Senior Advisor - Flood & Coastal Adaptation Lead - 26668

Do you want to be part of the largest ever innovation programmes for flood and coastal risk management?

Do you want to tackle the climate crisis and increase resilience by developing and embedding practical and innovative techniques to manage future flooding and coastal change?

Do you want to be at the forefront of embedding the principles of adaptation into our planning and investments in flood and coastal risk management?

We’re seeking someone who is highly motivated, passionate and able to build strong and effective networks, who can lead our work in mainstreaming the learning from our £200m Flood & Coastal Innovation Programmes, and specifically how we plan our FCERM activities and investments for range of future impacts by planning to adapt to climate change.

There are two components to the role:

1. Leading the development and embedding of adaptation pathway approaches as the business lead for our £8m Adaptation Pathways Programme (part of the £200m Flood & Coastal Innovation Programmes), engaging practitioners, building awareness and securing business commitments for integration of learning into industry process and practice.

2. Providing technical leadership and support to the wider flood and coastal innovation programmes, ensuring that projects are supported and the learning, data, guidance and tools generated is disseminated widely.

Ultimately, you will make sure that the innovation programmes deliver on wider FCERM strategy and policy ambitions to ensure the nation is resilient and able to adapt to future flooding and coastal change.

The role sits in the Adaptation & Resilience team, within the Flood & Coastal Erosion Risk Management Directorate.

The team drive ‘innovation’ in flood and coastal resilience and adaptation by overseeing three innovation programmes. With project teams, we test and develop new ways to create a nation resilient to flooding and coastal change - delivering the ambition of the Flood & Coastal Erosion Risk Management Strategy (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-flood-and-coastal-erosion-risk-management-strategy-for-england--2)

-Programmes: https://engageenvironmentagency.uk.engagementhq.com/hub-page/fcrmfund
-Adaptation Pathways Programme: https://engageenvironmentagency.uk.engagementhq.com/adaptation-pathway-programme
-eMagazine: https://indd.adobe.com/view/ed5b9ee5-d33a-45fc-a4ac-7641ddccb4c5

• You will have a relevant degree and/or post-graduate qualification.
• You will be experienced in flood and coastal risk management.
• You will be an experienced influencer and great communicator. We are looking for someone who can build strong networks and communities of practice quickly.
• You will be a self starter/ confident in independently leading programmes of work, happy working collaboratively, able to challenge constructively and comfortable working in an environment of change as part of an agile programme team.
• You will have experience in a relevant role/field and relevant professional membership, or working towards it (e.g. C.WEM, C.Eng or other).
• You should have experience in project or programme management and demonstrate (with examples) how you have embedded change.
• You should have an awareness of flood and coastal risk management research.

Salary: £47,646

We are an agile, dispersed and flexible team..

For more details contact Andrew Eden (andrew.eden@environment-agency.gov.uk)

We can only embed the evidence from the innovation programmes and achieve change by bringing people along for the journey and convincing them to integrate evidence and learning into their systems, process, guidance and approaches. The successful person will need to build networks quickly but gain the trust of functional teams. Provide an example of when you have presented a case in a convincing and attractive way that won people over, encouraging them to follow plans willingly, where logic and reason alone would have failed.

Please describe a time when you have to manage a complex project or programme, with challenging timescales. competing demands for resources and uncertainty. How did you put in the necessary systems and controls to ensure you met key objectives and delivered on time.

You will need to harness the power of others to embed the learning from the projects and achieve real, measurable change. Please tell us about a time you've had to coordinate delivery of a significant piece of work across a number of teams. How did you communicate with all involved to ensure they delivered the change?

The role will require a deep understanding of the business so the learning from the Adaptation Pathways Programme can be shaped and embedded into guidance and tools for the Environment Agency and other Risk Management Authorities to develop their long term plans for investment and activities in flood and coastal risk management. Can you describe a time when you have coordinated and led on an activity/ initiative to change an existing business approach within your organisation?

Either attained or working toward professional accreditation with a relevant body (CIWEM, ICE, IEMA, APM etc.)