Licensing Officer

at  City of Wolverhampton Council

CONTRACT - FULL TIME, PERMANENT

Do you want to help protect the public, defend the reputation of an industry and restore the country’s public transport infrastructure?
The post we are advertising for is for a Permanant Licensing Officer Inspector role working a morning shift of 07:45am to 15:45pm daily Monday to Friday at our Licensing Depot in Chapel Street, Bilston. You will inspect the vehicles to ensure compliance to be issued with their Private Hire/Hackney Carriage Vehicle Licence.
Our Council licences more drivers than any other in the country and these drivers require safe compliant vehicles. We are at the forefront of licensing, using state-of-the-art technology to ensure public safety through checks on drivers, vehicles and operators.
You will be helping to stop dangerous vehicles being issued a licence, to keep our roads safe. As such, we’re looking for people who are good with personnel skills/customer service and have excellent attention to detail.

If you’re interested in a career in licensing, this role is the perfect place to start. We work in modern ways and there are some roles that enable partial remote working. No prior knowledge of licensing is necessary (although it helps!) as all training will be provided. There are several progression routes for you to take; either becoming a senior officer before entering management, or joining our compliance team to lead on investigations. We work to develop people through professional apprenticeship schemes, where you can learn a new qualification, such as:

• Level 3 Business Administrator Apprenticeship
• Level 3 Team Leader/Supervisor
• Level 4 Business and Professional Administration Apprenticeship
• Level 5 Operations Manager
• Level 6 Chartered Management Degree Apprenticeship
• Level 7 Senior Leaders Degree Apprenticeship

Support is available along the way, with access the West Midlands Coaching Pool for professional coaches and mentors, which is in addition to guaranteed professional conversations each quarter to help your development.
Whatever your interests, we can guarantee that no two days are the same and that you’ll be making a valuable contribution to your local community by protecting the public from people who should not be transporting fare-paying passengers around.
In addition, you’ll be able to access our internal job vacancies. We have no issue with attracting talented employees for them to progress elsewhere within the organisation – we want the best people in the city working at the Council!
The starting salary for a licensing officer is £24,294 rising to £25,979 Pay point Increments are paid on 1st April each year until the maximum of the grade is reached.
New employees start with 26 days annual leave, plus 8 bank holidays! If you are working elsewhere in local government, you can maintain your continuous service and qualify for more leave. In addition, all officers are required to take three days mandatory unpaid leave, ordinarily over the Christmas period.
If that’s not enough leave, you can top up your annual leave entitlement by up to 10 days’ additional annual leave (pro rata) through the Buying Annual Leave salary sacrifice scheme and save on tax and national insurance in the process.
You can benefit from Corporate Membership at WV Active, the Council’s leisure facilities which offer gym facilities, exercise classes, swimming, a sauna, steam room and more.
Employees are able to join the defined-contribution Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) administered by the West Midlands Pension Fund (WMPF). Each year, 1/49th of your pensionable pay is put into your pension account and the total amount of pension in your account is adjusted in line with changes in the cost of living. You also receive tax relief on the contributions that you pay and have the option to exchange part of your pension for tax-free cash when you take it. You may also arrange an Salary Sacrifice Shared Additional Voluntary Contribution plan, through Prudential, to reduce your pay. In return, your employer will pay an amount equal to the reduction in your pay, into an AVC pot in your name. This will reduce your earnings and you’ll pay less income tax and National Insurance, depending on your personal circumstances.
The Council participates in the Cycle2Work salary sacrifice scheme, allowing you to save money and spread the cost of a new bike and accessories. The scheme acts as a tax break, which means you can get a brand-new bike without paying tax and national insurance on it. The cost of your new bike is spread out over a fixed 12-month period, with the Council deducting the money directly from your gross salary.
Council employees are also able to access, Vivup, for employee benefits. The portal provides access to a huge range of discounts to help you save money across hundreds of the UK’s favourite high-street and online retailers, as well as access to all the other benefits available to you as a City of Wolverhampton Council employee.
City of Wolverhampton Council is an employer partner with Wolverhampton City Credit Union, which provides employees with access to affordable and ethical loans and savings schemes which can be managed through a payroll deduction scheme.
Our green car salary sacrifice scheme, provided by Tusker, gives you access to a brand-new car of your choice, insured and maintained for a fixed monthly payment. It takes the hassle out of motoring as all you need to do is keep it topped up with fuel. Everything else is taken care of; servicing and maintenance, insurance, road tax, roadside assistance and even replacement tyres.
As a Council employee you can access free, confidential and independent support 24/7 through Care First, the Council’s Employee Assistance Programme.
Through the National Express corporate scheme, you can manage the cost of your daily commute by purchasing a range of annual travel cards for use on the bus, train or metro and pay monthly via direct debit.
Free eye tests are available for all roles involving regular visual display equipment.
For full details of the responsibilities and requirements of this role please see the attached Job Description and Person Specification.

OUR WORKING ARRANGEMENTS

All council roles are allocated to either a fixed, field or flexible work style. Some roles are agile which enable and empowers employees to maximise their performance and productivity, whilst maintaining a healthy work life balance. Roles with a fixed workstyle work in a fixed permanent council location. Roles with a field workstyle are usually allocation where employees are required to be out working in the community with a minimum requirement for ‘touch down’ space at any council location. Roles with a flexible workstyle have a flexible base location to meet the needs of the business and employees can work from a mixture of home or any council office, partner/client, or external location, as required to meet service requirements.
Please refer to the Job Description for further information on the workstyle assigned to the role you are applying for.
For more information about working for our organisation including the culture of the Council, the Council plan and vision, staff equality forums, core HR policies and much more please click here.

• Level 3 Business Administrator Apprenticeship
• Level 3 Team Leader/Supervisor
• Level 4 Business and Professional Administration Apprenticeship
• Level 5 Operations Manager
• Level 6 Chartered Management Degree Apprenticeship
• Level 7 Senior Leaders Degree Apprenticeshi