Housing Standards Officer

Westminster City Council

Housing Standards Officer

Reference: WCC613603

Salary range: £40,005 - £46,053 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 24 months
Closing date: 7 July 2024
Contact details for Informal discussion: Matthew Willetts, Team Manager, via email: MWILLETTS@WESTMINSTER.GOV.UK

Apply link: Apply - Westminster City Council (environmentalhealthjobswestminster.co.uk)

About Us:

THE EXTRAORDINARY STORY OF THE POWER OF EMPOWERMENT

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

Natasha started her career in the NHS. She came to Westminster to do more for vulnerable people. When a family in her community reached out to her after their heating was cut off, Natasha took their situation seriously. Living in terrible conditions, and reaching desperation, they had nowhere else to turn. Natasha stepped in, holding the landlord to account and getting them to improve conditions for the family. These are the moments that make her the proudest. Now, she uses her expertise and experience to empower others. 

The Role:

As a Housing Standards Officer within our experienced and friendly Environmental Health Service, you can make your own powerful contribution to the wellbeing of Westminster’s residents – all while honing your professional expertise in a truly exceptional team! Working with privately-rented housing stock that is unparalleled in terms of its diversity, you will have the opportunity to support people from every walk of life as you ensure their homes are safe, well-managed and free from hazards. As such, you will support teams from a variety of specialist areas, responding to complaints of a residential nature, in order to promote residents’ health and wellbeing.  

With a breadth of projects to get involved in, you will find every day is more interesting than last, as you deepen your knowledge and gain the expertise you need to support colleagues in their initiatives – so if you are keen to learn and further your career, you will find this is the role for you. Specifically, you will conduct routine and unplanned inspections, ensuring that property owners are meeting the relevant legislative standards and expectations, and guiding them on the steps they need to take to be compliant with the law. Responding to complaints from tenants and other interested parties, you will see to it that these people feel supported throughout your investigations and any follow-up actions. Highlighting risks you will take action to improve conditions through engagement, education, and enforcement.

Please refer to the Job Description for more information.

About You:

Regardless of whether you are new to the housing sector, or you already have some experience and are looking for an interesting role within an iconic borough, we are confident that you will excel with us if you are a team-player who has plenty of initiative. This will mean you are organised, with the ability to manage your own workload and meet agreed targets and deadlines.

This is a customer-facing role, so you will need to build relationships quickly, in order to gain the trust of residents, some of whom will be vulnerable. You will therefore be a good listener with great verbal and written communication skills, plus the confidence to respond to complaints and bring complex situations to a positive resolution. 

With either experience in a Housing Standards role, or a similar housing or enforcement-related role, you will be able to translate legislation, procedures and requirements for a variety of interested stakeholders, ensuring property-owners understand what will happen if they do not comply with the expected standards. IT literate (with proficiency in Microsoft Office), we will expect you to either have a knowledge of, or be able to quickly understand, the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS). 

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: 7 July 2024

Contact details for Informal discussion: Matthew Willetts, Team Manager, via email: MWILLETTS@WESTMINSTER.GOV.UK