Emergency Planning Officer

Go back South Warwickshire University NHS Foundation Trust

The closing date is 16 March 2026

The Emergency Planning Officer will join a small team at SWFT and GEH whose role is to ensure that both Trusts are best prepared to plan for and respond to a wide range of potential incidents which could affect delivery of essential services.

Please note that interviews will be held on TBC.

This is a joint post covering South Warwickshire University NHS Foundation Trust (SWFT) and George Eliot Hospital NHS Trust (GEH). As a key member of the Emergency Preparedness, Resilience and Response (EPRR) Team, the post holder will play a key role in delivery of a wide range of tasks to support the Trusts emergency planning programme.

The post holder will be required to lead on the provision of a wide range of planning and training activities aimed at ensuring that both Trusts maintain their statutory duties under the Civil Contingencies Act 2004, and any associated Emergency Preparedness, Resilience & Response (EPRR) guidance. This specifically includes leading on elements of the National Core Standards for EPRR which is an annual assurance review of the Trust.

The postholder will also be required to manage and lead across the Trust on Business Continuity Management (BCM) planning and training across both Trusts. This will necessitate engagement with senior managers and clinical leads as well as providing regular briefings to the Corporate EPRR Working Group and the Trust Risk, Health and Safety Board. The EPO will be expected to engage with all Divisions at Associate Chief Operating Officer and senior manager level to ensure compliance with current national BCM guidance, that all relevant plans are up to date and approved and that any necessary training - including exercising of plans - is carried out.

Come and join a Trust rated Outstanding by the CQC. South Warwickshire University NHS Foundation Trust have been rated as outstanding following our latest inspection by the CQC and we are recruiting new staff to come and help us improve even further. In addition our staff survey results have placed us 4th in the country for recommended place to work.

We provide services across Warwickshire and beyond ranging from Hospitals in Warwick, Stratford-Upon-Avon, Royal Leamington Spa and Shipston-on Stour to Community Services across the county. We are a progressive, expanding organisation with great ambition around improving quality, integrating pathways and delivering high levels of productivity. Our values can be summed up in one sentence. We are 'Trusted to provide safe, inclusive, effective and compassionate care'.

Throughout the recruitment process you will be asked to think about how you demonstrate these values and how they impact on your work. It doesn't matter what role you do, whether it is patient facing or not, we are all working in the same way with our values at the core.

As part of our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion we encourage all applicants to complete a short survey. This can be accessed via the link below:

We appreciate you completing the survey.

Knowledge, Training and Experience

To have extensive experience of working in an EPRR or emergency planning environment preferably within the NHS.

To be able to the demonstrate an expert level knowledge and understanding of current best practice within Emergency Preparedness, Resilience and Response (EPRR) for NHS organisations.

Demonstrate extensive knowledge and experience of EPRR, Major Incident and Business Continuity processes and specifically to understand and act upon current, relevant legislation, policies, procedures and guidance in relation to emergency planning specifically:

• The Civil Contingencies Act 2004
• NHS EPRR Framework 2022
• NHS England Incident Response Plan and current EPRR guidance

To be able to demonstrate a detailed understanding of both Trusts role as part of NHS and multi‑agency resilience at local, Regional and National level.

Demonstrate a detailed understanding of the NHS England business continuity management toolkit and the principles included in ISO 22301.

The postholder should be able to demonstrate a detailed understanding of the National Core Standards for EPRR and their importance to the Trust EPRR function to include:

• Details of individual standards, specifically those relating to Business Continuity Management
• Validation and approval of evidence
• Support to the EPRR Manager leads at all stages of the Core Standards process on standards relating to BCM

Communications and Working Relationships

To be able to establish effective working relationships at Executive and senior management level across all Divisions of the Trust and with key stakeholders.

To be confident in negotiating and delivering on specific deadlines for projects with Divisional senior management across the Trust.

To have a detailed understanding of the divisional structure of both Trusts and their…