Defects and Improvements Officer WC623750

Job Details:

All applications must apply via Starfish. No applications will be considered via any other method. Please do not apply via the SuccessFactors job portal.

Salary range: £42,912- £57,495 per annum Salary negotiable depending upon experience
Work location: Westminster City Hall, 64 Victoria Street, Westminster, SW1E 6QP
Hours per week: 36
Contract type: Permanent
Closing date: 10 May 2026

About Us:

THE EXTRAORDINARY STORY OF KATE’S PASSION FOR NUMBERS AND PEOPLE.

Housing in Westminster City Council is a world of extraordinary stories. Where dedicated and compassionate professionals bring everything to their work.

Take Kate, an absolute wizard at managing housing asset data for our annual £50m capital programme. Kate’s an inspiration to her team. Now a senior manager, she first joined as a college leaver in finance. Through Westminster’s encouragement, as well as her own hard work and determination, she’s gained professional qualifications and taken on a series of increasingly stretching roles.

Today, we depend on Kate’s analytical powers to keep track of the condition of over 21,000 of our tenanted and leasehold homes – from roofs and windows to kitchens and bathrooms. Kate’s committed to achieving the Decent Homes Standard for all our tenants and a high standard for all our leaseholders. Her passion is numbers but, because she grew up in social housing, she also understands the human stories behind the data.

More than that she understands the disruption renewal work entails. So when an elderly resident’s family mentioned that their mother needed not just a new kitchen, but adaptations to her bathroom, Kate got right on to it. She co-ordinated with colleagues to assess the resident’s disability needs.

Kate’s worked hard to ensure our routine external and internal stock condition surveys pick up on repairs and health & safety issues at the same time. And, by recognising patterns in the data that’s gathered, she makes a vital contribution to forward planning for large-scale capital renewal works.

The Role:

As Defects and Improvements Officer, you too can make a powerful contribution. You’ll be joining the Major Works team, which delivers complex capital projects across Westminster’s housing stock. Our goal is for homes to be safe, high quality and sustainable. We manage construction programmes, engage residents, oversee contractors, uphold governance, value for money, and regulatory compliance. You’ll be helping us to achieve this by managing and resolving defects and aftercare. Strong organisational and problem-solving skills will shine through in this role.

As the primary point of contact for residents, you’ll ensure that all issues are addressed quickly and effectively, in a way that leaves residents satisfied. You liaise with project teams and contractors to keep residents informed on how works are progressing. Plus, you’ll join these teams for snagging and quality inspections to ensure efficient defects management and allocation process. You’ll maintain accurate records and reporting, including on contractor and consultant performance, escalating delays or quality issues to the manager. With relevant teams, you’ll produce reports on defect metrics (cost, timings). You’ll also ensure that the proper paperwork and certifications are in place for site handovers. With the Defects and Improvement Manager, you’ll arrange for the signing and sealing of legal documents to ensure that contractual obligations are enforced and managed.

To do this role, you’ll need to be flexible and comfortable with travel around the borough to visit sites and attend resident meetings – this may take place outside working hours.

You’ll be proactive about continuously refining defect management and aftercare processes. We’re ready to hear your improvement initiatives. We’re a forward-thinking, dynamic workplace, and will encourage your professional development.

Please refer to the Job Description for more information.

About You:

To be equal to the role, you’ll bring experience in defects, snagging, and aftercare processes within housing or construction projects. Doing this, you’ve developed excellent customer care skills, including in managing expectations and resolving complex queries. You’ll have liaised with contractors, consultants and internal delivery teams on working towards a resolution, to a set deadline.

It’s key that you bring an understanding of social housing standards, defect liability periods and compliance requirements. At a basic level, you can diagnose common building defects, construction processes and remedial actions.

You’ll have experience in managing and interpreting large volumes of data – interrogating it, identifying trends, and making recommendations. Plus, you can maintain accurate records, trackers and audit trails. You’re proficient in Microsoft Office (especially Excel and Word) and able to learn new systems fast.

A strong communicator with great interpersonal skills, you can explain technical issues clearly to residents and others. You can build trusting, positive relationships. Under pressure, you’ll maintain these traits. You’re self-motivated, able to work independently, and clear on when to escalate issues.

No formal qualifications are strictly necessary.

Westminster City Council is committed to supporting Care Leavers into the workplace. Care Leavers seeking their first job and who wish to be considered under our scheme, will automatically be invited to interview should they meet the essential criteria for the role.

We reserve the right to extend or close this vacancy early without warning subject to the volume of suitable applicants.

What We Offer:

Westminster is an amazing place. We are home to more than 200,000 residents from all backgrounds, over 50,000 vibrant and vital businesses and three-quarters-of-a-million people work in Westminster. Westminster City Council’s strategy is to work towards a Fairer Westminster. A Fairer Westminster is one in which our communities are at the heart of our decision-making and help to determine the city’s future. By working directly with our communities and other partners, we can build a more inclusive city that celebrates our diverse communities, and where residents, workers and visitors from all backgrounds will feel welcome and safe.

At Westminster City Council, we pride ourselves on being an inclusive workplace and employer of choice. We encourage and welcome applications from people from all backgrounds and aim to have a workforce that, at all levels, represents the communities we serve. We champion equality, diversity, inclusion and wellbeing and aim to create a workplace where everyone feels valued, has a sense of belonging and is empowered to be their best, that is the Westminster Way. To find out more about how we do this visit https://www.westminster.gov.uk/health-and-social-care/public-health-strategy-policies-and-reports/equality-duties

As a forward-thinking Council we appreciate that people work in different ways, therefore our staff benefit from working a range of flexible working patterns as well as Agile working.

The Council is a Disability Confident Employer. If you have declared a disability in your application, we guarantee an interview if you meet the essential criteria of the job. If you are invited for interview, you will be asked if you need any reasonable adjustments in order to attend, and we will make these wherever possible.

All applications must apply via Starfish.No applications will be considered via any other method. Please do not apply via the SuccessFactors job portal.