Licensing Officer

Salary - £25,584 - £27,269 (Grade 4)

Hours - 37 

Contract type - full time permanent

Our Council licences more drivers than any other in the country. 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 drivers obtaining a licence, to keep our roads safe.

We’re looking for people who are good with computers and have excellent attention to detail.

The post we are advertising for is for a Permanent Licensing Officer role working within our Private Hire/Hackney Carriage Driver administration teams.

The role will undertake the administering of Driver Licences in-line with current legislation. The process will involve the receipt/checking and issuing of Licences for City of Wolverhampton. Attention to detail is paramount to ensure the correct licence is issued and all required checks have been performed.

As a Licencing Officer, you will be supporting the team by viewing and processing applications for licences. Furthermore, you will be communicating with applicants to give them updates on the application or requesting further information.
You will manage and support any queries that come through. These can be face to face, over the phone and via email.

You will need experience of working in a busy and professional environment where you can prioritise your workload. In addition, you will need to demonstrate exceptional organisational skills to ensure enquiries are responded to in a timely manner. It is also important to confidently communicate with customers face to face, and over the phone. In addition, as you will be dealing with a high volume of applications, you will need to have strong attention to detail.

Enhanced DBS Certificates are an integral part of the Licensing Regime, and the management of the DBS Subscription is important to ensure up to date information is obtained for all our licensed drivers.

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 £25,584  rising to £27,269. Pay point Increments are paid on 1st April each year until the maximum of the grade is reached.

Our full-time positions are 37 hours per week and we consider requests for part-time work, including job share. Where officers work additional hours, these can be taken as either a half or full day flexi-leave every four weeks.

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.

Should you wish to discuss this opportunity further, please contact Sarah Guest, sarah.guest@wolverhampton.gov.uk

Our working arrangements

All council roles are allocated to either a fixed, field or flexible work style. Some roles are agile which enable and empower 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 allocated 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.

Diversity 

We are committed to building a workforce that is reflective of the diverse community we serve. We want to attract the best applications from people of all backgrounds and underrepresented groups because we strongly believe in adding value through diversity, inclusion, and equality. Our employees enable us to deliver services that are accessible, inclusive, and reflective of Wolverhampton residents. 

Our status as a Disability Confident Employer showcases our commitment to people with disabilities or health conditions, advocating for their opportunities and potential. 

We've received the Stonewall Gold Award, emphasising our dedication to the LGBT+ community by nurturing an inspiring, inclusive, and equal workplace. 

As of March 2023, the RACE Code Quality Mark signifies our active engagement with racial equality. These recognitions validate our continuous efforts towards fostering an inclusive work environment that respects and values our diverse employees. 

As part of our commitment as a Disability Confident employer, a Gold Award Armed Forces employer and our commitment to supporting care leavers - we offer a guaranteed interview as long as your application meets the essential criteria for the post. 

We encourage, inspire and value an inclusive culture here at the council where employees can flourish, thrive and be themselves. We have four staff equality forums for employees to join. These help to ensure our employees have a voice, they feel empowered to speak up and where everyone is treated with respect - Learn more about the staff equality forums here

Recruitment of Ex-Offenders 

We are committed to the fair treatment of all our employees, potential employees, or users of our service regardless of offending background. The Council uses the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) for any vacancies that require a DBS check to obtain information about applicants to assess their suitability for employment in positions of trust. We do not discriminate unfairly against any individual on the basis of a conviction or any other information revealed as a result of a DBS disclosure - Learn more here

Employment Information & Support 

If you are considering applying for an apprenticeship or a role where the salary is (Grade 2-5), and would like to visit us to learn about the application, interview process and what it is like to work for the council, please click on this link to find out more - Learn more here

Attached documents
Job Description and Personal Specification