Licensing Officer

Buckinghamshire Council — Communities — Transport Services; Aylesbury; Hybrid; GBP 35,000 - 50,000; Full time

Job summary

Buckinghamshire Council is seeking a Licensing Officer to join the Taxi Licensing team. You will provide a customer-focused licensing service, offer specialist technical advice, and work with the team to ensure safe vehicle and driver standards across Bucks.

The role involves taking delegated licensing decisions, preparing reports, and collaborating with external partners to meet statutory requirements. A full driving licence is required.

Qualifications

• Substantial experience in licensing services or a relevant regulatory role.
• Sound understanding of the licensing legislation and safeguarding requirements.
• Ability to research, investigate and prepare for cases, committees and appeals.
• Excellent planning, time management and organisational skills.

Responsibilities

• Take delegated decisions on licensing applications and consult where appropriate.
• Provide technical advice to customers, businesses and stakeholders.
• Collaborate with partner organisations to ensure licensing requirements are met.
• Prepare reports, statements and schedules for licence determinations and hearings.
• Carry out licensing enforcement, including inspections, interviews and prosecutions where needed.
• Ensure licensing activity complies with Council policy and statutory requirements.

Skills

Licensing knowledge

Customer service

Regulatory understanding

Communication skills

Job description

We are looking for a Licensing Officer to join our busy, established and friendly Taxi Licensing team. Working as part of a multi-site team of licensing officers, enforcement officers and caseworkers, you will strive to provide an efficient customer-focused service for residents and businesses in Buckinghamshire.

Licensing Officers are required to provide both an effective customer-focused licensing service and specialist technical advice on a range of technical matters to ensure that licensed vehicles and drivers operate at a safe standard for the general public. As well as undertaking the necessary compliance and enforcement activity, the postholder will also work with the Principal and Senior Licensing Officers to compile reports and licensing policy implementation.

About us

Buckinghamshire Council is a relatively new organisation that combines the strengths and expertise of the previous five councils in the county to create positive change for local people, communities, and businesses. We are firmly focused on the future and have made a clear commitment to serve residents better and to provide stronger representation for Buckinghamshire, both locally and nationally.

About the role

• Responsible for taking delegated decisions on licensing applications and undertaking
  appropriate consultation or associated mediation.
• Provide technical advice and guidance to customers, including businesses and individuals,
  Members, other Council employees and key stakeholders in relation to licensing matters.
• Work closely with partner organisations and external stakeholders on licensing
  applications and issues to ensure that statutory licensing requirements and objectives are
  met.
• Compile reports, statements, schedules, etc. for consideration of licence determinations,
  prosecutions, simple cautions, suspensions and revocations in accordance with established
  procedures, in some cases leading to the presentation of evidence in court or licensing
  hearings/panels
• Carry out licensing enforcement responsibilities including responding to complaints, carrying out routine inspections, interviewing witnesses and licensees and others. These duties may include formal interviews of individuals subject to potential criminal prosecution under caution; preparing committee reports, files of evidence and statements; giving evidence at the licensing committee and magistrates and other appropriate courts acting 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.

Please see job summary for further details

Any-Desk:

As an ‘any-desk’ worker, you’ll need to be connected to our network to access digital folders and resources, but this can either be from home or an office location when required. You will be required to work from the office a couple of times a week, depending on your role and team requirements.

About you

The ideal candidate will have substantial experience of working in licensing services or another relevant regulatory role. You will have good knowledge and understanding of the relevant legislation.

We are looking for a candidate with a sound understanding of the importance that the
service has in safeguarding our communities. You should have experience in representing licensing services in a professional capacity, with the proven ability to research, investigate and prepare for cases, committees and legal appeals.

A competent candidate will be someone with strong communication and excellent interpersonal skills, who can work well alongside team members and have positive working relationships with customers and other stakeholders.

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.

Please note, this role requires you to hold a full driving licence

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.