Environmental Health Officer WCC616301

Job Details:

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: 20 October 2024
Interview date: 30 and 31 October 2024
Contact details for Informal discussion: Barbara Terres, Team Leader, 07971024125, or via email: BTERRES@WESTMINSTER.GOV.UK

About Us:

THE EXTRAORDINARY STORY OF MOHAMAD’S CUSTOMER SERVICE SKILLS

Public Protection & Licensing in Westminster City Council is a world of extraordinary stories. Where people are passionate about keeping our streets safe and clean.  

Take Mohamad, a City Inspector who looks after the Little Venice ward. No two days are the same for Mohamad when he's out and about conducting ward inspections. He could be doing a licensing premises inspection one day and advising businesses and residents on the proper way to handle their waste on another. But before he joined Westminster, he used to work in banking, where he honed his skills in customer service and people management. 

And those skills matters because, while he occasionally needs to enforce the law, his job is mostly about building strong relationships: educating businesses and residents about the impact of certain enviro-crimes. 

One day he came across some unmarked commercial waste dumped on Edgware Road. Following procedures, he investigated this waste, carefully collecting evidence. Yet, despite his attempts to make contact with the commercial premises, the owners wouldn’t cooperate. Digging deeper, he worked collaboratively with different Westminster departments such as businesses rates and licensing, and discovered multiple businesses registered at the same address. After issuing six different notices, three of the business failed to comply and were successfully prosecuted. 

So while Mohamad’s successfully swapped his financial know-how for expertise in local authority legislation, it’s his people skills and powers of persuasion he’s still proudest of. 

The Role:

As an Environmental Health Officer, you can make your own powerful contribution to the wellbeing of local residents by enforcing environmental health legislation and policies. With a focus on noise, air quality and contaminated land, our highly skilled Environmental Sciences team are contributing significantly to our Climate Emergency agenda by closely monitoring the impact of construction sites across the borough. Seeing to it that contractors and site managers are meeting our unwavering standards, you will respond to public complaints, and through site visits, inspections and audits, you will determine whether they are meeting the standards set out in our Code of Construction Practice. 

This is deeply interesting work that ultimately results in improvements in air quality and a reduction in noise, so you will have a tangible impact on the happiness of our residents and the success of local businesses. With plenty of autonomy to plan your day according to emerging priorities, you will often work alone, though you will also have the scope to work collaboratively with other teams and departments. For example, you will be expected to review Site Environmental Management Plans and comment on a vast range of interesting planning applications, and you will become a trusted advisor to site managers and developers who need support in tailoring their working practices or proposed plans. You will also contribute to planning policies and share your thoughts on how improvements could be made to Westminster’s noise climate and air quality, so you will be encouraged to develop your most ambitious ideas. 

Whether sharing your expertise at public events and exhibitions, representing the specifics of your cases at Committees, taking enforcement action against those who have not met your criteria, or championing environmental protection at the earliest stages of planning applications, every day will present you with the chance to make a significant impact on Westminster’s constantly evolving landscape. 

Please refer to the Job Description for more information.

For more information, please visit environmentalhealthjobswestminster.co.uk.

About You:

To excel in this multi-layered role, you will have great communication skills with the ability to manage challenging stakeholders. As a highly persuasive individual, you will know how to bring people round to your viewpoint, and you will have an unshakeable determination to make a positive environmental difference for the sake of our communities. Capable of working off your own initiative, but with a team-player mentality, you will find plenty of support from our experienced team. 

With great environmental health knowledge and a relevant degree or diploma, it would be helpful if you have experience of working in either the field of noise or air quality. This will ideally include working with members of the public plus stakeholders, handling their complaints and identifying ways in which you can use regulatory powers to resolve conflict. An understanding of gathering information and evidence, and the rules surrounding court proceedings would also be advantageous. Capable of translating your environmental health knowledge for a wide variety of audiences, you will ensure that every developer or construction worker understands the consequences and penalties if they do not comply with the expected standards. 

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.