Market Officer
London Borough of Barking and Dagenham
About this job
An exciting opportunity has arisen within the Council’s Markets team for the role of Markets Officer. You would be based at Barking Market in east London.
Barking Market is more than just a place to shop. Running five days a week, it is right at the heart of the town’s culture, economy and identity. It plays important roles in local business and with our communities. Many of the market stalls are home to family-run businesses, we have young traders and new start-ups. We are keen to explore new ideas to keep this market fresh and a great place to be.
As a Market Officer you will be on the frontline, ensuring our vibrant street market runs smoothly, safely, and efficiently. This is your chance to make a real difference in one of the most diverse places in the country. You will be helping to shape the future of Barking’s market, support many small businesses, and play a key role in the borough’s economic and cultural success.
The role is based in our Regulatory Services, and you will work closely with environmental health and trading standards officers, community safety and enforcement officers.
Special requirements for this post
You will work 35 hours per week over four days, including Saturdays. Occasionally if the market is open on an evening, a Sunday or Bank Holiday you may also be required to work.
This dynamic role involves being a first point of contact out on the market for 80% of your trading day, monitoring activities, checking licenses, and ensuring adherence to regulations and licensing conditions. You will play a vital part in:
- Supporting Traders: Assisting with stall setup and breakdown, and building positive relationships with licence holders.
- Ensuring Compliance: Carrying out regular checks on stalls, what they are selling, on licences, and advising traders on their responsibilities. You’ll also identify and report any breaches, supporting enforcement action.
- Promoting Growth: Supporting income-generating activities and identifying new trading opportunities for businesses.
- Maintaining Standards: Reporting any defects, monitoring market cleanliness, and managing public highway obstructions.
- Community Engagement: Being visible and accessible to the public, dealing with i
enquiries and complaints, and fostering strong community relations.
- Making the Market work: Handling daily administrative tasks, processing payments and supporting debt recovery.
This role involves a varied shift pattern, including mandatory weekend working (every Saturday) and occasional public holidays.
About you
To thrive in this role you will be:
- A confident, customer-focused individual with excellent communication and interpersonal skills
- Able to thrive in a diverse environment and be committed to fairness and sustainability.
- Enjoy working directly with the public and market traders every day.
- Quick thinking and able to follow up and resolve situations in a fast moving environment, providing high-quality service and resolving issues with a calm and confident approach.
- Proactive and resourceful: able to work independently, anticipate and identify problems, and take quick and effective action.
- Physically capable, comfortable with outdoor working in all weather conditions, and able to walk or stand for most of the day. The role also involves some manual handling.
Your background in a customer-facing market authority or public service environment will provide you with a good working knowledge of effective communication, both in person and in writing, and you will be able to manage difficult situations.
About us
We offer a wide range of benefits to our staff such as up to 30 days annual leave, Local Government Pension Scheme, learning and development, season ticket and travel loans, discounted gym membership, employment support and networking groups, retail, holiday and travel discounts with our wider wallet scheme, cycle purchase scheme.
Our borough is vibrant and diverse, and this is something we are proud of. We value the diversity of people who live, work and visit Barking and Dagenham and it is our vision to create a place where people understand, respect and celebrate each other's differences.