Public Health Funerals Officer WCC618958

Job Details:

Salary range: £31,716 - £35,862 per annum
Work location: Westminster Public Mortuary, 1 Regency Place, London, SW1P 2EB
Hours per week: 36 
Contract type: Permanent   
Closing date: 3 November 2024
Contact details for Informal discussion: Ray Sassa, Senior APT, via email rsassa@westminster.gov.uk or 020 7641 2066

About Us:

THE EXTRAORDINARY STORY OF KEITH’S TRANSFORMATIONAL WORK

Public Protection & Licensing in Westminster City Council is a world of extraordinary stories. Where people like Keith and his team are passionate about keeping our borough clean, safe, healthy and free of pests.

Pest control might not sound like the most glamorous job, but to Keith it’s the best job in the world. As our Senior Pest Control Technician, it’s his task to see that Westminster is kept free of the sort of pests which can cause worry, fear, discomfort and – in the worst cases – illness. He and his dedicated team work tirelessly across the entire borough, from restaurants and cafés to parks and gardens, and from shops and offices to houses and flats.

Keith started his career in research and development for the private sector, before becoming a field biologist and then joining us here in Westminster. To begin with he was on a two year contract but when this was about to end he was asked to stay, and he’s been here ever since, working his way up the career ladder, and is now leading his team.
No two days are the same for him and the team, but the best ones are when they’re called out to help a family who are suffering from an infestation of – for example – mice, and this is not only making their lives a misery, but is creating unhealthy living conditions. But once the team have finished their work all of a sudden the family’s lives are transformed, they feel safer living in their own home, and can sleep peacefully at night without the worry discomfort and noise of tiny little feet scurrying around.

And on top of this, he believes that if you love your job, and are passionate about what you can achieve, you can build a fulfilling, rewarding and truly life-changing career at Westminster. 

The Role:

As Public Health Funerals Officer in our Mortality Management team, you can make your own powerful contribution to Westminster’s success. Taking responsibility for our Client Financial Affairs function, including all aspects of property protection and the arrangement of public funerals, it’ll be your task to ensure appropriate contact with relatives, the implementation of funeral wishes and the administration of estates. This will involve meeting with service users, the relatives of deceased people, service providers and solicitors.

We’ll expect you to carry out searches of deceased clients’ homes in order to determine the existence of a will, the financial position and next of kin, and decide on the most appropriate funeral. This will depend on legal, religious and cultural requirements, the financial and contractual constraints, and the source for funding, and you’ll also assess if the criteria for a Council funeral or property protection are met. You’ll then create client files to ensure all actions are accurately recorded, refer the case to the funeral contractor, and negotiate and agree the cost. You’ll also be responsible for ensuring effective liaison with Government departments and other external agencies.

For all Council arranged funerals, you’ll be responsible for informing the relevant agencies of the death of the client, settle the funeral account and any other bills, end tenancies and return keys to landlords. We’ll also expect you to claim credits due to the estate and any expenses due to the Council, liaise with solicitors appointed by the deceased, their executor or next of kin, and on receipt of the appropriate authority, hand over any property held by the Council.

Please refer to the Job Description for more information

About You:

To be a success in this role you’ll possess well developed experience of operational delivery and successful resources management, and the ability to ensure that statutory requirements and community needs are met while mitigating risk and delivering excellent customer service. You should have worked in a complex organisation of similar size and scope to ours, and be capable of maintaining a budget and undergoing internal audits.

Given the sensitive nature of this role you’ll have experience of dealing with people in difficult or emotional circumstances, excellent organisational skills and the ability to work unsupervised. Ready to make judgements in complex situations that achieve the best outcomes for services users and the Council, you’ll also be capable of managing the storage, recording, retrieval and disposal of our clients’ property.

It's important that you have sound IT skills with a particular focus on word-processing, spreadsheets and databases, and the ability to produce clear and concise reports and correspondence to a variety of audiences. We’ll also expect you to be dedicated to the principles of equity and diversity, and committed to promoting a supportive, collaborative and respectful workplace.

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.