Salary: £15,014 p.a.

Location: Various locations within the Portsmouth area as the needs of the service require.

What's on offer

We are offering a fantastic opportunity for you to start a career with us by joining as an Estate Services Officer Apprentice. You will get:

• Up to one year of paid work • You will have a mentor/buddy who will be an experienced member of staff who can help you through the training. • You will get a qualification and support to help you achieve this. • You will improve your career prospects with the experience and qualifications gained and the possibility of getting permanent employment within Portsmouth City Council

The employment Benefits will be • A level 2 qualification in Facilities • Access to all PCC Corporate Training • 25 days annual leave plus bank holidays • Access to PCC 'My Rewards'

The Service

Portsmouth City Council Housing Service manages over 17,000 council owned and leasehold properties in Portsmouth and Havant making it the largest social landlord in that area. This includes repairs and maintenance, rent collection, ground maintenance and cleaning, tenancy support and tackling anti-social behaviour.

The Housing Service through its staff focuses on getting the delivery of our services right, in order, to deliver what customers need from our services, when they need it.

Purpose - To help keep the city safe, clean and tidy and provide support / assistance when needed.

What is the role?

Assist the Housing Office in providing a quality service in all aspects of estate management.

You will inspect blocks of flats, communal areas, play sites, parking sites and garages ensuring they are maintained in a safe, clean and tidy condition. This will involve speaking to tenants/leaseholders regarding the correct disposal of black bags and bulk items with a view to re-educate those who are not disposing of these items in the correct way.

Whilst dealing with estate based issues you will listen to residents, gain an understanding of the situation / circumstances, react to the problem appropriately and when necessary challenge resident behaviour.

This is a varied and challenging role that involves dealing with a wide section of the local community and other external agencies such as the police as well as putting you in close contact with numerous departments within Portsmouth City Council, so your ability to work in partnership with others will be paramount.

You will act as a professional witness and attend court as required. Core working hours are Monday - Thursday 0830 - 1700 and Friday 0830 - 1600. Flexible working hours are available, but, must meet the needs of the business. There may be the occasional need to work out of hours.

This is not an office based role. Estate Service Officers routinely carry out minor repairs to housing communal areas, such as changing light bulbs which require the use of ladders. You will also need to be able to walk up several flights of stairs, move refuse bins and access bins to investigate waste.

One of our Estate Services Officers had this to say about their role "An ESO's role gives me a wide and diverse set of skills to progress within Social Housing and is a good stepping stone for future development. I enjoy meeting and supporting our residents, I like making a difference and seeing a job through to the end." Who is the person?

You need to:

1. Have experience of working with the public and be comfortable visiting customers in their home. 2. Have the ability to communicate effectively at all levels from residents to Councillors, social services, police, court staff and staff across Portsmouth City Council. 3. Have a proactive approach when dealing with and identifying issues in the area, engaging with customers, in a calm and tactful manner, and challenging behaviours when necessary. 4. Be able to work independently and as part of a team, using your own initiative and judgement in order to find appropriate and effective solutions. 5. Be able to identify or consider other resources available to you to help you achieve results for our customers. 6. Have experience of letter and report writing as you will be required to prepare documents which may be used as evidence in court. 7. Be able to carry out minor repairs to housing communal areas, such as changing light bulbs which may require the use of ladders. 8. Be able and prepared to help support our customers as needed, for example, carry shopping, climb stairs and move refuse bins. 9. Be comfortable using a variety of IT systems such as Word, Outlook and Excel. 10. A full driving licence & the use of a car for work as you will be required to transport equipment and support other area offices (including Wecock Farm, Leigh Park and Crookhorn) where required. 11. The ability to converse at ease with customers and provide advice in accurate spoken English is essential for the post 12. Full Driving Licence or currently learning to drive and use of a car


Additional information: If you have any questions, or would like an informal discussion about the role, please call Larry Clay, Somerstown and Portsea & Jan Thomas, Leigh Park and Wecock Farm

Closing time/date, Midnight, on the 24th of September 2017 Applications received after this may not be considered. Assessment Centre will be held on the 5th of October 2017 with interviews on the 6th of October 2017.

How to apply: To find out more information with regards to this role please cut and paste the following link into your search engine which will take you through to the national apprentice web-site and quote the vacancy reference below which will give you further details and details on how to apply.

Vacancy ref: VAC001307477