North West Community Flood Resilience Support Services

Greater Manchester Combined Authority seeks a neutral intermediary organisation to help communities across the North West of England build resilience to flooding and coastal change. The provider will work between flood-affected or at-risk communities and flood risk management authorities (RMAs)—including 24 Lead Local Flood Authorities, 12 district councils, the Environment Agency, and United Utilities—to increase community resilience through engagement, education, and behaviour change. The service targets diverse communities including residents (homeowners and tenants), businesses, farmers, and agricultural operations, many in deprived areas requiring tailored engagement approaches. Key responsibilities include maintaining strict neutrality in all stakeholder relationships, helping communities understand RMA roles and responsibilities, supporting multi-partner engagement activities, providing accessible information without attributing blame, and managing a public-facing website with continuously updated resources. The provider must navigate the sensitive political context of flood risk management with professionalism, work constructively with RMA officers, local councillors, MPs, the Regional Flood and Coastal Committee, and five sub-regional Flood and Coastal Risk Management Partnerships, and take over management of an existing website (intellectual property held by the Environment Agency) while developing new content. This role is critical for reducing post-flooding tensions, building trust between communities and authorities, and supporting long-term resilience without adopting adversarial approaches.