Access Development Officer (Cycling) - Hampshire County Council

[HCC]

Job advert some might be interested in!

http://myjobs.hants.gov.uk/vacancy/jobdetail.aspx?ID=EWORK01$IT2000$00082317

http://tinyurl.com/87cq3

* Location: Winchester
* Advertisement No: 7009
* Salary: £24,708 - £26,157 (temporary for 3 years)
* Hours: 37 hours per week
* Grade: Not Applicable

As part of our small but dynamic team, you will plan, develop and
promote access for cycling in Hampshire.

Working in partnership with other organisations and individuals, you
will be responsible for implementing the Recreational Cycling Strategy
and contributing to the development of the Countryside Access Plan for
Hampshire. This will involve developing a strong relationship with Local
Transport Planning colleagues, putting forward new and innovative
projects that fulfil strategic objectives and the management of
feasibility studies across the county.

Educated to degree level or equivalent, you will have experience of
liaising and negotiating with a wide range of partners and up to two
years' experience of project planning and management. Motivated and
committed, you will have the ability to work on your own initiative
along with first class communication and presentation skills.

This post is temporary for 3 years.

 

[wafflycat]

"HCC" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...

>
> Educated to degree level or equivalent, you will have experience of
> liaising and negotiating with a wide range of partners and up to two
> years' experience of project planning and management. Motivated and
> committed, you will have the ability to work on your own initiative along
> with first class communication and presentation skills.
>
> This post is temporary for 3 years.


Hmm... seems it is not a requirement of the post to do with cycling that you
need to be a cyclist... Shame really. The most obvious & important skill is
not required. Que sera.

Cheers, helen s

 

[Tony Raven]

wafflycat wrote:
>
>
>
> Hmm... seems it is not a requirement of the post to do with cycling that
> you need to be a cyclist... Shame really. The most obvious & important
> skill is not required. Que sera.
>

It would be an advantage but as I read it this is primarily off-road
leisure cycling access and not road cycling facilities.

--
Tony

"A facility for quotation covers the absence of original thought" Lord
Peter Wimsey (Dorothy L. Sayers)

 

[Tilly]

On Tue, 24 May 2005 20:35:22 +0100, Tony Raven <[email protected]>
wrote:

>It would be an advantage but as I read it this is primarily off-road
>leisure cycling access and not road cycling facilities.

*As part of our small but dynamic team, you will plan, develop and
promote access for cycling in Hampshire.*

It's funny how we read different meaning into these things.

I read *develop and promote access for cycling* to mean develop and
promote cycling among those groups under represented as cyclists.

 

[Tony Raven]

Tilly wrote:
> On Tue, 24 May 2005 20:35:22 +0100, Tony Raven <[email protected]>
> wrote:
>
>
>>It would be an advantage but as I read it this is primarily off-road
>>leisure cycling access and not road cycling facilities.
>
>
> *As part of our small but dynamic team, you will plan, develop and
> promote access for cycling in Hampshire.*
>
> It's funny how we read different meaning into these things.
>
> I read *develop and promote access for cycling* to mean develop and
> promote cycling among those groups under represented as cyclists.

You need to read the fuller job description on the web site where its
all about Countryside Access Plans and Rights of Way Improvement Plans.

--
Tony

"A facility for quotation covers the absence of original thought" Lord
Peter Wimsey (Dorothy L. Sayers)

 

[John Burns]

> Hmm... seems it is not a requirement of the post to do with cycling that you
> need to be a cyclist... Shame really. The most obvious & important skill is
> not required. Que sera.

Quite. You can easily see that the person who designed the cycle paths
for NCN7 in Strathspey hadn't been on a bike for a number of years
either :-(

--
Who needs a life when you've got Unix?
Email: [email protected], John G.Burns B.Eng, Bonny Scotland
Web : http://www.unixnerd.demon.co.uk - The Ultimate BMW Homepage!
Need Sun or HP Unix kit? http://www.unixnerd.demon.co.uk/unix.html

 

[citizen142]

As a Welshman I am (reluctantly) prepared to accept that English is
the most beautiful language in the world!

Who writes this jargonistic ****. Why do Councils when they advertise
positions have to mutilate and debase the language? I envisage some
'jobs worth' with a fully paid up membership of the talking bollocks
society trying to embellish, obfuscate and mystify something that is
in essence very simple. We have a job, are you interested, are you
qualified, if so apply. Then again it strikes me that plumbers,
carpenters, plasterers, car mechanics et al have skills that if they
can't prove and justify on a daily basis will soon find themselves out
of work. It just seems to me that the only way these overpaid nobodys
can justify their council tax paid jobs is to try and appear as clever
as possible.

Sorry - rant over - they just drive me mad.

 

[Helen Deborah Vecht]

"citizen142" <[email protected]>typed


> As a Welshman I am (reluctantly) prepared to accept that English is
> the most beautiful language in the world!

> Who writes this jargonistic ****. Why do Councils when they advertise
> positions have to mutilate and debase the language? I envisage some
> 'jobs worth' with a fully paid up membership of the talking bollocks
> society trying to embellish, obfuscate and mystify something that is
> in essence very simple. We have a job, are you interested, are you
> qualified, if so apply. Then again it strikes me that plumbers,
> carpenters, plasterers, car mechanics et al have skills that if they
> can't prove and justify on a daily basis will soon find themselves out
> of work. It just seems to me that the only way these overpaid nobodys
> can justify their council tax paid jobs is to try and appear as clever
> as possible.

> Sorry - rant over - they just drive me mad.


Send your rant, and a specimen of the gobbledigook to the Plain English
Society. You could win HCC a prize...

--
Helen D. Vecht: [email protected]
Edgware.

 

[David Martin]

Time to run this through Gobble2Real..

> Working in partnership with other organisations and individuals,
< This job involves herding cats. You will have to try and persuade a
bunch of people with different agendas to do things for you and when
they don't you get the blame
> you will be responsible for implementing the Recreational Cycling Strategy
< We'll blame you for not being able to get this done
> and contributing to the development of the Countryside Access Plan for
Hampshire.
< the cyclists of Hampshire will also blame you for not getting
anything done
> This will involve developing a strong relationship with Local
Transport Planning colleagues,
< Local Transport colleagues will block anything you try to do.
> putting forward new and innovative projects that fulfil strategic objectives and the management of
feasibility studies across the county.
< You don't have to be able to do anything concrete, just prepare loads
of strategy ideas and then work with your other colleagues to find out
why they will never happen.

> Educated to degree level or equivalent, you will have experience of
liaising and negotiating with a wide range of partners and up to two
years' experience of project planning and management.
< we want someone who is intelligent enough to not need much
supervision but not experienced enough to realise they are being
politically hamstrung.

> Motivated and committed, you will have the ability to work on your own initiative
along with first class communication and presentation skills.
< Don't expect any management support, and you'd better be able to come
up with dammned good explainations on demand.

> This post is temporary for 3 years
< We don't want to risk gettign anyone productive in the post long
term.

Anyone still interested?

...d

 

[Robert Bruce]

Roedd <<wafflycat>> wedi ysgrifennu:


> Hmm... seems it is not a requirement of the post to do with cycling
> that you need to be a cyclist... Shame really. The most obvious &
> important skill is not required. Que sera.

Specifying 'cyclist' might lead to accusations of dissuading disabled people
from applying. /We/ know that plenty of disabled people cycle, but it's
general perceptions that count.

--
Rob

http://www.asta51.dsl.pipex.com/webcam/

 

[Simon Brooke]

in message <[email protected]>, Tony Raven
('[email protected]') wrote:

> wafflycat wrote:
>>
>> Hmm... seems it is not a requirement of the post to do with cycling
>> that you need to be a cyclist... Shame really. The most obvious &
>> important skill is not required. Que sera.
>
> It would be an advantage but as I read it this is primarily off-road
> leisure cycling access and not road cycling facilities.

Even more important, then, that the appointed officer be a good and
knowledgeable cyclist. Many 'off-road liesure' cycling facilities are
dreadful, but the best are very good indeed, and it's the person in
this post who will make the difference.

--
[email protected] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

;; better than your average performing pineapple

 

[Alan Braggins]

In article <[email protected]>, Robert Bruce wrote:
>Roedd <<wafflycat>> wedi ysgrifennu:
>
>> Hmm... seems it is not a requirement of the post to do with cycling
>> that you need to be a cyclist... Shame really. The most obvious &
>> important skill is not required. Que sera.
>
>Specifying 'cyclist' might lead to accusations of dissuading disabled people
>from applying. /We/ know that plenty of disabled people cycle, but it's
>general perceptions that count.

There are also people who now longer cycle because of disability, but have
cycling experience. Just specifying 'cyclist' might unfairly put them off.

 

[JohnB]

Alan Braggins wrote:
>
> In article <[email protected]>, Robert Bruce wrote:
> >Roedd <<wafflycat>> wedi ysgrifennu:
> >
> >> Hmm... seems it is not a requirement of the post to do with cycling
> >> that you need to be a cyclist... Shame really. The most obvious &
> >> important skill is not required. Que sera.
> >
> >Specifying 'cyclist' might lead to accusations of dissuading disabled people
> >from applying. /We/ know that plenty of disabled people cycle, but it's
> >general perceptions that count.
>
> There are also people who now longer cycle because of disability, but have
> cycling experience. Just specifying 'cyclist' might unfairly put them off.

I would have expected that someone who was developing cycle routes would
be able to cycle them.
I'm not sure how this works under disability/equal opportunities legislation.

John B

 

[Just zis Guy, you know?]

On Thu, 26 May 2005 11:44:32 +0100, JohnB <[email protected]> wrote:

>I would have expected that someone who was developing cycle routes would
>be able to cycle them.

That's a novel idea!
Guy
--
May contain traces of irony. Contents liable to settle after posting.
http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk

88% of helmet statistics are made up, 65% of them at CHS, Puget Sound

 

[JohnB]

"Just zis Guy, you know?" wrote:
>
> On Thu, 26 May 2005 11:44:32 +0100, JohnB <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> >I would have expected that someone who was developing cycle routes would
> >be able to cycle them.
>
> That's a novel idea!

Too radical :-(

John B

 

[David Hansen]

On Thu, 26 May 2005 12:14:18 +0100 someone who may be "Just zis Guy,
you know?" <[email protected]> wrote this:-

>>I would have expected that someone who was developing cycle routes would
>>be able to cycle them.
>
>That's a novel idea!

It will never catch on.


--
David Hansen, Edinburgh | PGP email preferred-key number F566DA0E
I will always explain revoked keys, unless the UK government
prevents me by using the RIP Act 2000.

 

[Andy Key]

In message <[email protected]>, HCC <[email protected]> writes
>Job advert some might be interested in!
>
>http://myjobs.hants.gov.uk/vacancy/jobdetail.aspx?ID=EWORK01$IT2000$00082317


Can I just point out that the address used by the original poster,
"[email protected]", is NOT a genuine Hampshire County Council email
address.

(In fact hcc.gov.uk is not a genuine domain name and is unlikely to
become one, unless the .gov.uk registrars have a momentary lapse.)

If you want to contact someone at the Council about this job, the
address to use is [email protected] .

Andy

 

[Andy Key]

In message <[email protected]>, citizen142
<[email protected]> writes
>As a Welshman I am (reluctantly) prepared to accept that English is
>the most beautiful language in the world!
>
>Who writes this jargonistic ****. Why do Councils when they advertise
>positions have to mutilate and debase the language? I envisage some
>'jobs worth' with a fully paid up membership of the talking bollocks
>society trying to embellish, obfuscate and mystify something that is
>in essence very simple. We have a job, are you interested, are you
>qualified, if so apply. Then again it strikes me that plumbers,
>carpenters, plasterers, car mechanics et al have skills that if they
>can't prove and justify on a daily basis will soon find themselves out
>of work. It just seems to me that the only way these overpaid nobodys
>can justify their council tax paid jobs is to try and appear as clever
>as possible.
>
>Sorry - rant over - they just drive me mad.
>
>
If you're capable of rewriting that into a constructive comment then do
send some feedback to the Council. There's a "Contact Us" button at the
top of every page on the website. Use the "Comments and Complaints" form
(https://www.hants.gov.uk/complaints/comment.html) and you'll trigger a
formal process that requires them to read and answer your comments
within strict time-limits.

Maybe you should apply. I think you'll find this "simple" job is rather
more complicated than you give it credit for. It's certainly not one
that's easy to summarise into a couple of paragraphs.

Of course you might prefer just to continue your tirade against council
staff here, safe in the knowledge that none of them will ever read this
newsgroup and answer you back. In which case... Surprise!

 

[Tony Raven]

citizen142 wrote:
>
> Who writes this jargonistic ****. Why do Councils when they advertise
> positions have to mutilate and debase the language? I envisage some
> 'jobs worth' with a fully paid up membership of the talking bollocks
> society trying to embellish, obfuscate and mystify something that is
> in essence very simple. We have a job, are you interested, are you
> qualified, if so apply. Then again it strikes me that plumbers,
> carpenters, plasterers, car mechanics et al have skills that if they
> can't prove and justify on a daily basis will soon find themselves out
> of work. It just seems to me that the only way these overpaid nobodys
> can justify their council tax paid jobs is to try and appear as clever
> as possible.
>
> Sorry - rant over - they just drive me mad.
>
>

Have you ever been involved in public body recruitment? Its very
different to recruitment in the private sector. Applicants can and
frequently do challenge why they were not short-listed or appointed and
there is a need to give a reasoned factual case against the criteria
specified for the job and the person - the private sector "you were not
good enough/the best candidate, go away" will not do.

So the use of language is heavily influenced by the defensive culture -
a bit like the "Warning: This hot drink is hot" labels - although some
do take it too far IMO.

--
Tony

"A facility for quotation covers the absence of original thought" Lord
Peter Wimsey (Dorothy L. Sayers)

 

[citizen142]

If you feel slighted - I apologise to you and your colleagues.

I stand by my statements.

Hampshire CC is no better or worse than my local Council who advertise
their vacancies via a free Newsletter. Reading the ridiculous language
they use in the description of the attributes required for their
vacancies makes me fume and laugh at the same time. I don't think that
I am alone in finding this mutilation of the English language
annoying.

If you do a 'Google' thus

jargon+bollocks

you will be entertained for hours - or annoyed!

It just crosses my mind that perhaps the 'copy writers' of such
convoluted phraseology should be encouraged to read the novels, essays
and letters of George Orwell who - to my mind - was a master of good,
simple but succinct English.