshire Council is committed to becoming carbon neutral by 2030, and at the same time, helping other organisations and residents of Central Bedfordshire to do the same. Emissions are on their way down in most areas. The exception is travel and transport. We have to change this.

This opportunity is to join our team of Sustainable Transport Officers. Your role will be to plan, lead, implement and evaluate the Play Streets and School Streets initiatives, creating local traffic-free environments where children can travel and play in safety.

Engaging with community groups, schools and residents particularly in more deprived areas you will use existing and new communication channels to generate enthusiasm around both projects. You will champion the projects internally too, helping to streamline council policies and procedures; removing any potential barriers which may deter schools or communities from participating.

The role is funded by Public Health and as such outcomes include encouraging families to be more physically active and increasing active travel behaviours; potentially supporting a reduction in child obesity. The work has the potential to decrease social isolation through community cohesion and also to reduce congestion thus improving air quality around school gates.

The Play Streets and School Streets initiative will enjoy a high profile within the Council and the supporting funding is guaranteed for three years. As the work as hugely important, we expect to see the coordinator role develop over this period. The knowledge and skills gained will be vital to our wider and longer-term ambitions to raise activity levels and reset travel behaviours in favour of walking and cycling.

If you are successful, you'll join a new, enthused and growing team within the Sustainability service area. Your role will have the support of some experienced colleagues who will quickly make you feel part of a team. At the same time you will have the autonomy to create and build relationships across a variety of different community groups, religious organisations, PTA groups and schools.

The role will involve working at locations across Central Bedfordshire so having access to your own means of transport is essential.  It’s easier to promote the benefits of public transport and cycling if you can talk from experience. So we will expect you to travel sustainably for work wherever this is feasible.  We'll look at what suits you best to help you.

The confidence to approach, enthuse and build effective working relationships with a range of different people from different backgrounds and demographics and be passionate about getting children more active in their home and school lives is essential to this role.  If you have the ability to do this, we would love to hear from you.  Unfortunately, this role is not suitable to be advertised as a secondment.

What we can offer you:

As well as joining a friendly, dedicated, and hardworking team you will have access to numerous benefits, including:

• A hybrid working arrangement giving you the option to work from home and access any CBC office location. We recognise and value the importance of supporting our employees to balance their home and work life and to be able to work in the most efficient way.
• A £250 one-off hybrid worker payment to help you adapt your home for safe and suitable working conditions
• A comprehensive IT package to support you to work safely and effectively
• The ability to work abroad for up to a month a year
• Generous family friendly policies and practices
• A welcoming and inclusive environment that empowers differences
• Friendly and supportive staff networks
• Annual leave allowance 25 days + statutory holidays rising to 32 days with length of service.
• Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS). This is a valuable part of our rewards package for employees and includes Life Assurance. You can find out more on the Bedfordshire Pension Fund website.
• An exceptional Employee Assistance Programme which helps support employees with workplace changes as well as other work, family and personal issues
• A huge variety of courses and role-specific training and learning to help you succeed and develop
• Access to discounts on top UK retailers and local retailers

Central Bedfordshire Council has its own vision and values that are integral to everything we do. Our area vision is to make Central Bedfordshire ‘A great place to live and work’.

Our aspiration is to be a truly flexible employer.  We welcome discussion on location, hours and working pattern as part of the application process.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

You will be expected to demonstrate how you meet the key accountabilities and competencies detailed within this recruitment pack; Active Streets Engagement Officer

For an informal discussion about this position, please contact: Oisin Walker at Oisin.Walker@centralbedfordshire.gov.uk or on 0300 300 6838

Safeguarding:

Central Bedfordshire Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all employees, volunteers and contractors to share this commitment. This post is subject to the disclosure of criminal records. 

Central Bedfordshire Council is an equal opportunities employer. We are committed to improving the diversity of our workforce to better reflect the communities we serve.  Therefore we welcome applications from everyone. In addition we are a  Disability Confident employer, we are working to become a Disability Confident leader in our community.

To maintain a fair and consistent approach for applicants, it is Central Bedfordshire Council's policy to only consider applications made via our online application system and we therefore thank you for not submitting your application offline.

If you require assistance to apply for our roles, help with writing your CV, interview techniques or careers advice please contact our team of careers advisors at ncs@centralbedfordshire.gov.uk Our service is confidential, impartial and free for all.

Apply Here