Deputy Head of Building Control

Description
About Barnet Council

Barnet is a vibrant borough known for its excellent schools, bustling town centres, expansive green spaces, and diverse communities, making it a fantastic place to live and work. As a forward-thinking council, we are dedicated to building on these strengths and addressing the challenges ahead. We are committed to growth and development, working collaboratively with partner organisations and residents to enhance the quality of life in Barnet. Our staff embody our core values: Learning to Improve, Caring, Inclusive, Collaborative – principles that guide all our actions and decisions.

  About Building Control

Our Building Control service is a key part of the Growth Directorate, working closely with our Planning colleagues. We are a well-resourced, friendly team of 15 dedicated professionals, committed to providing a wide range of services. These include ensuring building regulation compliance through detailed plan assessments and site inspections, responding to dangerous structures, administering demolition notices, and enforcement.

We pride ourselves on our ambitious approach and our strong investment in staff development. Operating within a robust quality management system, we actively engage at a regional level to ensure continuous improvement and provide ample training opportunities for our staff. Our team embraces an agile working approach, offering flexibility to work from either an office base or home location, as long as the operational needs of the service are met. We are dedicated to creating a supportive and caring work environment where everyone can thrive.

  About the role

As Deputy Head of Building Control, you will manage a team of eight inspectors ensuring that the safety, compliance, and quality of complex/high-risk construction projects within Barnet and the wider region are delivered. Your expertise will guide the assessment of building plans, inspections, and compliance with building regulations. Collaborating with the regulator, architects, engineers, and contractors, you'll ensure that construction projects adhere to the relevant standards - promoting a built environment and borough to be proud of. Barnet has ambitious housing targets and the second highest population of any London borough, generating both a large supply and demand of housing, and you can play a pivotal role in its realisation.  You will be working in a well established, friendly and professional team, with guidance and support from the Head of Building Control.

 
  Please click here to download the Job description for this role.
  About you

The job description presents the knowledge, skills, experience, personal specification, and qualifications that are considered essential to the role. You will have:

• An excellent knowledge of legislation, regulations, and professional codes of practice for the service area, including the Building Act 1984, Building Safety Act 2022, and Building Regulations 2010;
• Qualified Level 3 Building Inspector;
• Education to a degree/masters level in a relevant subject such as Building Control, Building Surveying, Construction, Structural Engineering and/or be able to demonstrate learning at an equivalent level;
• Chartered membership of a relevant professional body such as RICS, CABE, CIOB or equivalent with relevant Building Control bias and evidence of achieving CPD requirements;
• An ability to thoroughly examine principal designers' plans, undertake site inspections and compile reports and keep written records to justify decisions made in relation to the practical application of the Building Regulations 2010, within the context of investigation by the Building Safety Regulator and the personal liability imposed upon all inspectors by the Building Safety Act 2022;
• Experience of managing or mentoring junior staff or large projects within Building Control or a similar specialist technical area with clients and/or customer-facing aspects;
• Ability to motivate staff, set priorities and targets, direct and plan work to provide an integrated service to meet standards and deadlines.
• We would welcome applications from aspiring leaders, if you don't meet all the essential criteria but have a passion for building control, are organised and are already Level 3 qualified we can support you to become a manager. 

  What we offer

• 31 days annual leave, plus public and bank holidays;
• Access to the Local Government Pension Scheme, which provides a valuable guaranteed income in your retirement together with security for your dependents;
• Work-life balance options may include hybrid working, flexitime, job share, home working and part-time;
• A vast range of lifestyle discounts from major retailers, supermarkets, energy suppliers and more;
• Broad range of payroll benefits including cycle to work, eye care vouchers, travel, and gym membership;
• Excellent training and development opportunities;
• Employee well-being training programs including confidential employee assistance.
• £10,000 Market Factor Supplement (p/a)

 

How to apply

Read the job description and person specification before clicking 'Apply' to commence the online application form. If you would like any further information about the role before applying, please contact Michael Keown, Head of Building Control on or at  

Barnet Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people, and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. Barnet operates stringent safer recruitment procedures.

To deliver Barnet Council's commitment to equality of opportunity in the provision of services, all staff are expected to promote equality in the workplace and in the services the Council delivers. As such we value diversity and welcome applications from all backgrounds including from the LGBT+ community, genders, ages, disabilities, faiths/beliefs and candidates from Black, Asian, and ethnic minority backgrounds. For further information, please read our equality statement.

Barnet Council embraces all forms of flexible working (including part-time, compressed hours, and remote working) and is committed to offering employees a healthy work-life balance. Candidates are encouraged to talk about relevant requirements and preferences at interview. We can't promise to give you exactly what you want, but we do promise not to judge you for asking.

Barnet Council is a Disability Confident Committed Employer. We welcome and encourage job applications of all abilities. If you require any reasonable adjustments in the application or interview, please contact the lead contact on this advert. We will make reasonable adjustments to make sure our disabled applicants and those with health conditions are supported throughout our recruitment process. We support the access to work scheme, further details are available at 

All posts with the council are subject to a probationary period of six months, during which time you will be required to demonstrate to the council satisfaction your suitability for the position in which you will be employed.

Due to the high number of applications that are received for some posts we may close vacancies before the stated closing date if sufficient number of applications are received. Therefore, please apply as soon as possible.

Please ensure you regularly check the email account (including JUNK MAIL folders) that you use to submit your application, as any further communication regarding your application will be sent electronically. Should you not hear from us within four working weeks of the closing date for this post, then regretfully in this instance, you have not been shortlisted.

 

Responsibilities

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