Enforcement Officer

Buckinghamshire Council — Communities; Aylesbury; On-site; GBP 32,000 - 42,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Discounts on cafés, restaurants, and 0

Pension scheme

Costco membership

Discounted gym memberships

Travel discounts with Arriva

Job summary

Buckinghamshire Council is seeking an Enforcement Officer to join the Taxi Licensing team in Buckinghamshire. The role focuses on ensuring licensed taxi and private hire services meet safety standards and comply with Council Policy.

The post involves information gathering, investigation and enforcement, with interviews under caution and licensing decisions in line with procedures. The position is a 12-month fixed-term contract.

Qualifications

• Experience in licensing services or regulatory roles.
• Knowledge of taxi licensing legislation and enforcement practices is desirable.
• Ability to gather information, investigate and prepare enforceable files.

Responsibilities

• Provide technical compliance advice and guidance on taxi and private hire licensing matters to customers, businesses, elected members and stakeholders.
• Investigate compliance issues and escalate to Licensing Officers when required.
• Collate, process and analyse information to support licence determinations with reference to policy and legislation.
• Carry out licensing enforcement activities including responding to complaints, inspections, interviews under caution and preparing evidence and statements for court.
• Ensure licensing activity complies with Council policy and statutory requirements and maintain accurate records.

Skills

Taxi licensing enforcement

Regulatory compliance

Investigation skills

Interviewing witnesses

Communication skills

Job description

We are looking for an Enforcement Officer to join our busy, established and friendly Taxi Licensing team.

The team you will be based in is focused on ensuring that licensed vehicles and drivers operate at a safe standard for the general public. Our Enforcement Officers are required to provide advice, guidance and information on taxi and private hire compliance matters.

Please note that this role is being offered as a 12-month fixed term contract

About us

Our Communities directorate work across the county to deliver a number of the key customer facing services that our residents, businesses and visitors rely on every day. This includes collecting and disposing of waste, maintaining highways and managing country parks, leisure facilities, museums, theatres and libraries, as well as developing our cultural strategy. The customer is central to how we develop and deliver all of these services, which help promote our rich and vibrant culture.

We are looking for enthusiastic, ambitious and committed individuals to join our team and help make Buckinghamshire a great place to live, work and visit. This is an exciting time for us, as we bring together many of the place based services that have previously been run by different authorities. We manage services through a combination of direct delivery, contract management and commissioning, as well as through our key partnerships. As part of the function, you will join us on our journey of continuous improvement. Whether that’s through developing strategies and ways of working, or delivering services on the ground – every person in Communities is a valued member of the team

About the role

The primary role of the officer will be to ensure that the hackney carriage and private hire trade in Buckinghamshire are compliant with the law and Council Policy to promote public safety. The role involves gathering information, investigating and undertaking enforcement activity as necessary, seeking support from colleagues and escalating complex matters as required. The

postholder is responsible for ensuring that licensing functions are carried out in line with statutory duties and service standards. The role involves the investigation of offences, including conducting interviews under caution and producing the recommendations for follow up action (such as suspension or revocation of licences).

Key Accountabilities

• Provide technical compliance advice, guidance and support to customers, including businesses and individuals, elected members, other Council employees and key stakeholders in relation to licensing matters.
• Investigate compliance issues within taxi and private hire licensing, seeking support with more complex cases and escalating to Licensing Officers and Principal Officers when required.
• Collate, process and analyse information and evidence to support decision making and licence determinations with reference to Policy and legislative requirements.
• Carry out licensing enforcement responsibilities including responding to complaints, carrying out routine inspections, interviewing witnesses, licensees and others. These duties may include formal interviews of individuals subject to potential criminal prosecution under caution as well as preparing files of evidence and statements and giving evidence in court either as a witness or investigating officer.
• Ensure that all licensing activity is carried out in line with Council policy and statutory requirements, and that information is recorded and updated in a timely and accurate manner and in accordance with Service standards and best practices.
• Collect, consider and present information in relation to licencing determinations, prosecutions, simple cautions, suspensions and revocations in accordance with established procedures, in some cases leading to the presentation at licensing hearings/panels and in Court.

Please see job summary for further detail

About you

The ideal candidate will have experience working in licensing services or another relevant regulatory role. It is desirable, to have a sound knowledge and understanding of the relevant legislation pertinent to taxi licensing enforcement, but not essential. Our service has an important role in safeguarding communities and a good candidate will take this seriously and understand why this role is so important. You should have a good range of skills and abilities that equip you when preparing robust enforcement cases, such as investigation, conducting formal interviews and taking statements.

A competent candidate will be someone with strong communication and excellent interpersonal skills, a natural inquisitive nature with a keen eye for detail. The role involves working with a range of internal and external stakeholders, so you will need to have a proven

ability to develop effective working relationships. The Service is busy and demanding and you will require excellent planning, time management and organisational skills, enabling you to manage a complex workload, prioritising and setting deadlines and reacting to changing demands daily.

Other information

For full details please see the job summary on our website.

Interview date: TBC

Interview-type / process: In person, The Gateway Office, Gatehouse Road, Aylesbury.

This post is covered by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and therefore applicants are required to declare:

• All unspent cautions and/or unspent convictions

We understand that candidates may use AI tools to assist with their applications. While we welcome innovation, we expect all submissions to reflect your own experience, skills, and achievements accurately. Please ensure your application is truthful and demonstrates your personal capabilities, as this will be assessed during the selection process.

Our values and culture

We have a set of values, which our employees have chosen, that represent what we are – Proud, Ambitious, Collaborative and Trustworthy.

By joining Buckinghamshire Council, you can expect:

• a fair and inclusive culture
• the chance to really make a difference to those around you
• health and well-being initiatives including an Employee Assistance Programme, Mental Health First Aiders and mindfulness workshops
• a unified voice through our Employee Representative Group
• ongoing support, and the opportunity to develop and progress in your career with us
• opportunities to take part in fun activities such as fundraising and social events

At Buckinghamshire Council, we know that our biggest strength comes from the people that work for us, and that’s why we’re working hard to ensure we continue to be an accessible and inclusive organisation.

From dedicated staff networks overseen by our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Steering Group, to proudly standing as a Disability Confident employer, it’s important to us that all our colleagues feel engaged, listened to, and valued. Our offer of flexible working empowers a productive and happy workforce and allows employees to combine work with other responsibilities and commitments.

We believe our workforce should reflect the diverse communities we service in Buckinghamshire, and are looking for like-minded individuals to join us in promoting equality, fairness, and inclusion for everyone.

About the Business Unit

Our Communities directorate works across the county to deliver a number of the key customer-facing services that our residents, businesses and visitors rely on every day.

This directorate includes a wide range of services, including:

• collecting and disposing of waste and recycling
• maintaining our roads and Rights of Way network and parking
• ensuring the delivery of school transport, and supporting sustainable travel including public bus services and School Crossing Patrollers
• managing Country Parks
• leisure facilities, museums, theatres and libraries, as well as developing our Cultural Strategy
• Licensing, Environmental Health and Trading Standards
• Cemeteries and Crematoria

The customer is central to how we develop and deliver all of these services, which help promote our rich and vibrant culture and special environment.

We are looking for enthusiastic, ambitious and committed individuals to join our team and help us to continue to make Buckinghamshire a great place to live, work and visit. This is an exciting time for us as we bring together the services previously run by five separate councils before Buckinghamshire Council was created. Whilst making major changes to contracts affecting residents across Bucks, we continue to focus on delivering great customer service. You will join us on our journey of continuous improvement - whether that’s through developing strategies and ways of working or delivering services on the ground, every person in Communities is a valued member of the team.

We recognise and reward you

Hard work and success deserves recognition. That’s why we pride ourselves on the benefits we give our people. We actively encourage a good work-life balance and promote flexible and agile working arrangements. We provide discounts on various Cafés, restaurants, shops and auto enrolment onto our generous Pension Scheme. In addition to the opportunity to gain membership to Costco, we have discounted gym memberships, travel discounts with Arriva and much more.

Contact email [e-mail]