Building Surveyor WCC619232

Job Details:

Salary range: £54,684 - £60,795 per annum
Work location: Westminster City Hall, 64 Victoria Street, Westminster, SW1E 6QP
Hours per week: 36 
Contract type: Permanent 
Closing date: 3 January 2025
Interview date:  6 and 7 January 2025 
Contact details for Informal discussion: Anees Khan, Building Inspector via email on AKHAN12@WESTMINSTER.GOV.UK

About Us:

THE EXTRAORDINARY STORY OF KATE’S PASSION FOR NUMBERS AND PEOPLE.

Housing in Westminster City Council is a world of extraordinary stories. Where dedicated and compassionate professionals bring everything to their work. 

Take Kate, an absolute wizard at managing housing asset data for our annual £50m capital programme. Kate’s an inspiration to her team. Now a senior manager, she first joined as a college leaver in finance. Through Westminster’s encouragement, as well as her own hard work and determination, she’s gained professional qualifications and taken on a series of increasingly stretching roles.  

Today, we depend on Kate’s analytical powers to keep track of the condition of over 21,000 of our tenanted and leasehold homes – from roofs and windows to kitchens and bathrooms. Kate’s committed to achieving the Decent Homes Standard for all our tenants and a high standard for all our leaseholders. Her passion is numbers but, because she grew up in social housing, she also understands the human stories behind the data. 
More than that she understands the disruption renewal work entails. So when an elderly resident’s family mentioned that their mother needed not just a new kitchen, but adaptations to her bathroom, Kate got right on to it. She co-ordinated with colleagues to assess the resident’s disability needs. 

Kate’s worked hard to ensure our routine external and internal stock condition surveys pick up on repairs and health & safety issues at the same time. And, by recognising patterns in the data that’s gathered, she makes a vital contribution to forward planning for large-scale capital renewal works. 

The Role:

As a Building Surveyor (Void Work), you can make your own powerful contribution to our mission: to ensure residents across Westminster have the very best. Both are important positions in helping to make sure we meet our targets for providing temporary accommodation that meets residents’ needs for a safe, secure and warm home. The provision of stable and affordable housing is a challenge across London. It’s one that you’ll help our Borough meet head-on. 

Our housing portfolio is significant, with around 22,000 homes. There’s scope to make a big difference. With a range of void works at various stages of construction across Westminster, you’ll enjoy the challenge of managing multiple projects at once. You’ll visit sites regularly and produce progress reports. Targets and deadlines can be urgent, so you’ll be ready to adapt and prioritise to make sure we deliver for people. Great communication will be key to your success – from briefing contractors, through to arranging joint visits with colleagues in the Housing team and making are their requirements are included in the scope of works. 

Your portfolio of responsibilities will span safety assurance, pre-void work checks, post-void work reviews, compliance and risk management, as well as acquisition support. Our hybrid system means you can work two or three days a week at home. With all staff in the office together every Wednesday, it’s easy to tap into a wealth of diverse experience and perspectives. You’ll discover a supportive and welcoming environment in which you’ll be supported in your day-to-day activities and in the development of your career. We champion your long-term ambitions through training and development, including regular CPD events.
 

Please refer to the Job Description for more information. 

About You:

A proactive individual with a flair for analytical thinking, you have the ability to adapt and thrive in a fast-paced environment. MRICS or MCIOB qualified, with a valid UK building inspection certificate you’ll bring to the role a proven track record in overseeing large-scale construction projects. Your track record reflects your commitment to safety, efficiency and meticulous attention to detail. Together with a deep understanding of UK building codes and regulation, you’ll bring to the role proficiency in modern building inspection tools and software. Crucially, you’ll also have the ability to develop and manage relationships with a wide range of people – from contractors to senior council members.

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 ( GM), people who are Black, Asian, Brown, dual-heritage, indigenous to the global south, and or have been racialised as 'ethnic minorities' (formally known as B.A.M.E , Black, Asian and multiple ethnic) 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.