Emergency planning/management officer : Job description

Emergency planning/management officers play a key role in planning for, protecting and maintaining public safety. Emergency planning professionals work as part of a team to anticipate and respond to threats to public safety, such as acts of terrorism, natural disasters, epidemics and major industrial accidents.

The profession is growing in scope in the UK due to increased public recognition of the need to prepare for major incidents. The key areas of work are:

• emergency planning and management;
• business continuity management.

The role can also be known as civil resilience or civil contingencies officers. A related but distinct area is international relief and development (see International aid/development worker for more information).

Typical work activities

There are distinct career routes within emergency planning and management and business continuity management. Most people choose one of these as a specialist area in which to develop a career, with scope for a possible move into another area after gaining experience.

Typical work activities vary according to the post and level of responsibility, but may include:

• writing and implementing safety development plans and reports;
• providing advice and consultancy to businesses to ensure that they can carry on functioning in the event of an emergency. In an NHS primary care trust this might include liaising with GP practices and dental providers;
• completing risk assessments for a diverse range of sites, such as chemical factories, nuclear factories, city centres and major sporting venues;
• analysing and planning for potential risks, such as outbreaks of infections or disease, technical failure of electricity networks, major gas leaks and severe weather conditions;
• acting as duty officer as part of a 24-hour duty system, responding to emergency situations as they arise;
• preparing and conducting safety exercises;
• responding to emergencies, such as natural disasters, and assessing the situation and level of response required;
• communicating with emergency services and other bodies in the event of an emergency;
• helping to coordinate the response of all non-emergency service organisations;
• working with a range of agencies to ensure that normal support for local communities continues in the event of an emergency;
• supporting the recovery of local communities to their pre-incident state;
• delivering safety training to staff in local authorities, businesses, voluntary agencies and other organisations;
• raising awareness of public safety issues through attending events, developing information and delivering special projects;
• liaising with the police, fire services, and the army;
• giving presentations on a wide range of topics at conferences and other events;
• developing new policies and procedures in response to government legislation.

Senior officers in local authorities tend to take on more staff management and development responsibilities, moving away from direct planning and response aspects of the job.