Water Sector Resilience and Emergency Response

**Details**:
**Reference number**:

- 304346**Salary**:

- £30,317 - £36,606- National: £30,317 - £32,803, London: £33,827 - £36,606 For details of our pay on appointment policy, please see below under the heading ‘Salary’.- A Civil Service Pension with an average employer contribution of 27%**Job grade**:

- Higher Executive Officer**Contract type**:

- Permanent**Business area**:

- DEFRA - Environment - Water & Flood Management**Type of role**:

- Operational Delivery
- Risk Management**Working pattern**:

- Flexible working, Full-time, Job share, Part-time**Number of jobs available**:

- 2Contents

Location

About the job

**Benefits**:
Things you need to know

Location
- Bristol, London, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, YorkAbout the job

**Job summary**:
**_ Are you looking for new challenge in a high-profile emergency response environment? _**

Have you ever wondered who makes sure that water keeps coming out of your taps?

This is an exciting opportunity to join Defra’s Flood, Water and CBRN Emergencies Division who play a key role in making sure you have water in your homes and businesses. The Division has a vital mission to protect the water system from a wide range of threats and hazards ranging from floods and extreme heat to terrorism and cyber-attacks to keep safe drinking water flowing.

There are two HEO roles available. One role will be primarily focussed on policy development and implementation for security, emergency planning and Critical National Infrastructure issues in the water sector and the other roles will be primarily focused on operational emergency preparation and response to live incidents. Both roles will retain some flexibility to support each other as needed.

Our important mission involves working closely with resilience teams across government in departments like the COBR Unit and the National Cyber Security Centre, Resilience and Emergency teams in the water sector, the Drinking Water Inspectorate and Ministers.

**Job description**:
The main duties of the roles are:

- Ensure water supply is resilient and secure from disruptive challenges (which may include severe weather, infrastructure and supply chain failure and malicious attack, such as cyber and other terrorist related incidents).
- Horizon scan for future challenges to the water sector by working with industry and contributing to central government risk assessments, such as the National Security Risk Assessment (NSRA).
- Identify and mitigate key risks to the water sector by working across government and with industry to ensure robust contingencies and plans exist.
- Deliver crisis management response to widespread or complex water supply incidents. For significant incidents it will involve working closely with the Cabinet Office’s emergency response framework, including COBR.
- Supporting the department’s response to other risks including flooding and recovering from CBRN incidents.

**Key responsibilities will include**:

- Leading work to maintain oversight of the water sector’s resilience to a range of disruptive risks, such as extreme weather or power outages, including the identification of the interdependencies with other sectors.
- Challenge and support the water sector’s planning for current risks to ensure appropriate action is prepare for and minimise impacts.
- Supporting the developing of sectoral and departmental response plans for malicious and non-malicious risks which could adversely affect the water sector.
- Work closely with colleagues across Defra, HMG, and the water companies to support contingency planning and operational response.
- Working as part of the emergencies team to provide an operational response function on behalf of the department.
- Be willing to work shifts as part of an emergency response when one is called (including on evenings and weekends. Overtime will be paid)
- Be able to be a Duty Officer for the Division (approx. one week in eight on call. Training will be provided and overtime will be paid).

The response nature of the work means there will occasionally be a requirement to work unsociable hours. All team members are expected to support Defra’s role as lead government department for water supply in an emergency, and you may also be asked to support the wider emergency team in the event of a national flood or Chemical, Biological, Radiation and Nuclear incident. You will therefore be expected to join colleagues on an emergency duty phone roster and when on duty will be paid an allowance.

We are a supportive and friendly place to work and have a very active approach to equality, diversity and inclusion. We are committed to recruiting and supporting colleagues from underrepresented backgrounds and with diverse needs, especially colleague who identify as disabled, LGBTQI+, from minority ethnic groups or lower social economic backgrounds and those with caring responsibilities.

**Person specification**:

- Ability to work confidently and effectively at pace
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