Senior Environmental Health Officer/Practitioner Vacancy
Senior Environmental Health Officer/Senior Environmental Health Practitioner
£46,857- £49,890 (Grade PO5) per annum (plus £1000 Recruitment & Retention package)
If you enjoy working in a challenging, fast-paced environment and have a passion to tackle some of the worst properties, we have vacancies for fully qualified SEHO/SEHPs.
Newham is an exciting, vibrant inner-city borough that is committed to putting people at the heart of everything we do. It has one of the largest private rented sectors in England. Its Private Sector Housing Service is at the forefront of the regulation of this private sector through its pioneering borough wide property licensing schemes. Our schemes have protected Tenants and Landlords by creating a genuine and tangible deterrent for Criminal Landlords.
Over half of all families in Newham rent, many living in sub-standard dwellings and overcrowded Houses in Multiple Occupation. This presents a challenge and EHOs play a vital role in improving the lives and quality of living for this vulnerable sector.
We are very proud of what we have achieved so far and are looking to build upon this good work. Newham is alive with opportunity and we are looking for highly experienced, enthusiastic and professional individuals to continue to improve our private rented sector. From the outset of employment, there will be flexible working arrangements and training opportunities.
Newham is located only 5 miles (8 km) east of the City of London and north of the River Thames. Our Office is only 13mins from the M11 and 20mins from the M25.
The London Underground and Overground, the Docklands Light Railway (DLR), Buses and National Rail, which includes the new cross-London rail service (Elizabeth Line) that will stop close to our offices, serve public Transport in Newham.
We wish to recruit talented, hardworking individuals from not only London but across the Country. Newham offers a Relocation Package of up to £7000*, to provide assistance to newly appointed staff who are required to move home because of their appointment. *Subject to eligibility criteria.
About the Job
Our Private Sector Housing Standards team are looking for talented Senior Environmental Health Officers/Practitioners to work within private sector housing. The role includes carrying out multi-agency inspections of unlicensed properties and licence condition checks and inspecting properties in disrepair.
We are looking for experienced officers who can demonstrate a high level of recent experience and competencies in the following areas:
· Expert knowledge of the Housing Act 2004 and other housing legislation
· Significant practical experience of serving and enforcing the above
· Significant competency in using the HHSRS rating system and
· Significant practical experience in carrying out housing inspections for both disrepair and
property licensing issues
· Knowledge and experience of compiling evidence and taking cases to both court and the
First Tier Tribunal
You will be responsible for carrying out high standard regulatory work within the Private Rented Sector. In doing so you will be protecting tenants and making the private rented sector a fairer place to operate. You can expect a mix of casework and project work, supporting tenants, as well as working pro-actively to address both common and highly complex problems.
There will be opportunities to develop your professional skills further with training opportunities and CPD.
About You
The role requires you to support and assist colleagues in resolving complex housing cases, through your comprehensive knowledge of private sector housing and property licensing within the local government framework. You will need to have excellent communication skills to motivate colleagues and improve team working.
We are looking for experienced, hard-working officers with a good working knowledge of private sector housing within a Local Government setting.
You will need to be flexible and be able to work both as part of a team and on your own initiative. You will be expected to manage your own caseload and be confident in making decisions and have a problem solving attitude.
As a Senior EHO/EHP you will have the ability to supervise people and projects. You will need to demonstrate experience of leading on housing enforcement cases. You will be able to take the lead in delivering multi-agency operations and work effectively with various external and internal partners.
For more information on the application criteria, please see the Job Description and Person Specification.
For an informal discussion about the post, please contact Julia Bull on 0203 373 4015 or Amanda Amafor on 0203 373 8028.
The closing date for receipt of applications is Sunday 29th October 2023, however interest in this job may be high and we therefore reserve the right to close the vacancy early.
In person interviews are scheduled for week commencing 20th November 2023.
You will be notified if your application has been successful.
Please view JD https://www.newham.gov.uk/downloads/file/6549/senior-env-health-officer-pract-jd
Additional Information
We are committed to creating an inclusive, anti-racist environment for all. When you apply for a job at Newham, your application is considered on its merits regardless of your age, disability, ethnicity, faith, gender identity or sexual orientation. If you share our vision and values, and you bring the experience and skills we need, that’s all that matters to us.
The London Borough of Newham has important responsibilities for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. If you are appointed to a job that involves working with these groups, you may be subject to a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check.
Please attach your supporting statement, explaining in no more than x2 A4 sides why and how you meet the criteria for this role.
We practice anonymised recruitment. Please ensure that you remove all personal information from any documents that you upload.
The personal information we have collected from you will be shared with Cifas who will use it to prevent fraud, other unlawful or dishonest conduct, malpractice, and other seriously improper conduct. If any of these are detected you could be refused certain services or employment. Your personal information will also be used to verify your identity. Further details of how your information will be used by us and Cifas, and your data protection rights, can be found by https://www.cifas.org.uk/fpn.