Situation Centre Duty Officer

Strategy and Communications Strategy and Communications sits at the centre of the organisation, bringing together several teams with organisation-wide remits and mutual collaboration opportunities. The work of the directorate’s teams includes delivery of major events, designing and leading public affairs or marketing campaigns, providing data, evidence, and analysis, leading cross-organisational programmes, to making sure we plan for and can respond to emerging events or emergencies in our city. London Resilience Unit Working with over 170 organisations the London Resilience Unit delivers and coordinates resilience services across the capital on behalf of the Mayor of London and Local Authorities. London Resilience supports the work of the London Resilience Partnership in assessing risks, working to reduce the likelihood or impact of those risks and, where risk can’t be eliminated, preparing arrangements to respond, recover and learn from emergencies. About the Role As a Situation Centre Duty Officer, you will serve as the key point of contact for the Greater London Authority (GLA) during your shift, providing vital early warnings, incident monitoring, and maintaining situational awareness on real-time events. You will be tasked with producing accurate, timely, and analytically sound reports in response to unfolding situations, ensuring that decision-makers have the information they need to act quickly and effectively. Additionally, you will work to maintain the flow of information between the GLA, government departments, and other key stakeholders, helping to ensure clarity and consistency in the response to incidents. In this role, you will build and cultivate relationships with both internal and external stakeholders, ensuring that intelligence, briefings, and reports are delivered consistently and accurately. Your ability to deliver both written and oral reports to senior staff and other stakeholders, while highlighting critical issues and potential impacts, will be essential. Your insight will help shape the GLA's response to various events across the city, making your contribution crucial to maintaining London's operational resilience. To succeed in this role, you will bring proven experience in open-source intelligence and collection methodologies, with the ability to transform this information into actionable insights. A strong understanding of information management principles and data protection legislation is key, alongside experience providing guidance during incidents. Excellent communication skills are essential, enabling you to present complex information clearly and concisely. Proven success in diverse and demanding work settings will be beneficial, as will your ability to foster collaboration across different teams and disciplines. You must also be prepared to work on a 24/7 rotational shift pattern (covering both day and nights shifts) to ensure continuous coverage in this vital role. Due to the nature of the role, you must be willing to undergo National Security Vetting to the level of Security Check (SC), having lived and worked in the UK for at least the last five years. Individuals will not be expected to hold existing National Security Vetting in order to apply for the posts. You will also need to demonstrate adaptability, attention to detail, and the ability to stay calm and effective under pressure, ensuring London’s resilience and preparedness in times of crisis. Principal Accountabilities Produce analytically robust, credible, timely and high-quality reports, both in response to taskings and pro-actively as events dictate. Ensure the accurate and timely flow of information between decision makers, the GLA Group and relevant government departments. Develop and maintain effective networks and relationships with internal and external stakeholders to achieve objectives in line with tasked priorities. Engage with internal customers daily to ensure currency of priorities and tolerances. Provide written and oral briefings, and specialist reports for senior staff and relevant stakeholders. Help in the identification and development of new reporting streams. Maintain an up-to-date awareness of relevant legislative and national policy changes applicable to the operational functions of the team. Conduct duties in accordance with asset, information, and protective security processes as per government policy and information originator’s requirements. Identify capabilities and methodologies that could increase the effectiveness of the team. Strive for continuous improvement in GLA’s crisis response capability through up-to-date doctrine, training and exercising and capturing and applying lessons learnt. Person Specification Technical Requirements/Experience/Qualifications Experience of open-source analysis, collection methodologies and the ability to formulate and deliver robust predictive or deductive assessments. Understanding of information management principles and data assurance legislation and their application in the workplace. Evidence of providing advice, guidance to inform decision making in response to an incident. High level communication skills, with a successful track record of giving professional advice to decision makers as well as staff at all levels of an organization on complex and sensitive issues. Evidence of success in preparing and presenting clear and concise written reports and briefings on complex and sensitive issues within demanding timescales. Evidence of success in building and maintaining working relationships and partnerships across professional and operational boundaries within and beyond an organisation. Experience of successful working in a similar role within political or comparable high-profile or highly complex environment. Ability to work on a rotational shift pattern. Willingness to undergo the National Security Vetting processes to the level of Security Check (SC). Behavioural Competencies Building and Managing Relationships …is developing rapport and working effectively with a diverse range of people, sharing knowledge and skills to deliver shared goals. Level 2 indicators of effective performance Develops new professional relationships Understands the needs of others, the constraints they face and the levers to their engagement Understands differences, anticipates areas of conflict and takes action Fosters an environment where others feel respected Identifies opportunities for joint working to minimise duplication and deliver shared goals Communicating and Influencing …is presenting information and arguments clearly and convincingly so that others see us as credible and articulate and engage with us. Level 2 indicators of effective performance Communicates openly and inclusively with internal and external stakeholders Clearly articulates the key points of an argument, both in verbal and written communication Persuades others, using evidence-based knowledge, modifying approach to deliver message effectively Challenges the views of others in an open and constructive way Presents a credible and positive image both internally and externally Stakeholder Focus ...is consulting with, listening to and understanding the needs of those our work impacts and using this knowledge to shape what we do and manage others’ expectations. Level 2 indicators of effective performance Seeks to understand requirements, gathering extra information when needs are not clear Represents the GLA positively by interacting effectively with stakeholders Delivers a timely and accurate service Understands the differing needs of stakeholders and adapts own service accordingly Seeks and uses feedback from a variety of sources to improve the GLA’s service to Londoners Problem Solving … is analysing and interpreting situations from a variety of viewpoints and finding creative, workable and timely solutions. Level 2 indicators of effective performance Processes and distils a variety of information to understand a problem fully Proposes options for solutions to presented problems Builds on the ideas of others to encourage creative problem solving Thinks laterally about own work, considering different ways to approach problems Seeks the opinions and experiences of others to understand different approaches to problem solving Research and Analysis …is gathering intelligence (information, opinion and data) from varied sources, making sense of it, testing its validity and drawing conclusions that can lead to practical benefits. Level 2 indicators of effective performance Proactively seeks new information sources to progress research agendas and address gaps in knowledge Grasps limitations of or assumptions behind data sources, disregarding those that lack quality Analyses and integrates qualitative and quantitative data to find new insights Translates research outcomes into concise, meaningful reports Identifies relevant and practical research questions for the future This role is office based at Palestra, 197 Blackfriars Road, London SE1 8NJ with no opportunity for hybrid working