Public Rights of Way Officer

Job Introduction

Role Purpose

We have an exciting job opportunity to work as a Rights of Way Officer (Band G, permanent, full-time) within the Public Rights of Way section of the Traffic Team in BCP Planning and Transport. 

The Rights of Way team work to deliver the following:

• Administering the legal record of Public Rights of Way, the Definitive Map and Statement, and processing applications to modify these records, whether adding new paths following investigations into evidential claims or diverting paths to make way for new developments.
• Inspecting and identifying opportunities for new improvements to the Public Rights of Way network across the BCP area. We listen and respond to the needs of our users and find ways to make these paths more accessible and enjoyable and to enhance their strategic value. We need to pay attention to small but critical details like highway defects and identify resources to repair them as well as look at the bigger picture and see how large development schemes can change the context and user demands placed on the paths. Our work is guided by the vision set out in the BCP Rights of Way Improvement Plan 2023 - 2040.
• Working with our colleagues within Planning and Transport on planning applications and finding ways to minimise the loss of Public Rights of Way while creating new and improved links to develop our off-road walking and riding network.
• Enforcing against individuals who obstruct highway maintained Public Rights of Way.
• Contributing to special projects such as Transforming Cities or the Stour Valley Way and working with outside partners such as Natural England and the National Trust to provide insight and expertise on how to create new access opportunities and deliver on improving the health and wellbeing of BCP residents and our visitors.

Main Responsibilities

You will be part of a small two-person Rights of Way team within a larger Traffic team of friendly and supportive colleagues, dealing with a large number of issues running in parallel and working with many partners across service units and outside of BCP.

The Ideal Candidate

We are looking for individuals who can meet the challenge of understanding the needs of our path users and deliver our service to them in a cost-effective and timely manner.

 Candidates must have:

• Ideally have relevant NVQ 4, HND, HNC, degree or diploma (or equivalent experience) or working towards.
• A good practical and theoretical knowledge of the management of Rights of Way and the underpinning legislative framework. Although the successful candidate will receive on the job training and will attend appropriate training courses.
• Excellent organisational skills and the ability to adapt quickly to rapid changes in priorities, in addition to the ability to develop your own organisational tools.
• Good knowledge of ICT including Excel, Word, Outlook and Teams
• Ability to prepare engaging presentations using a clear brief.
• Excellent research and analytical skills, being able to interrogate a wide range of historical, legal, written and spoken evidence, to collate this and then to develop complex and detailed reports.
• A level of physical fitness and environmental awareness adequate for attending site visits and carrying out regular in-person inspections of Public Rights of Way in sometimes physically challenging environments, covering miles at a time.
• A personable approach to communication, being able to empathise with user needs and knowing how to prioritise work that can quickly adapt to changes in people’s lives.
• Willingness to represent BCP at Public Inquiries and Hearings, presenting and arguing the authority’s stance in a flexible and reactive way in real-time.
• Understanding of the planning system and planning policy, which will be used to influence development decisions in favour of Public Rights of Way while minimising negative impact on users.

The role requires excellent organisational and administrative skills, including the ability to plan and prioritise workloads, the prioritisation of non-standard tasks, work accurately, be organised under pressure, work to tight deadlines and be resilient to the demands and pressures of the role. 

We offer the opportunity work agilely (e.g. working from home or on site as well as office working). We will consider part time working applications.

Interviews will be held in late April or early May 2025 at BCP Council, Civic Centre, Bourne Avenue, Bournemouth, BH2 6DY 

Please contact Philip Elias, Senior Rights of Way Officer on 01202 262017 or Andy Brown, Traffic Team Leader on 01202 817283 for an informal chat about this position or email rightsofway@bcpcouncil.gov.uk or andy.brown@bcpcouncil.gov.uk

About BCP Council

BCP Council provides services to a diverse community of 400,000 residents and employs more than 5,000 people. Our area includes over 15 miles of beautiful world-renowned coastline. We can offer career defining roles to transform and improve services. By working with us, you can help deliver a vision of a thriving, word-class, prosperous and inclusive place for generations to come.

Our Benefits

We offer an excellent benefits package to colleagues. Find out more on our website.

As a result of the creation of BCP Council in 2019, we are working on simplifying our terms and conditions of service and will be creating a single pay structure which is to be applicable for all employees. It is important to us that we offer benefits that our colleagues value as part of their total employment package and we are reviewing these to make sure we have it right. We have been in a process of collective bargaining since 2019 and have positively worked forward to reach an agreed position with the unions for the new contractual offer. This has taken longer than we hoped and therefore we are having to consider all alternative avenues available to enable us to remove inequality in the organisation as a result of bringing together 3 councils. 

We are in the process of establishing a timescale for implementation, and all colleagues joining us will be included in these changes. We want to reassure everyone that whichever route is taken to reach the new terms and conditions, we can honour continuous service and there will not be any job reduction as a result of the implementation of Pay and Reward.  If you have any questions at all about this process, please feel free to raise this with the hiring manager.