Prevention Education Officer – West Midlands Fire Service

West Midlands Fire Service (WMFS) is the second largest fire and rescue service in England, serving an area of 902km square and a population of over 2.9 million people.

Our vision is ‘Making the West Midlands safer, stronger and healthier’.

This vision and the strategic goals outlined in ‘Our Strategy’ are what drives the people, professionalism and pride with which we serve our communities.

As one of the leading Fire and Rescue Services in the country, our primary role is to provide emergency fire cover and proactive prevention to the people within our communities. To further enhance this work, an exciting opportunity has arisen to join our Prevention Development & Improvement Team as Education Officer.  The successful candidate will be based at our Headquarters on Vauxhall Road, Nechells, Birmingham and will work at work at Fire Stations, educational establishments and community sites across  the  West Midlands as required.

The key objectives of the role are to: –

• Develop and implement education programmes that are targeted and accessible across WMFS and non WMFS locations.

and

• Ensure that these programmes are aligned to ‘The Plan and the CRMP and contributes to making the West Midlands ‘Safer, Stronger and Healthier.

Responsibilities

• Development, review, and implementation of programmes for children, young people, and adults
• Developing and implementing educational programmes, lesson plans and education resources
• Scoping, procurement of resources, assets, and equipment to meet demand, programme capacity and improvement.

• Ensuring that Prevention Education programmes reflect and are accessible for the diverse communities across the West Midlands and align to the Educational National Curriculum
• Ensure evaluation and quality assurance of education programmes and that good practice and organisational learning regarding partnerships, prevention activities, educational programmes and campaigns is effectively shared and communicated across the organisation and externally as required.

Experience and skills Essential skills or experience

• Be professionally qualified with a wide range of experience of working in the field for of formal and/or informal education with children and young people, and community. (Qualified teacher, higher level teaching assistant, youth and community worker or equivalent.
• Have evidence-based practice and experience of leading on development of education programmes linked to identified outcomes and targets
• Have substantial experience working within structured policy, processes and systems and practices in leading and managing people, wellbeing, budget and finance, health and safety and embracing equality, diversity, and innovation
• Have experience of planning, monitoring and evaluation processes which evidence impact, behaviour change, change requirements and future planning.
• Have excellent IT skills and experience in the use of Microsoft O365 and its integrated apps including Teams, Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint
• The ability to communicate through a range of methods including report writing, presentation skills, data collation and use of social media.

Desirable skills or experience

• Understanding of current schools’ systems and management
• Understanding of Local Education Authorities and Academy networks
• Relevant current educational experience of working with children, young people, and adults.

Benefits

We offer a friendly working environment and benefits including:

• flexible and agile working arrangements
• on-site free gym facilities
• free parking.

We also offer access to an in-house occupational health facility – including occupational health and fitness advisors, sports therapists, physiotherapists, cognitive behavioural therapy practitioners and counsellors.

In addition, employees have access to:

• 24/7 Employee Assistance Programme
• wellbeing programmes
• ‘blue light’ discounts across many retailers through partner schemes
• Sports and Welfare scheme (for a small fee) – with access to discounted products and services.

Diversity

We welcome applications from all eligible candidates. However, as women and Black and minority ethnic employees are currently under-represented in our service, we particularly encourage applications from these groups.

WMFS is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and adults. We expect the same of every staff member.   Successful candidates will be subject to necessary pre-employment checks, including – where applicable – relevant level Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check, qualifications, medical clearance, identity and right to work. All applicants will be required to provide two suitable references.  How to apply

To apply, please complete the application questions outlining your skills and experiences in line with the job description (linked below).

Questions

If you have any questions about the role, or would like an informal discussion, please contact Marianne Gegg on 07973 810721 or by email at Marianne.Gegg@wmfs.net. Alternatively, please contact Andrea Simmonds on 07973 810459 or andrea.simmonds@wmfs.net

Closing date midday on 5th August 2024