Job Description

About us

Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service (CFRS) is one of the best fire and rescue services in the country. In our last inspection by Her Majestys Inspectorate for Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) we were noted as good, specifically around promoting the right values and culture, getting the right people with the right skills, ensuring fairness, promoting diversity, managing performance, and developing leaders.

Our vision is to put our people at the centre of everything we do- our community and our colleagues. Without our welcoming, friendly, and supportive environment we would not be the Service we are today.

About the role

We are looking for a motivated individual to join our Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Team. This is a small team with a big goal – to improve diversity and inclusion in our service. Within our team, we have a Positive Action Officer who covers Peterborough and the northern half of Cambridgeshire. This role will focus on Cambridge and the southern half of the county.

The role will be focused on positive action – connecting our community and our colleagues in conversations that highlight barriers and explore how to overcome them. This could be around fire prevention, recruitment and progression, inclusion campaigns, events, workshops, and training.

We are ideally looking for someone who has relevant experience through work or volunteering in a community/charity organisation, a public service, or a private company – it’s not essential to have worked in an emergency service.

Main Duties

The role will focus on engaging with colleagues, partners, and the wider communities of Cambridgeshire to:

 

  • Work with colleagues and our community to design and develop initiatives to promote Positive Action. You will work in collaboration with our recruitment and safety and prevention teams and build campaigns, events, workshops and initiatives.
  • Increase our reach in the community by developing and maintaining effective relationships with groups to build trust and confidence and break down barriers.
  • Research, design, deliver and measure the impact of positive action activities, with the specific aim of increasing the diversity of our workforce.
  • Promote our Service as an employer of choice within under-represented communities. Increase confidence and promote inclusiveness by liaising with key individuals and attending events and meetings.
  • Monitor and analyse information you have collated at events in relation to underrepresented groups and prepare reports and action points identifying reach, attendance, and feedback.

About you

We are looking for a motivated individual to join our Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Team.

Alongside your energy and drive, we would also like to see that you:

  • Understand what positive action means for a public service, and how it helps us meet the Public Sector Equality Duty.
  • Have experience of, and a commitment to, working with groups that are underrepresented in the community to understand their needs and preferences to improve positive action. This may be groups that represent the protected characteristics or others.
  • Have the skills to research, plan, deliver, measure and evaluate positive action activity.
  • Be able to quickly make and keep healthy working relationships, with the Inclusion Team, colleagues, partners and the community.
  • Be confident using Microsoft Word, Outlook, PowerPoint and Excel efficiently in your role.
  • Be fluent in a second language because this would be helpful for engaging with the community. This is not essential but an advantage.

The role is up to 22 hours a week and is agile working. You’ll have a base at Cambridge Fire Station but will also work from other locations around Cambridgeshire and from home.

Due to the nature of community events/meetings being outside of usual office hours, this role requires flexibility of working hours. We have a flexitime scheme in place.

What we will offer you

  • Family friendly policies – including flexible working
  • Employee Assistance Programme
  • Health Shield – Health Cash Plan
  • Access to Blue Light Discount
  • Personal Development Plan
  • 23 days annual leave each year plus bank holidays, pro rata for part time
  • Local Government Pension Scheme
  • £27,741 per annum pro-rata for part-time (for example, pro-rata for 22 hours is £16,494)

Please find the application form and recruitment pack on the Cambridgeshire Fire & Rescue Service website. The recruitment pack contains our terms and conditions, job description and person specification for the role, to support you through the application process.

What happens next:

Interviews are being held between 20th  and 25th August and 6th and 10th September. We will arrange a suitable time with each candidate selected for interview and discuss face-to-face and online options for the interview.

Closing date for all applications is Sunday 15th August 2021, any applications submitted after this time will not be considered.