Are you an experienced resilience professional ready to lead, influence and make a tangible difference to residents and communities?
We are seeking a Principal Emergency Planning Officer to play a pivotal role in strengthening the Council’s preparedness, response and recovery arrangements for emergencies and disruptive events. This is a senior, high‑impact role within the Emergency Management & Response Service, reporting directly to the Deputy Head of Resilience and leading a small team of specialist officers.
In this role, you will act as one of the Council’s senior subject matter experts for emergency planning and business continuity. You will translate strategic resilience ambitions into practical, robust operational delivery—ensuring the Council is well prepared to protect residents, communities and critical services when it matters most.
What you’ll be doing
As Principal Emergency Planning Officer
- Lead the development, maintenance and testing of the Council’s corporate emergency plans and business continuity arrangements, ensuring compliance with the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 and recognised best practice.
- Provide senior operational leadership before, during and after emergencies, supporting incident command structures and coordinating effective response and recovery activity.
- Manage, mentor and develop a team of Emergency Planning and Business Continuity Officers, setting clear priorities and maintaining high professional standards.
- Design and deliver training programmes and multi‑agency exercises, embedding preparedness and continuous improvement across the organisation.
- Work closely with senior leaders, elected members, emergency services, resilience partners and the voluntary sector to strengthen borough‑wide resilience.
- Champion learning from incidents, exercises and national inquiries, ensuring lessons learned lead to real and lasting improvement.
Why this role matters
This role sits at the heart of the Council’s ambition to put residents first. You will ensure resilience arrangements are inclusive, accessible and responsive to the needs of vulnerable residents, while helping services continue to operate during periods of disruption. Your expertise will shape how the organisation anticipates risk, manages crises and recovers stronger.
Who this role is for
This role is ideal for an experienced emergency planning or resilience professional who:
- Thrives in a complex, multi‑agency environment
- Is confident advising senior leaders and influencing across organisational boundaries
- Combines strong leadership skills with deep technical knowledge of emergency management and business continuity
- Remains calm, decisive and people‑focused under pressure
You will be part of a supportive leadership team and will have real scope to influence strategy, culture and operational practice across the Council.
We value our employees and are committed to ensuring that they enjoy a fulfilling and rewarding career with us. We understand that a happy and motivated workforce is essential for the success of our organisation. That is why we offer a wide range of employee benefits to enhance your work-life balance, financial wellbeing, health, and professional development.
Here’s a comprehensive overview of the fantastic benefits we provide:
- Flexible Working Hours – We recognise the importance of flexibility in managing your work and personal life.
- 36 Hour Week – Enjoy a standard 36-hour workweek for all full time staff.
- Generous Holiday Entitlement – increasing with length of service (for non-casual roles).
- Hillingdon Sports & Leisure – Stay active and healthy with discounts at council owned leisure centres and swimming pools across the borough.
- Salary Sacrifice Schemes – option to join schemes for cycle purchase, electric vehicle leasing and additional voluntary pension contributions (subject to scheme rules).
- Cycle to Work – Eco-friendly commuting with our cycle purchase scheme. We also provide bicycle parking, lockers, and showers at the Civic Centre.
- Local Government Pension Scheme – access to Local Government Pension Scheme and membership to the Credit Union.
- Vivup Benefits – Access a variety of offers and discounts through our Vivup Benefits.
- Mental Health Support and Counselling Services – Our mental health first aiders are trained to identify, understand, and help employees experiencing mental health issues. Access free 24-hour confidential advice and counselling as well as a legal advice service for you and your immediate family.
- Travel Support – Make your daily commute easier with our season ticket loans and free car parking.
Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Statement
At the London Borough of Hillingdon, we are committed to creating a diverse, inclusive, and equitable workplace. This commitment means that all employees, job applicants and others who work for us will be treated fairly.
The aim is for our workforce to be representative of all sections of society and Hillingdon residents so we welcome applicants from a wide variety of backgrounds. We strive to ensure that our recruitment process is free from discrimination and bias, and we are dedicated to providing reasonable adjustments to applicants with disabilities.
Join us in building a workplace where everyone feels respected, able to give their best and be themselves at work, whilst contributing meaningfully to our organisation's success.
Recruitment Information
Hillingdon Council operates a guaranteed interview scheme for candidates with disabilities that meet the essential criteria for the role and wish to be considered under this scheme. We believe in the option to choose, so candidates declaring a disability have the choice to opt in for consideration under this scheme, on a ‘per application’ basis.
We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable groups and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.
Some posts are subject to The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2019 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.
In addition to verifying Right to Work in the UK and a new starter health questionnaire, the post is subject to the following pre-employment screening:
- Enhanced DBS Check
- Qualifications Check
- 5 years of Referencing
Please note: Priority will be given to those at risk of redundancy within Hillingdon Council. Current employees who are part of the redeployment pool must meet the essential criteria for shortlisting to be prioritised.
It may be necessary due to a high volume of applications to close this role early. We therefore recommend you apply as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.
