Head of Environment and Sustainability

Head of Environment and Sustainability
£61,067 to £67,015 per annum, 37 hours per week Permanent contract Coleford/agile working
Forest of Dean District Council is passionate about creating a vibrant and sustainable future for our communities. Our priorities are centred on fostering resilient and inclusive communities that are motivated and competent to adapt to the challenges posed by the climate and nature emergencies. We are committed to decarbonisation and nature recovery, with a view to protecting and enhancing our superb natural environment and to be carbon neutral by 2030. Additionally, we strive to foster economic prosperity, while ensuring environmental sustainability and social wellbeing, through the promotion of a circular economy and natural capital preservation.
Our environment and sustainability services are fundamental to the success of the council's ambition for a Fairer Greener Forest, and we are devoted to leading the response to the climate and ecological emergencies in our area. We were the first district council in England to declare a climate emergency and our focus is on sustainable development to enable our communities in the Forest of Dean district and beyond to thrive, creating great places for people to live, work, learn and enjoy in our ever-evolving communities.
We want our future generations to thrive too and are serious in tackling issues concerning the climate and environmental emergencies. You'll therefore see sustaining where we are right now as the bare minimum and ideally step this up to regenerative practices. Now is a fantastic time to be joining us as we look to deliver upon our council plan priorities and shape our environment for the benefit of the local area and beyond.
About the role
We are seeking a dynamic and visionary leader to join the Forest of Dean District Council as the Head of Environment and Sustainability and engage our communities in shaping the Forest's future. You'll bring an energy to and animate climate action and our route to net zero, effecting behaviour change across our district so we are all working together for a better future. This is a pivotal role, inspiring and empowering our environment and sustainability team to deliver high-quality services, aligned with council priorities, and ensuring we improve the quality of life for residents. Initially, your focus will be on climate change, decarbonisation and nature recovery, but the role may evolve to include other environmental services such as waste and recycling, environmental health, food safety and licensing.
Key Responsibilities:
• Provide strategic leadership and direction for environment and sustainability services to provide specialist and focused project delivery towards a climate action and nature recovery work programme and to identify priorities, agree objectives and establish measures of success. • Collaborate with internal and external stakeholders to understand their needs, priorities and challenges to build strong relationships, effective communication and collaboration on environmental and sustainability related initiatives. • Lead the development of policies and initiatives that address the council's aspirations for environmental sustainability. • Oversee day to-day operations, managing workloads, budgets, and resources to ensure teams meet performance objectives. • Drive continuous improvement across teams, encouraging innovation, collaboration, and excellence in service delivery. • Design, develop and implement plans that translate the Council business objectives into working practices for excellent customer service delivery • Act as the council's principal advisor on environmental and sustainability matters, ensuring effective communication and representation in governance matters.
You will need
• To be educated to degree level or equivalent in a relevant profession • Substantial (5 years plus) post qualification experience in a relevant field / specialism • Significant experience managing services during periods of organisational change • Experience of collaborative working to enable delivery of Councils waste and environmental ambitions. • Experience of large complex environmental service contracts • Experience of working in a political diverse environment • Experience of implementing change, transformation, and monitoring service performance and delivering improvements • Ability to inspire and successfully motivate others towards shared objectives • Experience in preparing, negotiating and managing budgets
Why join us?
This is an exciting opportunity to make a lasting impact in the Forest of Dean by leading sustainable development initiatives and shaping the future of our district. You will have the chance to work with passionate teams and contribute to a vision that values both community well-being and environmental preservation.
Special Conditions
• Full UK driving licence with access to a car for work purposes • This post designated as politically restricted in accordance with the Local Government and Housing Act 1989. Politically restricted post holders are restricted from canvassing on behalf of a political party or for a person who is, or seeks to be, a candidate for election to a local authority, the House of Commons, or the European Parliament.
What can we do for you
• Agile working allowing a mix of home and office working • Flexible working arrangements (depending on the role) • 26 days paid annual leave (pro rata if you are working part time) plus bank holidays, which increases to 30 days after five years of service • In addition you will have an extra two volunteering days a year for you to support a charity of your choice • We support a discretionary Health cash plan giving you cash back on health, dental and eye care • Generous contributory local government pension scheme • Employee Assistance Programme 24/7, providing positive, preventative and supportive advice and counselling to deal with everyday events and issues • Cycle to work scheme • Salary sacrifice car lease scheme with significant tax and NI savings to be made on electric cars • Generous sickness cover above statutory entitlements
If you feel this is the role for you please email your CV and supporting statement detailing how you meet the criteria above by emailing our Recruitment partners at Publica at or contact the recruitment team on .
Your application will not be considered if you have not provided a supporting statement, in addition to your CV.
Accredited of the disability confident scheme, we guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for the vacancy - Please state this within your covering statement or in a separate email.
Safer recruitment practices are applied to all job vacancies. Successful candidates will be required to complete a pre-employment medical questionnaire; provide references; proof of identity; nationality and immigration status; three years' employment or education history (if applicable) and, in some cases, verification of criminal record.