Sustainable Drainage Officer

Surrey County Council is the Lead Local Flood Authority for the County of Surrey and is responsible for providing planning advice to Local Planning Authorities on surface water drainage on new major planning applications. The Sustainable Drainage and Consenting Team act as statutory planning consultees for surface water drainage on all major planning applications and carry out our role as regulatory authority for works affecting ordinary watercourses. We provide advice on over 1500 proposed developments per year, as well as providing pre-application advice and support on planning policy. We are passionate advocates for Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS), climate change action and green/blue infrastructure, and seek to enhance development within the county so that it provides better water quality, amenity, and biodiversity benefits, as well as helping to reduce flood risk. To help us achieve our goals we are looking for an officer to work within the team to:

• Assess planning applications against requirements for sustainable drainage within the National Planning Policy Framework and the National standards for sustainable drainage systems
• Provide advice to Local Planning Authority consultations and developers on drainage schemes
• Carry out assessments of Ordinary Watercourse consent applications
• Investigate and answer customer flood risk enquiries, 2. Please describe any knowledge, experience or interest you have in sustainable drainage systems (SuDS), flood risk management, environmental sustainability, climate resilience, planning, engineering or related fields. How have you developed this knowledge and how would you apply it in this role?
3. Please tell us about, and provide examples of, your experience analysing reports or data against set criteria and providing written feedback. 4. Please provide examples from your work, education, volunteering or personal experience that demonstrate how you have communicated with different stakeholders, built positive relationships and influenced an outcome. We welcome applicants with transferrable skills and there will be detailed on the job and formal training opportunities for the successful candidates.

You will need to manage your own workload effectively to meet tight deadlines while being a part of a dynamic and busy team. As well as this, you must be a confident communicator and negotiator, capable of explaining technical information clearly and sensitively. In addition, you will be confident using IT systems with experience of using spreadsheets and interesting in learning how to use GIS if you do not already have these skills., In order to be considered for shortlisting, your application will clearly evidence the following skills and align with our behaviours:
• An interest in sustainable drainage, flood risk management, environmental sustainability, climate resilience, planning, engineering or a related field, and a willingness to develop technical expertise.
• Experience of reviewing, analysing or interpreting technical information, reports, plans or datasets and producing clear written recommendations, advice or feedback.
• Strong communication and stakeholder engagement skills, including the ability to explain technical or complex information to a range of audiences and work collaboratively to achieve positive outcomes.
• Experience of managing a varied workload, prioritising competing demands and meeting deadlines in a busy environment.
• Good IT and data management skills, including experience of working with databases, spreadsheets or mapping systems.
  
  The starting salary for this role is £38,090 per annum, working 36 hours per week.
Are you looking for an opportunity to build your career in flood risk management? We are hiring a Sustainable Drainage Officer to join our Sustainable Drainage and Consenting Team, based in Guildford. We offer opportunities for hybrid working including days working from home if desirable. Our Offer to You
• 26 days' holiday, rising to 28 days after 2 years' service and 31 days after 5 years' service (pro-rated for part time opportunities)
• Option to buy up to 10 days of additional annual leave
• A generous local government salary related pension
• Up to 5 days of carer's leave and 2 paid volunteering days per year
• Paternity, adoption and dependents leave
• An Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) to support health and wellbeing
• Learning and development hub where you can access a wealth of resources
• Wellbeing and lifestyle discounts including gym, travel, and shopping
• A chance to make a real difference to the lives of our residents