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Are you ready to take on a high-impact leadership role at the heart of the DESNZ's national security and crisis management team? This is your opportunity to shape the future of resilience within DESNZ, working on high-profile, cross-cutting risks that directly influence senior leaders and ministers.

In this role, you'll be the driving force behind strengthening the department's response to incidents affecting Critical National Infrastructure (CNI). You'll forge crucial partnerships across Government, ensuring seamless coordination when it matters most.

Beyond crisis response, youll lead the evolution of DESNZs crisis management training and exercising programme, sharpening the departments capabilities through an ever-adapting Assurance Framework. By capturing and applying lessons from real-world emergenciessuch as Covid-19 and extreme weather eventsyoull play a pivotal role in refining the UK's preparedness for the challenges ahead.

This is more than a jobits a chance to make a tangible impact, build confidence across DESNZ in handling crises, and be a key architect of resilience and security. If you're strategic, proactive, and thrive in fast-paced, high-stakes environments, we want you on our team.

Crisis management may seem complex, but at its core, its about clear communication, risk understanding, and building capability through training and exercising. Its also about learning from past experiences and working seamlessly with key partners to ensure a coordinated, timely response when it matters most.

Were looking for someone enthusiastic to bring leadership, drive, and relationship-building skills to our Emergency Response team. In this role, you'll play a key part in delivering a government-leading crisis management training and exercising programme, ensuring DESNZ remains at the forefront of preparedness. You'll work across Government and industry to strengthen our resilience and provide assurance to seniors and ministers.

What You'll Be Doing:

- Drive a best-in-class training and exercising programme Develop and deliver dynamic crisis management training for risk-owning teams across DESNZ and beyond, aligning with the National Exercising and Training Programme.

- Enhance internal emergency response capabilities Lead engaging on-call and resilient communications training, ensuring our teams are ready to respond under pressure.

- Bring crisis scenarios to life Design and deliver a range of response exercises, from immersive live role-play drills to interactive tabletop discussions, helping teams refine their decision-making and readiness.

- Strengthen emergency response volunteer teams Oversee our departmental emergency response pool, ensuring we maintain a fully trained, resilient team at all times.

- Embed resilience through the Assurance Framework (a key departmental priority!) Support the delivery and evolution of DESNZs Assurance Framework, ensuring the department is fully prepared to act as a Lead Government Department during crises.

- Foster collaboration across Government and industry Build and maintain strong relationships with teams across DESNZ, other Government departments, and key industry partners to align response strategies and drive continuous improvement.

- Manage external partnerships Oversee contract and budget management for external suppliers delivering training and exercises.

- Be on the front line of crisis response play a key role in coordinating DESNZs response to emergencies and major incidents as they unfold.

Beyond the Day-to-Day:

- Lead with impact Champion a positive, inclusive, and collaborative culture within the Emergency Security and Resilience (ESR) team.

- Empower and develop others Drive professional growth, ensuring team members feel motivated, clear in their priorities, and supported in their development.

- Communicate with confidence Provide expert advice, guidance, and mentorship to internal teams and external partners, ensuring alignment on training, exercising, and resilience standards.

If you're passionate about crisis preparedness, thrive in a fast-paced and high-impact environment, and want to play a leading role in shaping the UKs response capabilities, wed love to hear from you.

Skills and experience

You dont need to be a crisis management specialist to excel in this role, we provide full on-the-job training. We're looking for someone who is practical, proactive, and eager to develop transferable skills in a high-impact environment. This role is ideal for those interested in crisis management policy or looking to apply their skills in a fast-paced, cross-government setting.

Essential Skills & Attributes:

- Hardworking & Flexible Approach Youre dedicated, adaptable, and committed to delivering high-quality work across multiple priorities.

- Collaboration & Stakeholder Engagement Ability to build strong, productive relationships with colleagues to drive collective action.

- Adaptability & Problem-Solving A flexible and proactive mindset, capable of responding to evolving challenges, learning quickly, and thinking on your feet.

- Communication & Facilitation Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to present, facilitate training, and brief senior stakeholders with clarity and confidence.

- Analytical & Detail-Oriented Strong data and analytical skills to assess risks, evaluate training effectiveness, and identify areas for improvement.

- Initiative & Drive Enthusiasm, energy, and a hands-on approach to learning and delivering impactful work.

Key Requirements:

- Emergency Response Commitment Youll become a member of the Out of Hours Emergency Rota (roughly 1 week in 6), providing a 24/7 response capability. An additional allowance is provided for this function.

- Security Clearance You must either hold or be willing to obtain DV security clearance. The DV process requires 10 years of UK residency and UK National Status (please contact the vacancy manager if youre unsure about eligibility).

Desirable Experience (But Not Essential):

- Background in crisis management, risk, resilience, or policy Experience in any of these areas would be beneficial, but not required.

- Knowledge of the energy sector Familiarity with energy systems or infrastructure would be helpful, though not essential.

- Experience with training or exercises Any exposure to developing or delivering training, facilitating workshops, or running crisis simulations is a plus.

If youre looking for a dynamic and meaningful role where you can develop valuable skills, make a real impact, and strengthen the UKs crisis response capabilities, wed love to hear from you!