Head of Climate Resilience Parks and Green Space WCC618984

Job Details:

All applications must be submitted via Osborne Thomas. Please contact Osborne Thomas via email at Westminster@osbornethomas.org for any questions. No applications will be considered via any other method. Please do not apply via the SuccessFactors portal.

Salary range: £76,554 - £100,734 per annum
Work location: Westminster City Hall, 64 Victoria Street, Westminster, SW1E 6QP
Hours per week: This job is available part-time, as a job-share, or full-time. This is because we want the best people for our roles and we recognise that sometimes those people aren’t available full-time.
Contract type: Permanent 
Closing date: 06 January 2025
Interview date: Week commencing 13 January 2025 
Contact details for Informal discussion: Westminster@osbornethomas.org, or call 020 3280 3671

About Us:

THE EXTRAORDINARY STORY OF YOUNG PEOPLE CREATING A GREENER FUTURE

The Environment Department in Westminster City Council is a world of extraordinary stories, where passionate and considerate professionals are tasked engaging with local residents and creatively tackling the climate change issues that impact the people of Westminster.

Our team member, Isabella, had the vision to team up with pupils in local Primary Schools to create new initiatives that could make Westminster a more sustainable place to live, work, and play. Since joining the team, Isabella has engaged and collaboratively worked with many of the local schools, helping to spread awareness of the climate emergency and motivating young people to take action in their schools and at home.

In addition to educating young people about the climate challenges we all face, the projects and campaigns we’re working on at Westminster City Council are helping to create a better, brighter future for everyone – even beyond the boundaries of our local authority. Innovation, imagination, and enthusiasm are at the heart of everything this team works on.

The Climate Emergency team has worked closely with St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School. Please view their extraordinary story and their ambition for a greener future here.

The Role:

As our Head of Climate Resilience, Parks and Green Spaces, you can make your own powerful contribution when you tackle the climate emergency head-on in Westminster. 

It’s a pivotal moment to join a great directorate and team. We’re continuing our journey to become a net zero council by 2030, and a net zero climate resilient city by 2040. We’re also taking significant steps to further protect wildlife, improving the sustainability and resilience of the city for all. 

Under your leadership, we’ll be well prepared. You’ll have ambitious targets to deliver as you champion our climate adaptation work, including our Greening and Biodiversity Strategy (learn more here). You’ll also oversee our award-winning green spaces, which are vital to achieving these goals. 

Crucially, you’ll help shape our future as you work closely with our communities and stakeholders to bring them closer to nature. Together, we’ll make a real difference to daily life in Westminster.

Please refer to the Job Description for more information.

About You:

You’re experienced, passionate, and ready to lead the council’s response to the climate, parks, and ecological emergencies. What’s more, your leadership style helps people feel safe, secure, and comfortable to show up as their whole selves.

You understand the political environment, and you work effectively under pressure to prioritise and manage deadlines. You’re also great at influencing others and building strong relationships at every level. You’re able to set the direction, consider financial and commercial implications, make decisions, drive savings, and deliver value for money.

The Council is committed to achieving diverse shortlists to support our desire to increase the number of staff from underrepresented groups in our workforce. We especially encourage applications from a Global Majority ( GM), people who are Black, Asian, Brown, dual-heritage, indigenous to the global south, and or have been racialised as 'ethnic minorities' ( formally known as B.A.M.E , Black, Asian and multiple ethnic) background and, while the role is open to all applicants,  we will utilise the positive action provisions of the Equality Act 2010 to appoint a candidate from a global majority background where there is a choice between two candidates of equal merit. If you are from a Global Majority background you can self-declare this to the hiring manager as part of our positive action commitments.

What We Offer:

Westminster is an amazing place. We are home to more than 200,000 residents from all backgrounds, over 50,000 vibrant and vital businesses and three-quarters-of-a-million people work in Westminster. Westminster City Council’s strategy is to work towards a Fairer Westminster. A Fairer Westminster is one in which our communities are at the heart of our decision-making and help to determine the city’s future. By working directly with our communities and other partners, we can build a more inclusive city that celebrates our diverse communities, and where residents, workers and visitors from all backgrounds will feel welcome and safe.   
 
At Westminster City Council, we pride ourselves on being an inclusive workplace and employer of choice. We encourage and welcome applications from people from all backgrounds and aim to have a workforce that, at all levels, represents the communities we serve. We champion equality, diversity, inclusion and wellbeing and aim to create a workplace where everyone feels valued, has a sense of belonging and is empowered to be their best, that is the Westminster Way. To find out more about how we do this visit  https://www.westminster.gov.uk/health-and-social-care/public-health-strategy-policies-and-reports/equality-duties
 
As a forward-thinking Council we appreciate that people work in different ways, therefore our staff benefit from working a range of flexible working patterns as well as Agile working.  
 
The Council is a Disability Confident Employer. If you have declared a disability in your application, we guarantee an interview if you meet the essential criteria of the job. If you are invited for interview, you will be asked if you need any reasonable adjustments in order to attend, and we will make these wherever possible.  

All applications must be submitted via Osborne Thomas. Please contact Osborne Thomas via email at Westminster@osbornethomas.org for any questions. No applications will be considered via any other method. Please do not apply via the SuccessFactors portal.