Team Leader WCC618703

Job Details:

Salary range: £53,109 - £59,220 per annum 
Work location: Westminster City Hall, 64 Victoria Street, SW1E 6QP
Hours per week: 36
Contract type: Permanent 
Vetting requirements: Enhanced DBS Check
Closing date: 29 October 2024
Contact details for an informal discussion: Mark Chalmers, Head of Community Safety and Specialist Services via email at MCHALMERS@WESTMINSTER.GOV.UK

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 a Team Leader in our Resident Support Services team you can make your own powerful contribution to Westminster’s success. Managing the operational delivery of Pest Control and the Handyperson Service, you’ll be responsible for ensuring your team meets the relevant requirements and needs, and delivers continuous service improvement to enhance the quality of life, safety and wellbeing of the people in our diverse communities.

Managing projects and programmes of change that contribute to the effective delivery of the work we do, you’ll focus on improving our efficiency and customer service, with a particular focus on reducing risk and harm. Developing positive relationships with Council colleagues and our external partners, you’ll establish a coordinated and integrated approach to the management of our services by ensuring that all relevant stakeholders are consulted on the programmes and major projects we undertake. 

Leading by example as you model and embed our values, we’ll expect you to work collaboratively with your colleagues, partners and other stakeholders as we build a sustainable and highly effective organisation. You should be aware that on occasion you may be required to work outside normal hours, for example to attend meetings, undertake inspections or speak to residents. And because we want the best people for our roles and recognise that sometimes those people aren’t available full-time, this role is offered part-time, as a job-share, or full-time.

Please refer to the Job Description for more information.

About You:

With a successful track record of leading and developing a team of officers in a large multi-disciplined organisation with comparable scope, budgets and resources to ours, you’ll have experience of managing resources, budgets, quality and performance. Skilled at establishing productive working relationships within a complex policy and service environment, you’ll also be capable of building good relationships with senior colleagues, partner organisations, communities, public agencies and statutory bodies.

You should have good knowledge of the issues facing local government and those relevant to service or functional responsibilities, together with the legal, financial and political context of public sector management. We’ll also look for the ability to manage political and cultural issues, deliver project, programme and change management programmes, and translate strategic objectives into operational plans.

You’ll be ready to use your excellent interpersonal abilities to inspire, motivate and develop team members to high levels of performance, while your communication, relationship and stakeholder management skills will allow you to positively influence everyone you work with. We’ll also expect you to use your financial and budget management skills to deliver economies through efficient working practices. Ready to demonstrate personal leadership on the importance of equity and diversity, you should also be committed to ensuring that our working environment is supportive, collaborative and respectful.

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.