Protecting residents. Raising standards. Leading effective enforcement.
Hillingdon Council is looking for an accomplished and forward-thinking regulatory leader to become our new Head of Public Protection and Enforcement.
This is a significant leadership opportunity at the heart of the Council’s Community Safety and Enforcement Service. You will lead our regulatory and enforcement functions across Environmental Health, Trading Standards, Licensing, Imported Food, Environmental Protection and Private Sector Housing ensuring that these teams provide excellent services to residents and businesses in the Borough and meet statutory responsibilities.
You will shape policy, strengthen operational delivery and lead an intelligence-led, proactive service that protects residents from harm and maintains high standards across the borough. Working closely with elected members, senior officers, partner agencies, businesses and residents, you will ensure that enforcement is fair, proportionate, effective and focused on achieving positive outcomes.
The role:
Reporting to the Director of Community Safety and Enforcement, you will provide strategic and operational leadership for a large, multidisciplinary service, with up to 10 direct reports and up to 125 indirect reports.
Your responsibilities will include:
- Leading and coordinating the Council’s Public Protection and Enforcement functions, identifying and controlling risks and ensuring compliance with statutory obligations.
- Developing and reviewing regulatory strategies, policies, service plans and operational procedures.
- Providing authoritative advice to the Director, chief officers and elected members on strategic, statutory and operational matters.
- Maintaining a fair, robust and effective approach to complex and specialist enforcement activity.
- Ensuring that enforcement investigations, legal case files and evidence meet the required legal and professional standards.
- Leading service transformation and improvement programmes that deliver better outcomes for residents while responding effectively to financial and resource pressures.
- Establishing strong performance, quality-assurance and risk-management systems that demonstrate compliance and support continuous improvement.
- Managing service budgets and identifying opportunities for efficiencies, sustainable income generation and new ways of working.
- Building a skilled, resilient and engaged workforce, with a clear focus on professional development, succession planning and high performance.
- Representing the Council with government departments, regulators, emergency services, partner agencies and regional and national professional networks.
The postholder will also oversee key statutory policy frameworks, including licensing and gambling policies, the Council’s Enforcement Policy and relevant service delivery plans.
About you:
You will be an experienced senior leader with a successful track record of managing diverse or multidisciplinary regulatory services, ideally within a public-sector environment. You will need the ability to interpret complex legislation and turn it into effective policy, operational practice and measurable outcomes and to build effective relationships with partners both internally and externally.
You will be able to show evidence of continuous professional development and a commitment to leadership growth.
You will be comfortable making well-considered decisions, constructively challenging others when standards are at risk and taking responsibility for delivering results. You will combine professional credibility with a strong commitment to resident-focused services, equal access, continuous improvement and collaborative working.
Experience of complex enforcement investigations involving legal frameworks such as RIPA and PACE, leading public consultations, or managing procurement and tender exercises would be advantageous.
The role requires flexibility to work during evenings and weekends when necessary, travel across the borough, and a valid UK driving licence with access to a vehicle.
Why join Hillingdon?
This is an opportunity to lead services that make a visible difference to residents, businesses and neighbourhoods. You will have the scope to shape the Council’s approach to regulatory policy and enforcement, modernise services, develop professional capability and build strong partnerships across the borough.
You will join a senior leadership environment focused on putting residents first, in a local authority committed to using the enforcement tools available to it to solve problems for residents.
For an informal and confidential discussion, please contact:
Richard Webb, Director of Community Safety and Enforcement: [email protected]