Principal Officer - Environmental Health Consultation Team

Westminster City Council

Principal Officer - Environmental Health Consultation Team

Reference: WCC617599

Salary range: £53,109 – £56,151 per annum
Work location: Westminster City Hall, 64 Victoria Street, Westminster, SW1E 6QP
Hours per week: This job is available part-time, as a job-share, or full-time. This is because we want the best people for our roles and we recognise that sometimes those people aren’t available full-time.
Contract type: Temporary up to 12 months
Closing date: 18 August 2024
Interview date: Week commencing 2 September 2024
Contact details for Informal discussion: Nicola Curtis, Team Leader, via email: NCURTIS@WESTMINSTER.GOV.UK

About Us:

THE EXTRAORDINARY STORY OF KUDZY'S TRAVELS

Environmental Health at Westminster City Council is a world of extraordinary stories, where passionate and expert professionals go above and beyond for their colleagues every day.

Kudzy knows the streets of Westminster like the back of her hand. Her office can be anywhere. Market stalls, spas, carnivals, hotels, even backstage at an Adele concert. She’s travelled more than most have in a lifetime without leaving Westminster. She’s an Environmental Health Officer like no other. But, for her, seeing the difference her work makes to communities is the real highlight. For some, it’s financial lifelines, for others it’s the open sign on the restaurant they’ve always dreamed of. For Kudzy, it’s the smiles on her customers’ faces.                                                                                                    The Role:

As a Principal Officer providing 12 month maternity cover for our Environmental Health Consultation team you can make your own powerful contribution to Westminster’s success. The team is responsible for a varied workload including food safety, health and safety, licensing, noise, public safety, planning and special events. Our ambition is to ensure that everyone in our borough enjoys a clean, safe and quiet environment, and our Public Protection and Licensing service is at the heart of this vision. When you join us, you’ll be an expert source of knowledge, supervising and mentoring less experienced staff on case-related activities, enforcement techniques, policies and procedures. Leading the delivery of high profile and complex cases, you’ll work collaboratively as you help to build a sustainable and highly effective organisation while developing our reputation as a council delivering great value for its residents.

Identifying risk and supporting the resolution of issues and informed decision making, you’ll have an important influence on the development of services and delivery of projects and programmes. Liaising, communicating and building effective relationships with your council colleagues and across partners, agencies and the wider local and central government community, we’ll also expect you to monitor, analyse and where appropriate, manage delegated budgets, funding and resources.

You’ll have a number of additional responsibilities – these include contributing to the development of outcome-based processes and income generation opportunities that help us achieve good value for money. You’ll also ensure legal, regulatory, policy and procedural compliance while working as a key member of a diverse and inclusive team that identifies with our community and models positive values and behaviours.

Please refer to the Job Description for more information.

About You:

With a degree or diploma in Environmental Health or relevant qualifications and practical working experience, you’ll be capable of responding to complex complaints from the public, stakeholders and public elected members. Skilled at using your knowledge and expertise to make effective and appropriate decisions while retaining an awareness of reputational risk management, you’ll possess the ability to develop policies, procedures and working practices with a range of agencies and professionals.

It's important that you have experience of designing and delivering training, and of providing colleagues with the up-to-date knowledge they’ll need to do their work effectively. Skilled at implementing and overseeing quality and assurance processes, reporting frameworks and identifying development needs, you’ll also be ready to offer the support and mentoring required to ensure our service operates consistently and to the highest standards.

Skilled at designing, developing and managing projects that improve the delivery of the services we offer, you’ll be an inspiration and motivating communicator, educator and influencer. You should also be prepared to occasionally work outside normal hours, attending meetings, undertaking inspections and engaging with residents. 

The Council is committed to achieving diverse shortlists to support our desire to increase the number of staff from underrepresented groups in our workforce. We especially encourage applications from a global majority background and, while the role is open to all applicants, we will utilise the positive action provisions of the Equality Act 2010 to appoint a candidate from a global majority background where there is a choice between two candidates of equal merit. If you are from a Global Majority background you can self-declare this to the hiring manager as part of our positive action commitments.

What We Offer:

Westminster is an amazing place. We are home to more than 200,000 residents from all backgrounds, over 50,000 vibrant and vital businesses and three-quarters-of-a-million people work in Westminster. 

Westminster City Council’s strategy is to work towards a Fairer Westminster. A Fairer Westminster is one in which our communities are at the heart of our decision-making and help to determine the city’s future. By working directly with our communities and other partners, we can build a more inclusive city that celebrates our diverse communities, and where residents, workers and visitors from all backgrounds will feel welcome and safe.

At Westminster City Council, we pride ourselves on being an inclusive workplace and employer of choice. We encourage and welcome applications from people from all backgrounds and aim to have a workforce that, at all levels, represents the communities we serve. We champion equality, diversity, inclusion and wellbeing and aim to create a workplace where everyone feels valued, has a sense of belonging and is empowered to be their best, that is the Westminster Way. To find out more about how we do this visit https://www.westminster.gov.uk/health-and-social-care/public-health-strategy-policies-and-reports/equality-duties

As a forward thinking Council we appreciate that people work in different ways, therefore our staff benefit from working a range of flexible working patterns as well as Agile working.

The Council is a Disability Confident Employer. If you have declared a disability in your application, we guarantee an interview if you meet the essential criteria of the job. If you are invited for interview, you will be asked if you need any reasonable adjustments in order to attend, and we will make these wherever possible.

Closing date: 18 August 2024

Interview date: Week commencing 2 September 2024

Contact details for Informal discussion: Nicola Curtis, Team Leader, via email: NCURTIS@WESTMINSTER.GOV.UK