Principal Officer - Residential - 03863 - advertised on behalf of West Berkshire Council

Please now complete a short online application form by following this link:

https://ce1000li.webitrent.com/ce1000li_webrecruitment/wrd/run/etrec179gf.open?WVID=252486050l&LANG=USA&VACANCY_ID=4317564e9k

You will then be able to upload your CV.

This vacancy is being advertised on behalf of West Berkshire Council - Public Protection Partnership PPP

Public Protection Partnership PPP is a shared environmental health, licensing and trading standards service for Bracknell Forest and West Berkshire in Berkshire.

About the Role

We are seeking an Environmental Health Practitioner to manage the EH Housing team and, as such, working under the Strategic Manager, provide the direction for this service.

Housing is one of the highest priority areas for both Councils in the shared service and you will be leading the team to ensure that the residents in our Boroughs have safe housing. In addition, you will be ensuring the continued implementation of the Renters Rights Act.

We offer a unique and dynamic working environment across Boroughs. The work and structure of PPP is based on the National Intelligence Model and we operate under a number of multidisciplinary functional areas to achieve the approved priorities.

This means there are plenty of exciting opportunities to experience a wide range of cases and projects. In addition, there is the variety of work that comes with operating across different Boroughs.

As the post offers a working environment across the PPP areas, you will be based in Theale, West Berkshire or Bracknell.

What We Offer

You will benefit from:

• A commitment to your professional and personal development
• A generous leave entitlement
• The opportunity to work flexibly

In return, we expect you to:

• Be a leader
• Have an eye for detail
• Be comfortable working under pressure
• Be organised, flexible and enthusiastic
• Have good communication skills
• Be able to work on your own initiative

Main Duties and Responsibilities of the EH Housing Team

• Inspections of private rented sector properties, responding to tenant complaints irrespective of tenure, drawing up schedules of condition & disrepair, and formal action as necessary
• Inspection and licensing of HMOs in line with current legislation
• Inspection of caravan sites – both licenced and unlicensed
• Proactive inspections of Commercial to Residential Conversions
• Renters Rights Act Enforcement

The Role of Principal Officer EH Housing

• Directly and indirectly manage a group of professional officers in the discipline of EH Housing
• Preparation and presentation of reports for internal and external body
• Maintain a watching brief on all aspects of local, regional and national policy and legislative development
• Support the Strategic Management Team in ensuring the delivery of strong performance against operational objectives
• Be responsible for motivation, monitoring, mentoring, training and development of staff to maintain an efficient and effective team capable of delivering the PPP’s objectives
• Lead the officers through enforcement cases
• Ensure that our processes and procedures are up to date and audited

The ideal candidate would have the following qualifications, skills and attributes:

• Certificate of Registration of the Environmental Health Registration Board or on the CIEH Professional Register
• A proven track record in all aspects of inspection and enforcement of EH Housing
• Experience of managing people
• A valid driving licence and access to a car for work

This role has the option for offering less hours than advertised, providing you meet the requirements of the role and service as determined by the recruiting manager.

Our offer to you

A competitive salary alongside a range of benefits including:

• We offer flexible working wherever possible between the hours of 07.00-19.00
• We offer hybrid working wherever possible working 40% in the office
• Access to a wide range of training and development opportunities
• Local Government Pension Scheme
• Death in service benefit
• Family friendly policies
• A range of local discounts
• Wellbeing Programme including Employee Assistance Programme and employee benefits
• You will also be entitled to a generous annual leave entitlement starting at 29 days per annum (plus public holidays) Rising by an additional 5 days after 5 years’ service.

Please note that the closing date is given as a guide. We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible to avoid disappointment.

All roles will be subject to an annual banding pay review until the top of the pay grade is reached (following successfully passing probation).

All roles will be eligible for the annual national pay award.

About us

West Berkshire council is a forward thinking and ambitious council. We have a positive attitude to our work and focus on excellent teamwork to deliver award winning services for our residents and businesses.

We employ over 1,500 members of staff corporately, plus additional members of staff working across our local schools and education settings. We offer a wide array of opportunities for training and development and varied career progression opportunities.

Our staff support the delivery of a wide range of services on behalf of the Council. Ranging from garden waste collection, planning and roadworks to caring for those in our communities. Everything we do is focused on our priority for improvement and delivering our values of fairness, integrity and being customer focused.

If you interested in working with us and want to know more, do not hesitate to contact Rosalynd Gater Strategic Manager Compliance and Programme on 01635 519098, or by e mail at Rosalynd.Gater@westberks.gov.uk

Equal Opportunities

The Council supports Equal Opportunity of employment and positively encourages applications from people who fall within any of the nine protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010.

This role has been identified as public facing in accordance with Part 7 of the Immigration Act 2016; the requirement to fulfil all spoken aspects of the role with confidence in English applies.

AI in Applications

We recognise that candidates may choose to use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support the preparation of their job applications. When used appropriately, AI can be a helpful aid in structuring responses, checking clarity, and improving presentation.

However, applications must reflect your own skills, experience and understanding. If an application appears to rely excessively on AI-generated content, it may not meet the required standard and could be rejected.

We encourage all applicants to ensure their submissions are authentic, tailored to the role, and clearly demonstrate their own knowledge, experience and suitability.