Housing Improvement Officer/Environmental Health Practitioner

Thanet District Council; Margate; Hybrid; GBP 44,000 - 55,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible working hours

Remote/hybrid working

Flexible annual leave

Local Government Pension Scheme

Reduced leisure membership

Employee Wellbeing package

Job summary

Thanet District Council is seeking a Housing Improvement Officer or Environmental Health Practitioner to join its Private Sector Housing service. This career-graded post offers progression as you gain qualifications and experience.

You will respond to housing complaints, use enforcement tools, and contribute to proactive housing and health initiatives, with opportunities to support licensing regimes and empty property interventions.

Qualifications

• Private sector housing knowledge and experience.
• Ability to undertake HHSRS inspections under Housing Act 2004.
• Understand use of alternative legislative provisions to improve housing.
• Level 4+ qualification in a relevant subject.
• EHP applicants: BSc/MSc Environmental Health and professional registration.
• HHSRS competency certificate from recognised provider.
• Enhanced DBS check required.
• Full driving licence and own vehicle; travel across district.

Responsibilities

• Respond to housing complaints and take enforcement action to resolve hazards.
• Contribute to proactive housing and health initiatives.
• Support empty property interventions and licensing regimes (HMO, selective, caravan sites).

Skills

HHSRS inspections

Housing enforcement

Driving licence

Enforcement actions

Private sector housing knowledge

Education

BSc/MSc Environmental Health

Level 4+ qualification in a relevant subject

Job description

Housing Improvement Officer/Environmental Health Practitioner

Salary Grade TG-J - Starting Salary £43,668 per annum, with opportunity for progression to £49,296 or Grade TG-K - Starting Salary £49,596 per annum, with opportunity for progression to £55,236

Main Responsibilities

Thanet District Council is looking for a motivated Housing Improvement Officer or Environmental Health Practitioner to join its Private Sector Housing service.

This is a career-graded post which allows the council to help employees with their progression once they have acquired a higher level of qualification, competence and knowledge. This supports our aim to empower staff to tackle more challenging tasks and take on greater responsibility as they progress their careers.

The successful candidate will play a vital role in ensuring that our private sector residents are able to live in safe and well managed homes. You will do this by using the full range of enforcement tools at the council’s disposal in a confident and determined manner. The team ethos is not to shy away from difficult and challenging situations - we prefer to face them head on and make the right call to safeguard our residents.

This role will focus on responding to housing complaints and taking enforcement action to resolve hazards and poor management. As we always look to undertake targeted projects whenever possible, you will contribute to a range of proactive housing and health initiatives. The postholder will also support empty property interventions and our HMO, selective, and caravan site licensing regimes.

This post will be attractive to anyone seeking to broaden their experience with a challenging and varied role where initiative and robust interventions are encouraged.

Essential Requirements

• You will have relevant knowledge and experience in private sector housing.
• You will be able to undertake Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) inspections and be able to competently use the enforcement options available to you under the Housing Act 2004.
• You will be expected to understand and be able to use alternative legislative provisions that can improve housing conditions and management in the private sector.
• Applicants for the Housing Improvement Officer position will hold a Level 4 or above qualification in a relevant subject area.
• Applicants for the role of Environmental Health Practitioner (EHP) will hold a BSc or MSc in Environmental Health (or equivalent degree), and be EHRB registered and/or on the CIEH Professional Register as a Chartered or Registered EHP.
• All applicants must hold an HHSRS competency certificate from a recognised training provider.
• An enhanced DBS check is required for this role.
• This post requires you to have a full driving licence and your own vehicle, as travelling around the district, sometimes to remote sites, is a requirement of the post.

Thanet is a great place to live and work...

Our historic seaside towns of Ramsgate, Margate and Broadstairs and surrounding villages are rich in heritage and opportunity. With 19 miles of stunning coastline, our beautiful Blue Flag beaches, the internationally renowned Turner Contemporary, and the UK’s only Royal Harbour are all just a short train ride from central London thanks to the high-speed rail link. Our proximity to the port of Dover and the Eurotunnel at Folkestone mean Europe is literally on our doorstep too.

All of this, combined with a flexible approach to how we work makes it an exciting time to join Thanet District Council. We have set our sights high. We want our residents to enjoy the highest quality services. We want to ensure that by listening to local people, working in active partnership and doing things in an innovative way, we can accelerate improvement to meet the challenges ahead.

Our staff benefits package include

• Competitive salary
• Flexible working hours
• Possibility of remote/hybrid working
• Flexible annual leave and working arrangements
• Local Government Pension Scheme membership
• Reduced cost leisure membership, including Theatre tickets and sporting activities
• An extensive Employee Wellbeing package

Closing date: 29 November 2026

Interview dates: Week commencing 07 December 2026