Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council Jobs | 1 Live Vacancy

About the council

Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council is the district council for the borough of Welwyn Hatfield in Hertfordshire, which takes in Welwyn Garden City, Hatfield, Welwyn village, Brookmans Park, Cuffley and the surrounding countryside about 20 miles north of London. The council's main offices are at Campus East in Welwyn Garden City (AL8 6AE), with a further base at The Watermill in Hatfield. Salaries include an outer fringe allowance because of the borough's proximity to London. The council describes the area as a place with community at the heart of everything it does, and sets out its priorities under a set of "CORE" values and behaviours.

Housing services

Welwyn Hatfield is one of the Hertfordshire councils that still owns and manages its own council housing. Tenants deal with the council directly for rent, repairs, mutual exchange, right to buy, adaptations, damp and mould, anti-social behaviour and tenancy matters, supported by an online Tenant Hub and account portal. The council also runs Independent Living (sheltered housing) schemes for older and vulnerable residents, manages leasehold properties and garages, and has to meet the new requirement for social landlords to respond to emergency hazards within 24 hours. Recruitment categories on its jobs site include Housing and Tenancy Management, Housing Options, Independent Living, Estates, Repairs and Maintenance and Property Maintenance, reflecting the range of in-house housing work.

Homelessness and Housing Options

The Housing Options (housing needs) team helps residents who are homeless or at risk of losing their home. It offers housing advice appointments, a rent deposit scheme to help people into private rented accommodation, help with rent or mortgage arrears, support for people fleeing domestic abuse and dedicated support for armed forces veterans. Where the council has a duty under the Homelessness Reduction Act it provides temporary accommodation, and it works with local charities to help people sleeping rough, with an online form for the public to report someone on the streets. Applicants for council housing join the register and bid for properties through the council's choice-based lettings system.

Working for the council

The council recruits through its own careers site (careers.welhat.gov.uk) and a Tribepad jobs portal. Pay is set on local government grades, with a starting salary that rises through annual increments subject to satisfactory service, and every advertised salary includes the outer fringe allowance. Many office roles are offered on a hybrid basis, and employees join the Local Government Pension Scheme. The careers site promotes what it calls the top 50 benefits of working for the council, and the council recruits apprentices and trainees as well as experienced officers. Posts involving vulnerable residents are subject to safeguarding checks.

Typical roles advertised

• Housing Options Officers and homelessness prevention caseworkers
• Housing (tenancy) Officers, income officers and estates staff for the council's own homes
• Independent Living scheme managers and support staff for sheltered housing
• Building surveyors, repairs and maintenance operatives, environmental health, licensing, planning and legal roles

General enquiries can be made through the contact form on welhat.gov.uk; the housing team offers bookable housing advice appointments through the council website.