Private Sector Housing Officer

Full Vacancy Description

Job description      Private Sector Housing / Licensing Officer

Main Purpose of the Job / Key Objectives:

To provide business support to the Private Sector Housing and Licensing Team within the Public Protection Service, including dedicated support to the Public Protection Manager. To organise, manage and execute the houses in multiple occupation licensing and regulatory functions principally under the Housing Act 2004. To support and assist the work of the HMO Team to improve the safety and quality of privately rented shared housing as part of the Council’s Private Sector Housing Strategy.

To provide back office advice related to the general work and referrals from the Contact Centre and other Advice Partners, post, direct calls, emails and web e-forms.

Job Context:

The postholder reports to the Public Protection Manager

The postholder will occasionally be required to work outside ‘normal’ office hours.

The postholder will contribute to the delivery of the statutory and discretionary licensing and regulatory functions as part of the Council’s Private Sector Housing Strategy

Experience

Providing high quality customer care.

Experience of collating, processing, assessing and displaying information.

Experience of working effectively as part of a team.

Experience of general administrative work.

Experience of working in a housing or legal environment either in local government or the private sector.

Qualifications/Knowledge

No formal qualification required. Academic achievement or competency in the use of IT/Microsoft Office applications is required ,.

Knowledge of the services provided by the Council and an understanding of current Local Government issues particularly in private sector housing and the associated legal and tribunal processes. 

Working conditions/circumstances

Ability to adapt working hours to meet job requirements.

Commitment to personal development.

To demonstrate an understanding of and commitment to the Council’s Equal Opportunities Policy in both service delivery to the community, in relationships with colleagues, and in employment practices.

Key Accountabilities and Result Areas:

To provide the first point of contact for advice and assistance to prospective applicants, tenants and other parties involved with licensing including general, technical and legal advice as necessary            accurate advice given and recorded

To communicate and deal tactfully and politely with all enquiries from members of the public, landlords, managing agents, other officers and elected Members in accordance with set standards and customer care initiatives; to relay accurate messages to appropriate individuals in relation to private sector housing and licensing matters. Advice given.

Ensure all post arriving into the team is appropriately logged and distributed daily..Incoming post dealt with in a timely manner..

Ensure all emails arriving into the Service email accounts (Environmental Health, landlord licensing and any other secure email accounts) are checked, logged and distributed appropriately. Emails recorded correctly in accordance to current procedures.

To be responsible for maintaining the electronic/paper filing systems, reference library and equipment inventory relating to the work of the team. Effective and efficient document storage and retrieval.

To undertake data entry onto computer systems and producing reports, as required for the Service. Up to date information on computer system and robust reports/surveys completed.

To interrogate a number of different Council services databases such as APP, Academy, Data Warehouse and other relevant systems, to acquire relevant information and present findings in an agreed format. Intelligence data obtained as required by enforcement officers

To create and maintain documents, spreadsheets and databases, as required for the Service. Documents produced.

To receive licence fees and charges in line with the council’s systems for financial management including the use of spreadsheets and databases to record all necessary information and enable accurate reconciliation of income received. Payments processed and recorded

To undertake ICT tasks, including word processing (involving preparation of correspondence, reports, notices, licences, certificates and legal documents including information recording and maintaining records,  preparation of spreadsheets, data entry onto APP, Rocktime, and the use of other applications, as required for the Service. Documents produced and accurate records recorded that can be used for legal purposes

To undertake various administrative tasks such as document and file collation; photocopying, scanning, generate internal & external correspondence and other reasonable administrative tasks. Completion of duties. Process invoices, as required for Service payments processed in a timely manner

To maintain, process and input detailed records and information using corporate/ local databases and paper systems to a high degree of competency and accuracy records held are up to date and accurate

Support Project Managers on Projects e.g. gathering of data  Support given as required Ensure Public Registers that relate to Private Sector Housing and HMO Licensing are accessible and up to date.            Information accurate and accessible

To assist in the preparation of publicity, information and guidance in respect of the licensing functions in the borough Good awareness and public image of the service. 

To assist with the preparation of publicity documents and resources to facilitate events such as landlord forums and consultations Events adequately publicised and resourced

To assist in the gathering of evidence for legal prosecutions cases and Residential Property Tribunal hearings and appear as witness for the Authority as necessary. Assistance provided when needed

To develop and improve systems within the post holder’s control; to maintain continuous improvement and modify office routines and negotiate with senior staff on conflicting priorities or timescales.            Continuous improvement of systems and processes

Assist in the supervision of young people gaining work experience within the department and the induction and training of new Licensing Officers as required. Assistance provided when needed.

Assist in the maintenance and quality control of the Council Website for the Service. Up to date information for Service on website.

To liaise with other Licensing Officers on a daily basis to ensure that common tasks are carried out consistently. No backlog of day to day tasks and database entries and other common tasks carried out consistently.

Administer the HMO licensing scheme, including ensuring the requisite application documentation and fee are correct, consulting with appropriate Council Services, carrying out Land Registry and other checks, preparing documents and ensuring premises database is correct in accordance with procedures.   HMO licences administered and issued correctly and records maintained

To be an effective and committed team worker including providing cover for other team members. Support for team and cover provided when required.

To comply with performance indicators, Business Plan objectives and other standards, as required. Performance indicators and other standards on target.

Gathering background information from landlords/agents and tenants regarding private rented dwellings in disrepair. Investigating officer has full details of case

To undertake a Triage screening process of new requests for service relating to private sector housing disrepair or nuisance allegations Low priority and non service cases closed with minimum or no  input from officers

Enter programmed HMO inspections onto APP and update risk rating scores. HMO inspection records and risk ratings up to date.

Support Duty Officers, ensuring that high priority queries for Private Sector Housing are dealt with expeditiously. To ensure team is able to deliver the necessary service and meet their targets.