Senior Licencing Officer

The Role

As a Senior Licencing Officer, you too can make your own powerful contribution. You will be leading a team in one of the most high-profile, dynamic neighbourhoods of London, ensuring that the private renting sector is legally compliant and safe.

Westminster City Council is a forward-thinking, supportive, and ambitious place to grow your career. If you have experience in property licencing or housing, this could be a superb next step.

You will be mentoring team members, using your expertise to offer guidance on identifying risk, supporting the resolution of issues, and making informed decisions on licencing processes. Further assisting the team with adhering to strict deadlines, ensuring legal compliance, and managing a high volume of work.

If you enjoy a challenge and are looking to expand your expertise, then you will thrive at Westminster, as we have one of the most complex private rented sectors in the UK. The private sector housing team is split between compliant led, proactive and property licencing work. You will be at the forefront of ensuring that the thousands of private rented properties meet licencing and safety regulations. Crucially, you’ll refine processes, improve customer service and ensure licencing applications are handled smoothly and efficiently, always in accordance with requirements. Plus, you will establish and maintain database and document management systems, taking care to ensure accuracy. You will support with the monitoring, analysis and management of delegated budgets, funding and resources.

As a Senior Licencing Officer, you will be the torchbearer for ensuring legal compliance. Some landlords may be unfamiliar with licencing requirements or resistant to compliance, requiring patience, diplomacy and clear communication from you. Additionally, you will deliver a comprehensive licencing service in respect of Private Sector Housing ensuring the Council meets its statutory responsibilities concerned with the Housing Act 2004, Housing and Planning Act 2016, and other relevant licensing functions. You’ll also assist with the development and implementation of policy relevant to Private Sector Housing.

Great communication skills are needed for this role. You will be the lead for the duty inbox, overseeing responses to a large volume of queries from landlords, letting agents, tenants and other stakeholders. For this, you’ll bring strong prioritisation and problem-solving skills. In all cases, your primacy will be ensuring licensing compliance. We’d like for you to give talks at meetings, both in person and online, covering compliance through education, advice and enforcement.  Additionally, you’ll prepare correspondence and write reports; attend First Tier Tribunal Hearings; and represent the Council at conferences with Counsel; and attend Court Hearings to give evidence and be cross-examined. When possible, you will engage an applicant in conciliation to remove the need for hearings and find resolution.

In the course of your day-to-day work, we’d like for you to uphold our values of diversity and equality. And support our overall goal of creating a fairer, safer Westminster for all.