Neighbourhood Warden

Job Description

We have some excellent job opportunities available within our team based in Bradford East and we are currently seeking practical and enthusiastic people with a passion for creating positive change in Bradford’s neighbourhoods.

You don’t need any prior experience as we’ll provide you with on-the-job training with opportunities to learn and develop your skills even further.

As part of your role, you’ll be assigned a ‘patch’, allowing you to get to know the community and build strong relationships with residents and community groups. This personal touch will enable you to understand the unique needs of individuals and families. You’ll be working alongside our Neighbourhood Connect Project which involves carrying out visits, providing support and linking people to local services.

One day you will be supporting residents to organise a fun day, the next day you could be working alongside Youth Services to run a food bank, or you could be delivering educational work to help reduce air pollution, particularly around schools.

So, if you have a passion for community development, a desire to make a difference and want a chance to grow both personally and professionally, we want to hear from you

We would also like to hear from people fluent in Eastern European or Asian languages.

Main Responsibilities

Reassurance/patrolling:
• Patrol local town centres, neighbourhoods, parks, cemeteries and other open spaces across the district in order to provide reassurance and identify environmental and community safety issues that need to be addressed.
• Provide a mobile quick response around environmental issues and, mostly in partnership with the Police, low level anti-social behaviour (including off-road bikes).

Community engagement and encouraging active citizenship:
• Provide information, advice and support to residents and businesses and signpost them to local facilities and public services as appropriate.
• Encourage residents and businesses to play an active role in their neighbourhoods and support community development projects undertaken by residents, public, private and voluntary sector organisations, ‘Friends of’ groups, work with schools and Street Rep projects.
• Be involved in practical community improvement activities such as community clean-ups and fun days and participate in multi-agency initiatives.

Environmental and community safety issues:
• Patrol neighbourhoods to identify and deal with environmental issues that are having a detrimental effect on the quality and amenity of the neighbourhood, eg rubbish in gardens, fly tipping, overhanging vegetation, blocked gulleys and highway obstructions.
• Educate and advise residents and businesses about the Council’s policies in relation to rubbish collection and disposal, recycling, litter and duty of care.
• Deal with complaints from the public about environmental issues and escalate cases to Environmental Enforcement Officers when necessary.
• Investigate waste crime such as fly tipping, gather evidence and obtain witness statements to support formal action including prosecutions.
• Prepare, draft and serve certain specified notices, including fixed penalty notices for littering and dog control order offences, and enforce park bylaws. Issue warning letters, eg Community Protection Warnings, as appropriate.

Operational duties:
• Maintain accurate records of activities, incidents and issues, and of follow-up actions and their results using handheld technology. Gather evidence where necessary.
• When required and duty-related, provide witness statements and participate in the judicial process, including appearing before court.
• Offer support and advice to the public in distress, without being directly involved in, or responsible for, their welfare. Call for emergency assistance as required.
• Work in accordance with agreed protocols, procedures and regulations, including those on communication, health and safety and conduct and behaviour. Comply with relevant local and national statutes, regulations and policies.

Minimum Qualification Level

Level 1

Essential and Desirable Skills

• Good literacy and numeracy skills.
• Awareness of problems that will impact on residents.
• Able to use a range of IT packages, including on Smartphones.
• Able to follow working practices, rules and procedures.
• Good listening and speaking skills with both individuals and groups of people.
• To be persuasive and able to encourage changes of behaviour.
• Understands the importance of confidentiality and data protection.
• Able to be assertive and to question and challenge to obtain information
• Able to write short sentences, to enable you to accurately record information related to your work.
• Able to cope with difficult and stressful situations.
• Able to diffuse difficult and potentially harmful situations, where appropriate.
• Able to develop positive relationships and networks with residents, businesses and other workers.

Training Provided

Yes