Senior Markets Service Officer

London Borough of Hackney; Birmingham; On-site; GBP 35,000 - 52,000; Full time

Job summary

London Borough of Hackney is seeking a Senior Markets Service Officer to lead busy, customer-facing operations across Hackney's markets and street trading locations. You will work directly with traders, residents and partners to ensure safe, welcoming and commercially successful sites.

The role requires strong decision-making, relationship-building and commercial awareness, with Saturday and Sundays on a rotation, and some evenings and public holidays as part of the pattern.

Qualifications

• Experience of leading frontline operations in a busy environment.
• The confidence to make decisions, solve problems and deal calmly with challenging situations.
• Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to build credible relationships with businesses, colleagues, residents and partners.
• Commercial awareness and an understanding of how occupancy, customer experience and operational standards contribute to income and business success.
• The ability to balance excellent customer service with regulation, compliance and consistent application of rules.

Responsibilities

• Lead frontline operations across markets and street trading locations.
• Coordinate site activity and make sound decisions when issues arise.
• Develop colleagues, set clear standards and deliver consistent service.
• Build strong relationships with traders and support new entrepreneurs.
• Grow occupancy and income by filling pitches and attracting traders.
• Manage licensing and compliance, conduct inspections and enforce where needed.
• Improve income collection and reduce arrears while treating businesses fairly.
• Use data to identify problems, track performance and improve the service.
• Collaborate with partners across the Council and external agencies.
• Support events and service improvement projects to attract audiences.

Skills

Lead frontline operations

Stakeholder relationships

Commercial awareness

Regulatory compliance

Problem solving

Tools

Microsoft Office

CRM systems

Case management

Mobile technology

Job description

You will be one of the senior operational figures representing the Council across our markets and street trading locations. You will help ensure our sites are safe, welcoming, commercially successful and professionally run, while balancing the different needs of traders, residents, visitors and the wider community.

Responsibilities

• Leading frontline operations, coordinating activity on site and making sound decisions when issues arise.
• Supporting and developing colleagues, setting clear standards and helping officers and operational teams deliver a confident and consistent service.
• Building strong relationships with traders, helping existing businesses succeed and supporting new entrepreneurs into trading.
• Growing occupancy and income, identifying opportunities to fill pitches, attract new traders and strengthen the commercial performance of our markets.
• Managing licensing and compliance, carrying out inspections, resolving problems proportionately and escalating enforcement where necessary.
• Improving income collection, helping prevent and reduce arrears while treating businesses fairly and consistently.
• Maintaining high standards in the public realm, identifying hazards, defects, obstructions and other issues and making sure they are addressed quickly.
• Using data and operational intelligence to identify problems, track performance and improve how the service operates.
• Working with partners across the Council and with external agencies to resolve complex issues.
• Supporting events, campaigns and service improvement projects that bring new audiences and businesses into Hackney's markets.

We are interested in people who know how to lead busy, customer-facing operations and who can combine good judgement with strong relationships and commercial awareness. Your experience might come from markets, retail, hospitality, events, town‑centre management, licensing, logistics, enforcement, environmental services or another operational public‑facing environment.

Requirements

• Experience of leading or coordinating frontline operations in a busy environment.
• The confidence to make decisions, solve problems and deal calmly with challenging situations.
• Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to build credible relationships with businesses, colleagues, residents and partners.
• Commercial awareness and an understanding of how occupancy, customer experience and operational standards contribute to income and business success.
• The ability to balance excellent customer service with regulation, compliance and consistent application of rules.
• Good written communication, record keeping and organisational skills.
• Confidence using digital systems, including Microsoft Office, CRM or case‑management systems and mobile technology.
• The ability to organise competing priorities and maintain standards during busy trading periods.

Be a Leader in the UK's Most Awarded Markets Service

Our Markets, Shop Fronts & Street Trading Service has received 22 national awards in seven years and has built a national reputation for innovation, sustainability and support for small businesses. We are now looking for a Senior Markets Service Officer who can help us build on that success.

A genuinely front line role

We want to be clear about the working pattern. This is not predominantly a desk‑based role. You will spend much of your working week at markets and street trading locations across Hackney, working directly with colleagues, businesses and the public.

The post requires every Saturday and at least two Sundays each month, as well as some evening and public holiday working.

Why Hackney?

As a Council, our most outstanding asset is our staff, who are highly dedicated to serving our residents and committed to our goals as an organisation. If you want to work in a place where you can represent our values so we achieve the best for our residents,