Role Summary & Benefits

About us.

North Somerset Council is committed to providing high-quality services to our community. We are committed to creating a fair, green, and more inclusive environment for all our residents. Join us and contribute to making a positive impact on our community.

The role.

We are seeking an enthusiastic and experienced individual to join us as a Transport Planning Officer – focussed on transport decarbonisation and behaviour change within our Transport Policy Team. The Transport Policy Team develops evidence-based transport strategies, policies and programmes that promote safer, healthier and more sustainable travel while supporting communities, economic growth and environmental objectives.

In this role you will embed behaviour change and decarbonisation methodology and assessment within the council, and promote cleaner, healthier travel for people who live work and study in North Somerset. This may include delivering and advising on behaviour change activity to support priorities such as home to school travel, new active travel infrastructure, public and community transport.

Valid driving licence and own transport, or ability to provide alternative, suitable method of travel is preferred for this role.

This position is currently based at our Town Hall office in Weston-super-Mare, with flexible working arrangements.

Work style.

At North Somerset Council, we offer a hybrid working environment based on four distinct work styles. Depending on the role and personal circumstances, you will fall into one of these categories. However, please note that during the induction period, it may be necessary to spend more time in the office to support your learning and development. We are flexible and open to discussions about your preferred working style, and if you wish to be in the office more frequently, this can be negotiated.

This role falls into the category of Flexible Worker which means you can expect to work in the following way:

• 1-2 days in the office.
• Works both from home and the office, depending on the task at hand.
• Training is provided to help balance work-life and manage time effectively, with an emphasis on communication for team touchpoints and planning in-office days for collaboration.

Transport teams work from the Town Hall on Tuesdays, with occasional further in-person attendance required at Town Hall and elsewhere in North Somerset/West of England.

About you.

We are looking for an individual who is passionate about community engagement and the transition to a net-zero carbon emissions future, and who possesses the following skills and experience:

Essential criteria:

• Knowledge of the UK’s decarbonisation commitments and levers for change at the local and national level.
• Experienced in keeping up to date with best-practice guidance on monitoring, evaluation and/or related topics, and applying this knowledge effectively in the workplace.
• Understanding of the key barriers to sustainable modes of travel, including active travel and public transport.
• Ability to work within a project framework both as part of a team and individually and achieve project milestones.
• Experienced in engaging with key stakeholders and communities and partnering with external organisations to achieve outcomes.
• Excellent written and verbal communication, experience communicating with a range of audiences, and developing a range of written products, including policy documents.
• Experience gathering, collating, analysing, and effectively presenting qualitative and quantitative data.
• Collaborative working style, and experience leading on complex workstreams.
• Educated to degree level or relevant experience.
• Be proficient IT skills in Microsoft Office packages.

Desirable criteria:

• Experience of engaging with the public on transport or decarbonisation.
• Experience developing and maintaining a data dashboard.
• System level thinking and experience developing strategy documents.
• Experience using demographic data to understand drivers of behaviour and target messaging, such as applying the seven British Segments.

What we offer.

At North Somerset Council, we value our employees and provide a supportive and inclusive work environment.

We offer:

• Competitive salary and benefits.
• Flexible working arrangements.
• Local Government Pension.
• Opportunities for professional development.
• Inclusive Staff groups including Carers, Disabled, LGBTQ+, REACH (Race, Ethnicity, and Cultural Heritage), and Young Staff Forums.
• Opportunity to purchase up to an additional 10 days annual leave each year.
• Dedicated in house Wellbeing Team.
• Salary sacrifice Cycle to Work and Electric Vehicle schemes.

Further details of our excellent rewards package can be found in our Benefits booklet.

How to apply.

If you share our vision and values and are ready to make an impact to North Somerset, please select the apply online button below. If you are interested in this exciting opportunity, please submit your application by 11.59pm on the application closing date. When completing our online application form, please detail how you meet the essential criteria for the role.

Contact information.

For further information about the role, please contact Frances Heslop, Lead Transport Behaviour Change Officer, at frances.heslop@n-somerset.gov.uk.

Important information.

As a Disability Confident Leader, we guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the job role.

Interview Date: To be confirmed.

Please note: We are currently only able to accept applications from candidates who have full permission to work in the UK and are unable to provide Sponsorship for this role.

Equal opportunities.

At North Somerset Council we want all our employees to feel valued and appreciated. We aim to ensure equality of opportunity and prevent discrimination irrespective of your sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion or belief, race, age, disability, including neurodiversity, if you are married or in a civil partnership or are pregnant or currently on maternity leave. We strive to create a workplace that reflects the communities we serve and where everyone feels empowered to bring their full, authentic selves to work. 

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expect all our staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

We reserve the right to close this advertisement early or extend the closing date depending on the number of applications received.

Key Responsibilities

Key responsibilities:

• Finalise and publish North Somerset’s upcoming Cleaner, Healthier Travel document.
• Embed Department for Transport (DfT)-backed carbon assessment and methodology within the transport work programme, and support Transport team’s use of relevant guidance.
• Review and input into relevant transport decarbonisation, behaviour change, and engagement workstreams, such as strategy development and scheme appraisal.
• Coordinate our cross-party Ward Member Working Group, focussed on community engagement and resident behaviour change initiatives supporting cleaner, healthier travel and transport.
• Support behaviour change activity alongside new active travel infrastructure.
• Support delivery of North Somerset’s community transport volunteer recruitment campaign.