Environmental Protection Officer (Licensing)

Today it is a vibrant and diverse borough, with a long history and strong cultural and community heritage. Kingston's riverside location, fantastic retail offer, historic market place and church, parks and gardens all make Kingston town centre the vibrant space it is, and each of our district town centres (Surbiton, New Malden, Tolworth and Chessington) have something unique to offer.

Situated in Zone 6, Kingston is among the best-connected town centres in London – with direct train links from Kingston and Surbiton stations to Clapham Junction and London Waterloo, as well as Wimbledon for an interchange with the London Underground and Tramlink.

Kingston’s people are innovative and entrepreneurial, and have a strong sense of community pride. The borough has been home to great industry and creativity for many years, reflected in assets such as the Rose Theatre, the International Youth Arts Festival and Kingston University, which boasts more new graduate business start-ups than any other.

We have seen tremendous generosity and compassion within our communities, particularly in response to COVID-19, which is a demonstration of Kingston’s key strength. The council offers a strong level of support to vulnerable groups and those who need additional support, which has also increased significantly as a result of the pandemic. Like most places, the average age of our population is rising as more people are living longer, so we are working closely with residents to help them maintain their independence and further improve the cost effectiveness of our service to meet the ongoing rise in demand.

Kingston is home to people from diverse and interesting cultures and backgrounds, which helps to create the rich sense of community shared across the borough. In particular, Kingston has a large Sri Lankan Tamil community and is home to more people from Korea than any other part of the UK.

Undertake a wide range of functions, administering licences and enforcement of legislation within a single shared service across Kingston and Sutton. 

We are looking for a committed and enthusiastic individual to join our licensing team working across our two boroughs. The team is responsible for a variety of public safety, health and safety and animal welfare regimes in connection with Alcohol and Entertainment, Gambling, Special Treatments, Street Trading, Animal Activities and Sports Ground Safety (and others). This includes

• processing licence applications and associated paperwork through to issuing the various types of licences and permits.
• carrying out on-site inspections to ensure compliance with conditions and legal requirements.
• responding to and investigate complaints from residents and businesses
• providing advice and guidance to residents and businesses
• preparing reports and appearing at Licensing Sub-Committees where contested applications are determined by a hearing

In a recent external review Regulatory Services was recognised as "established”. Opportunities have now arisen to join the Licensing Team to enable us to build on the review recommendations to become an “advanced service”. 

A small team of specialist officers, the Licensing Team has a wide ranging remit to regulate various licensing regimes. The team works closely together and with internal and external partners to provide a high quality and responsive service to the two Boroughs. 

Join us at this pivotal time as we do our part to regulate and support our business communities to grow in challenging times.

A full driving licence and access to a vehicle is desirable.  During the pandemic you will largely work remotely from home whilst continuing to make necessary site visits but we have bases in both Kingston and Sutton. Both Councils are currently reviewing future use of workspace and have adopted agile working practices as part of their programmes.

In addition we offer a modern and flexible working environment for our staff supported by our IT infrastructure, Google Chromebooks and Google Apps, which have acted as a key enabler for collaborative and streamlined working. The COVID-19 pandemic has required us to be even more flexible in how we work and manage staff workloads, ensuring they have the correct equipment and resources to be able to maximise their talents and looking after their wellbeing.

Employees have access to a wide range of benefits, some of which include:

• Generous annual leave entitlement plus bank holidays (pro-rata if part-time working hours apply)
• Three volunteering days per year
• Flexible and agile working arrangements
• Comprehensive learning and development programme
• Discounts on a range of local shops, restaurants, gyms and leisure centres
• Interest free season ticket loans
• Local Government Pension Scheme
• Bicycle loan facilities and cycle to work scheme
• Zip car scheme
• Free eye tests and contribution towards glasses
• Confidential wellbeing and counselling support
• Subsidised gym membership

Please apply online outlining what skills, abilities and experience you can bring which makes you an ideal candidate for this role. Please ensure you refer to the requirements outlined in the job profile when completing your application.

The closing date is given as a guide. We reserve the right to close this vacancy once a sufficient number of applications has been received. Therefore, it is strongly advised that you complete and submit your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment. 

For more information and the person specification visit Kingston's website or click here.

We are proud to be recognised as a Disability Confident employer, and are committed to thinking differently about disability and taking action to improve how we recruit, retain and develop disabled people. We guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum/essential criteria for the role.   

We offer a range of family friendly, inclusive employment policies, flexible working arrangements, staff engagement forums, and inclusive staff networks who help drive our diversity agenda.

We are an accredited London Living Wage Employer and this means that everyone working at the Royal Borough of Kingston, regardless of whether they are permanent employees or third-party contractors and suppliers receive the London Living Wage. The real Living Wage is higher than the government’s minimum, or National Living Wage, and is an independently calculated hourly rate of pay that is based on the actual cost of living.

The UK has introduced a new points-based immigration system affecting EU and Non-EU workers and sponsorship requirements. We advise checking the GOV.UK website for right to work guidance.

Please note that these dates are only indicative at this stage and could be subject to change. Due to the ongoing situation, interviews for short listed candidates will take place virtually through video technology for the foreseeable future.

The majority of staff will also continue to work from home where possible in line with Government Guidance.