Senior Engagement Specialist

Role Overview

The Senior Engagement Specialist will play a vital role in supporting the Flood Investment Programme by establishing and maintaining high engagement standards within commercial frameworks. This position demands collaboration, trust-building, influence, and network maintenance to ensure successful outcomes in a dynamic, ambiguous, and evolving environment. The individual will be expected to autonomously manage responsibilities and respond proactively during incidents, which includes undertaking an incident role that provides business continuity support and is compensated additionally. Comprehensive training and flexible working adjustments will be provided to support this function.

Key Responsibilities

• Establish engagement standards and expectations for suppliers involved in the Flood Investment Programme.
• Identify, report, and manage risks related to stakeholder engagement.
• Ensure compliance and performance assurance of engagement activities across the programme.
• Develop and institutionalize engagement guidelines and tools to promote consistency.
• Facilitate collaborative networks and knowledge sharing to solve challenges and spread best practices.
• Act as a liaison among delivery teams, suppliers, and leadership by sharing engagement data and insights to support informed decision-making.
• Take a strategic perspective to identify and mitigate engagement risks nationally across the organization.

Candidate Profile

The ideal candidate will be an accomplished strategic stakeholder engagement professional who can lead and influence engagement activities, incorporating early involvement and collaborative advantage into programmes. They will understand how to leverage engagement evaluation data to enhance efficiency, quality, and innovation continuously. The role requires keen perception of engagement risks and opportunities with a capability to communicate effectively to leadership and governance bodies, shaping group decisions. The candidate should excel at forming and nurturing internal and external stakeholder relationships, be adept at facilitating meetings and networks, and possess strong skills in managing expectations while operating within defined boundaries. Operating strategically with a big-picture mindset, collaborating across teams, and demonstrating resilience and adaptability in ambiguous, uncertain, or shifting contexts are essential traits for this role.

Working Environment and Additional Information

The role is primarily UK-based with expectations of a hybrid working approach blending home and office presence, plus occasional travel. The employing organization promotes diversity and inclusivity and encourages applications from underrepresented groups including Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic, disabled, female, and LGBT+ candidates. Flexible working arrangements such as full-time, part-time, and job shares are supported. Benefits include a competitive pension scheme, extensive leave entitlement, and robust training and development opportunities.

Incident Response Responsibilities

Responding to incidents is central to this position. Candidates must be willing to undertake an incident response role, supported by full training and eligible for additional remuneration. Flexibility in working arrangements will be provided to help fulfill this duty.

Competency Criteria

• Influences and Persuades Others: Skill in delivering compelling presentations to win support and sway decisions, often succeeding beyond pure logic. Applicants should be prepared to discuss an example demonstrating this skill.
• Engages Others: Demonstrated ability to plan, implement, and assess effective stakeholder engagement strategies, considering external factors. Applicants may need to illustrate this through their experience.
• Takes Decisions and Solves Problems: Proven aptitude for analyzing information, generating alternatives, and making sound, timely decisions in collaboration with others, following established procedures.

Equality and Diversity Commitment

The organization is committed to building a workforce reflecting the UK's diverse community and offers guaranteed interviews to candidates with disabilities meeting minimum role requirements. Flexible work arrangements are encouraged and supported.

Additional Notes

This role is independent of the Civil Service and does not confer Crown Servant status or related continuous service benefits. Applicants currently employed in some local government bodies may have different continuity provisions. The employer uses government frameworks for recruitment, and direct market engagement is not permitted. The use of artificial intelligence tools for application support is allowed only if submissions remain truthful and entirely based on original experience, with strict plagiarism policies enforced.