Licensing Officer

Salary: £32,909 - £39,493 pa (+ Essential Car User Allowance up to £1,239 pa)

Hours per week: 37

Contract type: Permanent

Closing date: 09 May 2023 12:00

Interview date: W/C 22 May 2023

Ref: CS1583

About the role:

Horsham District Council are looking for a Licensing Officer to be part of a team concerned with delivering the full range of licensing functions. The team covers the whole of the Horsham District to protect the safety of our residents and visitors, whilst supporting businesses and licence holders to operate safely and in compliance with the relevant licensing regime. We achieve this through education, advice and, where necessary, enforcement.

We have a small and friendly Licensing team based in a supportive wider environment of colleagues in the Environmental Health Department. We are based in modern office accommodation Horsham, West Sussex within easy reach of a range of direct railway and road links.

Owing to the front-line nature of the work, we operate a flexible working arrangement where officers can work from home for part of the week. However, it will be a requirement for you to work from our offices on a regular and frequent basis based on service delivery needs. Some out of hours working will also be necessary, which may include evenings and late night working on occasion.

As Licensing Officer, you will be required to:

• Actively enforce and investigate a full range of licensing functions including alcohol, taxi and private hire vehicles, late night refreshments, gaming lotteries as well as the licensing of charitable collections and scrap metal dealers.
• Assist the UK Health Security Agency with the function of preventing spread of infectious diseases.
• Exercise professional judgement over the range of assigned duties and determine and implement appropriate courses of action, working on one’s own initiative and within Horsham District Council policies.
• Provide professional advice on a wide range of licensing issues to members of the public, and other organisations, officers from other departments of the Council
• Assist with the training of student Environmental Health Officers and other staff as required
• Achieve performance targets as detailed in employee’s personal Performance and Development & maintain the appropriate levels of professional competence required for this role

About you:

To succeed as a Licensing Officer, you will be a highly skilled and motivated individual, you will have a good eye for detail and a desire to deliver a high standard of service. You will need to have excellent organisational and interpersonal skills with a sound grasp of IT. Your ability to problem-solve, adapt to competing priorities and confidentiality are of high importance. We welcome applications from all backgrounds and disciplines, but preference will be given to individuals who hold a BII Level 2 National Certificate for Licensing Practitioners Higher Qualification or equivalent. Experience in licensing or regulatory services will be an advantage, but a willingness to become involved with the full range of licensing activities is just as important.

For an informal discussion about this role please call Marc Rankin, Head of Environmental Health & Licensing on 01403215178

About us as an employer:

We have a friendly and supportive working environment and being a smaller Council, you can really get to know everybody.

We encourage and support our employees to have a healthy work life balance by, offering 28 days’ (207.2 hours) annual leave plus bank holidays (pro-rata), and flexible/hybrid working options where applicable.

We offer a generous benefits package including an online platform offering discounts from online retailers and access to a car lease scheme. Staff are also eligible to join the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS), where the Council contributes circa 20% of pensionable salary.

To support employees’ professional development the Council provides reimbursement for professional subscriptions and a number of training opportunities, including extensive in-house learning resources, short courses, Apprenticeships, and qualifications such as Institute of Leadership & Management (ILM), Master of Business Administration (MBA).

Visit our Jobs and careers page to find out more about Working for Horsham District Council and Our employment commitments.

To apply:

If you would like to apply for the role, we highly recommend you show clearly within the ‘Experience Section’ of the application form how you meet the essential criteria detailed within the Role Profile when applying. If you do not make this clear, it is unlikely you will be shortlisted for interview.

Internal applicants, if you would like to apply for the role, please submit an expression of interest to HR@horsham.gov.uk explaining clearly how you meet the criteria and what you feel you can bring to the role.