Job title: Counter Terrorism CONTEST Coordinator

Salary: PO6 (£51,356-£54,495)

Hours: 37 hours per week

Contract: Full-time, permanent

Location: Merrion House

As a Counter Terrorism CONTEST Coordinator you’ll thrive on leading a complex and high-profile area of work, focusing on the strategic delivery of the Council’s Prevent, Protect and Prepare. Your role and function will be central to supporting keeping the communities and people of Leeds safe and you will have the opportunity to have a meaningful impact on the city.

Leeds City Council is one of the largest employers in the region with over 14,000 employees. We seek to recruit and develop talented individuals who embody our council values and ambitions.

About you

As a Counter Terrorism CONTEST Coordinator, you will bring to the role:

In‑depth knowledge of Prevent, Protect and Prepare
Excellent strategic planning and risk management skills
Experience and confidence in delivering sensitive multi‑agency programmes
Ability to lead and develop others in a high‑profile environment

About the role

As our next Counter Terrorism CONTEST Coordinator you’ll shape how Leeds prepares for and responds to terrorism‑related risks, part of which includes ensuring the city is compliant with Protection of Premises Act (enforceable from April 2027). The Act will have far reaching implications for many organisations to ensure compliance to the legislation including additional training, security, public information and testing.

The co-ordinator role will also strategically support the Prevent agenda and will play a role in holding responsibility for the coordination, delivery and communication of all aspects of the local authority’s ‘Prevent’ work.

The role is integral to our Safer Stronger Communities team which leads the Council’s statutory responsibilities under the CONTEST strategy and works closely with West Yorkshire Police, and key stakeholders.

What we offer you

We take pride in offering the best employee experience, with benefits including:

a competitive salary and annual leave entitlement plus statutory holidays
membership of the West Yorkshire Pension Fund with generous employer contributions
flexible and hybrid working arrangements subject to service requirements

a clear career pathway and continuing professional development opportunities
a range of staff benefits to help you boost your wellbeing and make your money go further

How to apply

Please complete the online application form.

Read our guidancefor further advice on completing your application.

If you have any queries or would like an informal chat about the role please contact Andy Birkbeck, Head of Community Cohesion and Relations via email Andy.Birkbeck@leeds.gov.uk

We welcome applications from everyone and actively seek a diverse range of applicants from all backgrounds and cultures. We particularly encourage applications from, but not limited to, women, carers, veterans as well as LGBT+, ethnically diverse, disabled and care experienced people.
This role is based in the UK. Home Office guidance states that candidates must evidence their right to work in the UK prior to commencing employment, either as a UK or Irish citizen, under the EU Settlement scheme or having secured any other relevant work visa.

If you do not have the right to work in the UK, you must consider your own eligibility for sponsorship for a particular role through the Skilled Worker visaroute before applying. To be eligible for sponsorship you'll usually need to be paid the standard salary rate of at least £41,700 per year or meet one of the other eligibility criteria. Please ensure you are eligible before applying.

Job Description

Job Purpose: The role requires strategic oversight and planning of the Government’s counter-terrorism strategy, CONTEST, with focus on the Prevent, Protect and Prepare Strands. The aim of Prevent is to safeguard people from becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism. We do this by challenging terrorist ideology; supporting vulnerable people and supporting sectors and institutions where there are risks of radicalisation. Protect is part of CONTEST, the Government’s counter-terrorism strategy. The aim of Protect is for organisations to take responsibility of becoming prepared to act in response to a terrorist attack. The overall purpose is to better protect the public from injury and loss of life. The Protect agenda will introduce measures that intends to deter terrorism making carrying out a terrorist attack difficult whilst also ensuring responsible persons are equipped with training and knowledge to limit the impact of a terrorist attack. The Prepare is an additional part of CONTEST. The aim of Prepare is for organisations to focus on minimising the impact of a terrorist attack if it cannot be stopped and enabling a swift recovery.

A new piece of legislation that underpins the Protect and Prepare agenda called the Protection of Premises Act with full enforcement in April 2027). The Act will have far reaching implications for many organisations to ensure compliance to the legislation including additional training, security, public information and testing. The role of Counter Terrorism CONTEST Coordinator is to work with organisations in the preparation and completion of the required measures. To prepare the local authority regarding its own areas of requirement such as sports locations, publicity accessible locations and events

This is a high-profile role within the local authority, responsible for the coordination, delivery and communication of all aspects of the local authority’s ‘Protect & Prepare’ work. The Counter Terrorism CONTEST Coordinator will provide day to day leadership, management and delivery of Protect across the council and its statutory and non-statutory partnerships. The post holder will need to be politically astute and possess a strong understanding of the wider political landscape. The post holder will have excellent communication and influencing skills and will be expected to represent the council at various internal and external meetings, as well as to provide progress updates to senior council officers, elected members and others as required. Specific responsibilities include:

Coordinate all Protect and Prepare activity and support the coordination of the Prevent activity on behalf of the local authority.
Promote the CONTEST Strategy across both statutory and non-statutory partners, keeping up to date with changes and guidance issued by Homeland Security Group (HSG) and the implantation relating to Martyn’s Law
Ensure the local authority is complying with the Protect Duty statutory requirements as set out in the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025.
Ensure the local authority is complying with the Prevent Duty statutory requirements.
Develop, maintain and drive the delivery of a Protect and Prepare Delivery Plan in cooperation with key partners including the police and other relevant statutory partners. The plan will have clear priorities, actions, deliverables, timelines and owners. The Delivery Plan will be reviewed quarterly at board level.
Support the development, maintenance and drive the delivery of a Prevent Delivery Plan in cooperation with key partners including the police and other relevant statutory partners. The plan will have clear priorities, actions, deliverables, timelines and owners. The Delivery Plan will be reviewed quarterly at board level.
Ensure strong governance arrangements are in place to oversee and direct Protect work locally. This should be in the form of a Protect & Prepare Group or equivalent and should be chaired at senior level.
Work with the police and other relevant statutory partners to maintain an up-to-date threat picture and analysis of the nature and extent of the intelligence picture against which the Delivery Plan will deliver. To keep up to date with current trends regarding protect methods and ensure that senior leaders within the council have a clear understanding of the current local threat picture, along with all relevant statutory partners with responsibility for delivering Protect and Prevent objectives.
Work with local communities, including businesses, voluntary and community organisations to strengthen their understanding of Protect work and their capacity to deliver the necessary measure to be compliant with legislation.
Ensure connectivity between the CONTEST Strategy strands of work by working closely with the Prevent Coordinator
Develop and maintain effective working relationships with the full range of Protect & Prepare partners, including: police, regional HE/FE and Health Coordinators, businesses, schools, hospitals and places of worship and all other relevant statutory partners involved in delivering the Protect & Prepare agenda
Ensure that any blockages to delivering Protects & Prepare are escalated and resolved as quickly as possible, securing senior level support if necessary.
Identify individuals and groups requiring Protect & Prepare training and deliver/oversee delivery of training where required.
Responsible for developing, embedding and implementing Protect & Prepare policies and strategies in the local authority and with partners.
Support the development, embedding and implementation of Prevent policies and strategies in the local authority and partners.
Run and oversee projects that respond to the local threat, in consultation with HSG. Provide quarterly reports on their progress against outcomes and ensure that all returns are properly evidences and submitted within deadline.
Maintain good communication with HSG and alert them to any local issues impacting on successful Protect and Prepare delivery. Support HSG when requested, in arranging Ministerial or senior official visits and briefings.
Advise local, regional and national bodies on strategic development issues.

PERSONAL SPECIFICATION ESSENTIAL REQUIREMENTS: It is essential that the Candidate should be able to demonstrate the following criteria for the post within the context of the specific role duties and responsibilities: Candidates will only be shortlisted for interview if they can demonstrate on the application form that they meet all the essential requirements.

Method Of Assessment will be through one or more of the following Application Form, Test, Interview or Certificate.

Skills Required

Ability to sell ideas and concepts with the ability to articulate shared vision across a range of stakeholders and to negotiate effectively to achieve successful outcomes.
Provides creative solutions to problems and whilst considering policy and procedure is also confident in adopting (and justifying) novel or non standard approaches.
Business planning skills with ability to identify and assess risks, manage change and make long term plans which impacts on the whole service or the wider Council.
Demonstrates a high level of political awareness and links strategies for continuous improvement with the drive to achieve national, corporate and departmental standards and goals.
Demonstrates sound business intelligence and ability to identify commercially viable opportunities and secure value for money in service delivery.
Excellent financial planning skills to develop short, medium and long term financial plans with an ability to budget proactively with large, high-risk or volatile elements being identified and cross-referenced to operational activity.
Ability to exert positive influence over the performance of others, promoting others’ self-esteem, inspiring trust and fostering confidence in others’ ability to achieve high standards, thereby enhancing a performance orientated culture which supports the delivery of high quality services to the community.
Ability to provide visible and supportive leadership, which empowers, enables and develops staff to achieve results

Knowledge Required

Understanding of equality and diversity issues which affect local communities
Knowledge of the issues and threats associated with the delivery of the Governments Prevent Strategy
Knowledge of Community Safety issues locally and nationally
Knowledge of Safeguarding Policies and Procedures
Knowledge of Confidentiality Policies and GDPR framework
Understanding of community involvement, cohesion and community relation issues
High level of political awareness and links strategies for continuous improvement with the drive to achieve national, corporate and departmental standards and goals
Understanding of local government political systems
An understanding of the current issues facing local government and other key partners, in relation to Prevent
Educated to Degree level or equivalent in an area relevant to post or with commensurate operational experience

Experience Required

Experience of delivering highly sensitive work programmes and agendas.
Experience of working on locality based issues.
Experience of working effectively with others to deliver cross sector or cross service projects.
Working on community safety/neighbourhood issues.
Experience of community development, using a range of different techniques, which build the confidence and capacity of communities.
Working on community / neighbourhood issues to achieve prescribed objectives.
Working in a multi-agency setting to achieve shared objectives.
Experience of working with diverse communities and promoting dialogue with harder to reach communities.
Producing and implementing plans, monitoring and evaluating plans against objectives.
Experience in a service or operational area relevant to the area of service delivery in the remit of the post – e.g. community development.
Contributing to the development of projects and funding bids / packages of support.
Collating and analysing data to monitor service delivery and identify local needs.
Experience of responding to customer or community needs.
Experience of effectively working with regional partners and a range of government departments.

Behavioural & other Characteristics required

Willing to abide by the Council’s Equal Opportunities Policies in the duties of the post and as an employee of the Council
Willing to take personal responsibility under and abide by the Council’s Health and Safety Policies
High level of flexible and adaptable
Ability to resolve conflict
Prepared to undergo Home Office/ Police vetting and due diligence checks