The Role

• Are you keen to help reduce waste and improve recycling services for residents and businesses?
• Are you looking for working arrangements that enhance your work-life balance?
• Do you have skills and experience relevant to local authorities, waste management and/or providing project support?

If your answers are yes, we want to hear from you!

We are looking for a Waste Project Assistant to help deliver projects and trials intended to increase food waste recycling in the borough of Richmond upon Thames.

The successful candidate will be able to work from home much of the time in accordance with Council policies and equipment will be provided to enable this. However, you will also be required to travel to locations around the borough regularly, visiting blocks of flats, estates, streets and businesses to make assessments and to meet with stakeholders. This may also involve early morning site visits to monitor levels of participation in recycling services.  Access to facilities at Council offices in Twickenham with equipment such as printers and laminators will be available when needed. 

This role is a fixed-term contract for one calendar year and you will be part of a small but friendly waste team within a large workforce, most of which serves both Richmond and Wandsworth Councils.

As a Waste Projects Assistant you will:

• Support the delivery of projects designed to increase food waste recycling by installing communal food waste recycling facilities at blocks of flats, addressing low performance areas for existing weekly kerbside food waste recycling collections and introducing a new commercial food waste recycling service for businesses.
• Plan and prioritise your own workload to assist in delivering projects within a defined timescale.
• Proactively assess blocks of flats to develop recommendations for installing new food waste recycling facilities.
• Liaise with all relevant stakeholders including tenants and residents’ associations, property management agents, officers, waste disposal authorities, and contractors as well as local businesses to ensure smooth delivery of the projects.
• Develop and maintain large datasets including address data, contact details and proposals.

About you:
You will have:

• Knowledge and practical experience of delivering effective projects in a supporting role.
• Knowledge of local authority waste and recycling services, procedures and techniques.
• Experience of developing and maintaining large datasets.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Experience of effective engagement with community groups and stakeholders.
• A clean full UK driving licence and/or be able to travel to sites borough wide on a regular basis.

You will be welcomed into a service area which delivers a range of waste and street cleansing related contracts and associated services.

Please submit the following:

• Your current up to date profile
• A supporting statement detailing why you are applying for the post and how you meet each of the criteria set out in the person specification.

If you would like an informal discussion regarding the role, please contact Michael Singham, Waste Strategy Manager on 020 8871 8506 during office hours. If you are having difficulty in applying online, please contact the Recruitment Team at recruitment@richmondandwandsworth.gov.uk to see if we can offer alternative arrangements for you to apply.

We recognise the importance of having a good balance between work and home life so we do everything we can to accommodate flexible working including working from home, Please just let us know in your application or at any stage throughout the process (and beyond) if these are options you’d like to explore. We also offer a generous holiday allowance of 39 paid days (pro rata) including bank holidays and a wide range of learning and development opportunities.

In addition, we offer a comprehensive range of staff benefits such as membership of the Local Government pension scheme, childcare vouchers, new technology scheme, interest-free loans on annual travel cards, discounts with many leisure activities, restaurants, shops and other establishments.

The role is 36 hours per week, Monday to Friday. You may on occasion be required to work outside of normal office hours (e.g. early mornings, evenings or weekends) if required.

Indicative Recruitment Timeline

Closing Date: Sunday 3rd July 2022
Shortlisting Date: Week commencing 4th July 2022
Interview Date: Week commencing 18th July 2022

Useful Information:

The closing date is given as a guide. We reserve the right to close this vacancy once a sufficient number of applications has been received. We strongly advise you to complete your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

Please note that the advertised dates for interviews may change due to the current Covid-19 situation. If they do, we will let you know as soon as possible.

Your health and wellbeing is our top priority. Should you become unwell due to Covid-19 during the recruitment process we would very much appreciate receiving an update from you as soon as possible.

We particularly welcome applications from sections of the community who are currently underrepresented within our team, including female and BAME applicants.

Richmond and Wandsworth Councils are committed to making our recruitment practices as inclusive as possible for everyone. We are committed to promoting equality and diversity and developing a culture that values differences, recognising that employees from a variety of backgrounds bring important and positive contributions to the Councils and can improve the way we deliver services.

The application process for this campaign will be anonymised.

We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer.

Important Information:

Richmond and Wandsworth Councils are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people/vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

Richmond and Wandsworth Councils