Emergency Planning Officer

West Northamptonshire Council; United Kingdom; On-site; GBP 30,000 - 50,000; Full time

Job description

Join Our Team as an Emergency Planning Officer!

Are you passionate about making a real difference in times of crisis? We're looking for an Emergency Planning Officer (EPO) to help keep our communities safe and prepared for emergencies. In this role, you’ll play a key part in developing and coordinating emergency plans to ensure that West Northamptonshire Council (WNC) can respond effectively to incidents, from civil emergencies to business disruptions. You'll work closely with key partners, including emergency services, to keep West Northamptonshire prepared and resilient. If you’re a problem-solver with great communication skills and a passion for emergency planning, we’d love to hear from you!

Working Hours & Flexibility:

Full-time, 37 hours per week (Monday to Friday). After training, you’ll join an on-call rota providing 24/7 emergency response cover. While most work is during normal office hours, the nature of emergencies means flexibility and a willingness to work unsocial hours when needed.

Our benefits

We offer a wide range of benefits to our employees, these include:

1. Generous annual leave entitlement starting at 28 days annual leave per year, 29 days for senior managers (pro rata, depending on how many hours per week you work), plus bank holidays. An additional 5 days, linked to continuous service, and ability to purchase up to 6 weeks additional leave per year.
2. Cycle to Work scheme.
3. Local Government Pension Scheme plus immediate life cover (3 times your annual salary from day one) and ill-health protection.
4. Employee discounts with local and national retailers, days out, finance, health and beauty, travel and eating out plus lots more.
5. Car Lease scheme via Tusker.
6. Payment of professional subscription/membership - If your job description requires that you are registered with or are a member of a professional body, WNC will pay for your professional subscription or membership fees.
7. Employee Assistance Programme - We have an employee support programme run by Health Assured, an independent, external organisation. Health Assured is available for you and your immediate family members, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year and includes telephone counselling, legal advice, bereavement support and medical information.
8. Commsave - Free membership to Commsave Credit Union who provide a variety of savings accounts, loans, a monthly lottery draw and more!
9. Ongoing training and development opportunities.
10. A variety of flexible working options to support your work/life balance, including full or part-time, term time, 9-day fortnight, etc. (subject to business needs).
11. Our West Ways of Working – We want our workforce to thrive, and we equip our employees with the right technology to support hybrid and collaborative working, on or off site, depending on the role.

Making a difference - If you want to use your skills and experience with an organisation that is genuinely invested in making a difference, are committed to improving people's lives, and whose success has a direct impact on the wellbeing of your family, friends and people in your local area, then West Northamptonshire Council is the place for you.

What will you be doing?

1. Building Resilient Systems – You’ll design, develop, and improve plans and procedures to support effective emergency response and business continuity.
2. Enhancing Preparedness – You’ll lead activities that help our communities, businesses, and organisations prepare for and respond to challenges, aiming for the highest standards.
3. Leading Key Projects – You’ll take ownership of projects, including multi-agency initiatives, ensuring they’re well-managed and deliver real impact.
4. Problem-Solving in Critical Situations – You’ll develop practical solutions to complex challenges and ensure they can be put into action when needed.
5. Coordinating Emergency Responses – If a major incident occurs, you’ll be part of the team leading the response, working with partners like the voluntary sector, utility providers, and emergency services. This may include attending incident scenes and working outside of standard office hours.
6. Delivering Training & Awareness – You’ll design and run training sessions to embed resilience across West Northamptonshire.
7. Building Strong Relationships – You’ll collaborate with a wide range of colleagues, partner agencies, and community groups to create effective emergency plans and solutions.
8. Being Part of a 24/7 Team – You’ll join a standby rota to ensure we always have expert support available in emergencies.

About you

What we are looking for:

1. Strong interpersonal and motivational skills – you enjoy working with people, inspiring others, and can communicate persuasively.
2. A keen eye for research and analysis – you can break down complex information, interpret data effectively, and explain your findings clearly to others.
3. Problem-solving mindset – you’re quick to identify challenges and come up with creative and practical solutions.
4. Great at developing systems and processes – you can create clear, structured ways for others to follow and improve efficiency.
5. Confident using IT systems – you pick up new technologies quickly and are comfortable working with digital tools.
6. Strong presentation skills – you can make complex information easy to understand, whether speaking to a group or simplifying details for different audiences.
7. Resilient under pressure – you can stay focused and maintain high standards even in high-intensity situations, such as emergency responses.
8. Comfortable using Office 365 (including Teams, OneDrive, etc.) or willing to learn during the probation period.

We value a positive, proactive approach and are looking for someone who can bring energy and innovation to the team! This role is more than just a job—it’s about making a real impact in keeping people safe and prepared. If you’re ready to take on this challenge, we’d love to hear from you.

About us

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.

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.

If you need additional support or reasonable adjustments during the application process, including needing the job description in another format or language, please email [e-mail] for support.

West Northants Council, where careers thrive.