Climate Change and Coastal Erosion Transition Lawyer

Climate Change and Coastal Erosion Transition Lawyer

Location: Cromer

Salary: £37,336 to £41,418. The Salary for level 2 ranges from £42,403 to
£46,464

Contract: Fixed Term for 3 years

About The Role

North Norfolk is a fantastic place to live, work and visit – covering over 360 sq miles of
coastal and rural environment, with a population of over 100,000 people living in 120 distinct
communities, our District is one of England’s top holiday destinations and a place where people
positively choose to live.

“Rare opportunity for a legally qualified lawyer – are you interested in helping shape law and
national practice to prepare and plan for climate impacts and coastal erosion? We would like to
hear from you if you have excellent legal research and analytical skills, think ‘out of the
box’ to problem solve, and have a passion for change.”

We are looking for a climate change and coastal erosion transition lawyer to work primarily as
part of the Council’s innovative Coastwise initiative. This is a nationally important scheme
that is working with coastal communities and will shape the nation’s future approach to prepare
for climate enhanced coastal change. The programme is funded through the DEFRA and the
Environment Agency’s Coastal Transition Acceleration Programme. As a council which is bordered
by coastline, we have challenges around the risk to homes, but also to whole communities,
including businesses, roads, footpaths, utilities, heritage assets, beach access and much more.

Part of this role will involve exploring what legal provisions are already available to local
authorities or impact on the coastal erosion and transition, reviewing their effectiveness, as
well as exploring new ideas. This will lead to shaping the practical activities of the
Coastwise programme and ultimately reporting back to national government and the Environment
Agency with recommendations for legislative and practical changes and in doing so will draw
heavily on environmental and planning law, civil liability etc. Other parts of this role may
require supporting the delivery of the Coastwise programme through undertaking legal
transactions to further individual parts of the project, including property and commercial
transactions, enforcing, and defending the service of legal notices etc. so additional skills
in these areas would be useful, but not essential as these skill sets already form part of the
Council’s in house legal team. There will also be the opportunity to undertake other work
outside of this project, providing general experience of working for a (local) government legal
department.

About You

This is a rare opportunity for someone who is interested in furthering a career in
environmental and climate change law and would suit a legally qualified lawyer with a keen
interest in this area and who has excellent legal research and analytical skills, someone who
is able to think ‘out of the box’ to problem solve, and who is interested in helping shape law
and national practice to prepare and plan for climate impacts and coastal erosion.

There are two levels of this role, please apply for the level that most suits your experience,
skills and knowledge based upon the requirements listed in the job description.

Salary for level 1 ranges from £37,336 to £41,418. The Salary for level 2 ranges from £42,403
to £46,464.

This is a fixed term role for a period of 3 years.

For an informal discussion please contact: Jo Furner, Principal Solicitor on 01263 516290 or
email [email protected]

About Us

We’re committed to promoting equality of opportunity for the people and communities of North
Norfolk. We respect and value difference in our district and across our workforce, and we want
everyone to feel included and able to play their part in making North Norfolk a great place to
live, learn, work and visit.

Our coast and environment are really important to us. We recognise that North Norfolk faces a
very real threat from climate change and as such the Council has declared a climate emergency.
A Net Zero strategy has been developed to support our ambitions and all staff have a role to
play in meeting our carbon reduction targets.

As one of the largest employers in the district, we offer a number of benefits that are open to
all employees. We have a supportive culture of enabling our people to learn and grow through
attending courses, e-learning, and their day-to-day job roles. Our office in Cromer is modern
and light with onsite lunchtime catering, and free onsite parking.

We have an active health and well-being group, mental health first aiders, employee assistant
program, employee discounts portal, and salary sacrifice schemes (bikes, home electricals and
EV car leasing).

We have a great forum for communication through regular updates from Directors and Chief
Executive, and a working relationship with Unison, our onsite recognised union.

Most people that work for North Norfolk District Council can enjoy a great work life balance,
as part of our hybrid approach to work. If your role supports hybrid working, and we’ve shown
you all that we need to for your job role, all we ask is that you have a stable and reliable
internet connection.

You’ll enjoy 25 days holiday per year plus bank holidays, and when you’ve been with us for five
years, this increases to 30 days (assuming the role is full time). We provide access to a great
pension scheme, based on your local authority career average earnings.

We encourage applications from all suitably qualified persons regardless of age, disability,
sex, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief
and marriage and civil partnerships.