Team: Housing Solutions

Job Family: Enabling – CGB12
Salary: £40,705 to 45,657 per annum pro rata
Hours: 37 hours per week

Location: Working from home and any CBC offices, including Priory House, Shefford. You will be expected to attend a CBC office location on a monthly basis, and as needed to carry out your role

Contract Type: Hybrid – Permanent

Closing Date: 20th August 2023  (Central Bedfordshire Council reserves the right to close this vacancy before the advertised date if a large number of applications are received. If you would like to apply for this position then please keep information in mind when preparing your application).

Interview Date: 4th September 2023 – At the interview, there will be face-to-face questions from the interview panel, as well as a written activity/test, which you will be given the details of if you are shortlisted for the interview.

About Us: 

Central Bedfordshire is an ambitious authority, determined to be an exemplary one. Our strategic location and high quality of life mean we are one of the fastest growing areas in the country.

As a council we face the same challenges every business does – investing in the right places and delivering great results. Except for us, it’s all about our 289,000 residents. We’re totally focussed on helping to improve their lives and making Central Bedfordshire a great place to live and work.

We have set values and principles to represent the way we work and how we operate as an organisation. You can view a list of these in detail on our website.

This is a great time to join us on our journey.

For an informal discussion about this position, please contact: Rachel Shalan at [email protected] or call 0300 300 4417.

For queries related to the recruitment of this vacancy, please contact: The Recruitment Team at [email protected]

—————————————————————————————————————-

Safeguarding

Central Bedfordshire Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all employees, volunteers and contractors to share this commitment. This post is subject to the disclosure of criminal records.

Central Bedfordshire Council is an equal opportunities employer. We are committed to improving the diversity of our workforce to better reflect the communities we serve.  Therefore we welcome applications from everyone. In addition we are a  Disability Confident employer, we are working to become a Disability Confident leader in our community.

To maintain a fair and consistent approach for applicants, it is Central Bedfordshire Council’s policy to only consider applications made via our online application system and we therefore thank you for not submitting your application offline.

If you require assistance to apply for our roles, help with writing your CV, interview techniques or careers advice please contact our team of careers advisors at [email protected] Our service is confidential, impartial and free for all.

About the role

At Central Bedfordshire Council, we do all we can to ensure that people have safe and healthy homes. We want to make Central Bedfordshire a great place to work and live – and that means tackling poor living conditions and improving the quality of resident’s lives. As an Senior Environmental Health Officer / Technical Officer within the housing service you will be facilitating the delivery of Housing Assistance (Grants/Loans – mandatory and discretionary), as well as supporting the continuous improvement of the lives of many in the private rented sector across Central Bedfordshire, You will work within a Housing Assistance role, as well as enforcement and licensing environment. Find your greatness by working in a team that focuses on great outcomes for residents.

The role is both varied and interesting and combines the full range of private sector housing functions, mainly managing complex Housing Assistance (Grants and Loans) cases, both mandatory and discretionary, via our Home Improvement Agency. You will be supporting others with your experience in building construction and grant/loan delivery. You may also have responsibility for the enforcement of housing standards and overseeing complex enforcement cases and may HMO licensing.

The team is ambitious and looking to improve the health and well-being of all residents within Central Bedfordshire. In this position the successful candidate will have a broad and complex caseload and will represent the service in a multidisciplinary team being responsible for enabling Grant and Loan works to ensure our residents are living in safe and healthy homes and may include tackling poor housing conditions, regulating private rented accommodation.

To meet the requirements of this exciting role you must have expertise in building construction / surveying and specification writing and grant delivery, housing enforcement, court attendance and demonstrate you have experience working at a Senior EHO/TO, demonstrating all of the key skills and competencies required for this role. This includes:

• • High level skills in communication
  • Ability to negotiate and manage conflict to achieve desired results.
  • Comprehensive understanding of strategic implications in the short and long-term
  • Ability to adjust your approach to ensure collaboration and coproduction with colleagues and key partners
  • Ability to forge quality professional relationships
  • Understanding resource implications
  • Supportive of others and understand and identify their strengths and developmental needs
  • Provide sound advice and guidance to resolve complex situations
  • Expert problem-solving skills ie find solutions not fault
  • Support others to understand change showing empathy and understanding of others views.
  • Be flexible and respond to changing priorities and demands
  • Inspire others by being an exemplary role model
  • Act in a professional manner at all times
  • Be an effective mentor
  • Have a high level of emotional intelligence
  • Ability to accept and deliver critical reflection

You will be self-motivated but also able to work effectively as part of a team to bring about desired outcomes. We pride ourselves in providing excellent customer service and will therefore expect you to be able to contribute to this with strong interpersonal skills.

You will either hold a degree or equivalent in an Environmental Health or Building Construction or Surveying related subject, have at least 5 years in-depth experience in this area of work (grant delivery), and be able to show continued professional development.

You will be provided with the opportunity to develop your knowledge and skills further through appropriate training and will also play a role in the development of other colleagues within the team.