This is a first of its kind position for any local authority! The successful candidate will be able to develop a blueprint for local governments across London and nationally, helping them on their Net Zero path. Incredible opportunity to work closely with Westminster planning, policy and climate emergency teams.

About Us:

THE EXTRAORDINARY STORY OF SERENA’S VISION GROWTH

Planning and Housing in Westminster City Council is a world of extraordinary stories. Where innovative and openminded people bring everything to the cause. Even expertise from surprising places.

Take Serena. She is an absolute force of nature at the heart of our Church Street regeneration. And she puts the residents first in everything. Serena’s vision is clear. Regeneration isn’t just about bricks and concrete. It’s about communities. It’s about the environment. It’s about the lives of people and how they feel about where they call home. Serena is their advocate, making sure residents’ voices aren’t just heard, but drive the changes we’re making. The future is safe in her hands.

Please view the extraordinary story of Serena’s Vision here.

The Role:

The Senior Whole Life Carbon Officer will support Westminster City Council’s collaboration with Preoptima LTD in developing, testing, and producing the Planning Application Carbon Evaluation and Reduction (PACER) digital tool, and all internal teams who would be directly impacted by the development and adoption of the tool (e.g. Climate Emergency Team, Planning Policy Team, Development Management Teams, Contract Monitoring Office etc.) The post is supported by a grant from Innovate Net Zero Living Digital Accelerator round 1 Programme. Westminster City Council is seeking to lead the way in automating the process of WLC assessment review, to remove inaccuracies and inconsistencies of the process, and capture early-stage opportunities for carbon reductions which is fundamental to the successful delivery of Westminster’s goal to be net zero by 2040. The Senior Whole Life Carbon Officer will be based within the Design, Conservation and Sustainability Team in the Town Planning service. In this role you will require both excellent project management and organisation skills and good technical knowledge of whole life carbon assessment methodologies, benchmarks, tools, datasets and industry best practice. You will ensure the work of Preoptima LTD is aligned with relevant legislation and strategy including the policy framework set by the GLA and the City Council, as well as the Council’s Climate Action Plan.

About You:

With a degree in a related field or significant experience in driving net zero, whole life carbon assessments and workshops to bring down emissions from construction, you’ll have the skills to promote, coordinate and deliver an innovative platform to drive change within the local authority’s planning department. This should include experience of WLC modelling and methodology, EPDs and datasets, architectural and structural build-ups and strong organisational skills. A collaborative worker with the ability to co-lead and manage multi-stakeholder projects, an understanding of upfront, embodied and whole life carbon benchmarks and industry best practice.

Ready to undertake qualitative or quantitative research to record the impact of interventions, you’ll possess the ability to learn from experience and share these learnings with your colleagues. Your superb communication and interpersonal skills will mean you’re capable of presenting complex information clearly and concisely, and writing progress reports and policy recommendations for both technical and general audiences. Your analytical skills will allow you to interpret information and draw sound conclusions from different sources, and you’ll also have the ability to plan your time effectively and deliver to tight deadlines.

In addition, an awareness of industry tools such as OneClick LCA, eTool, Surgis, ICE, etc would be desirable.

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 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 www.westminster.gov.uk...

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.

Closing date: 4 December 2023
Interview date: 7 December 2023

Contact details for informal discussion: Hrabrina Nikolova, Principal Sustainability Officer, via email on hnikolova@westminster.gov.uk