Working hours: 15 hours per week (banking 12 minutes per week towards the shut down between Christmas and New Year)

About the Role

Harlow Council is seeking an experienced, dynamic, and forward‑thinking Head of Environmental Health and Licensing to lead our high‑performing regulatory services. This is a pivotal leadership position responsible for safeguarding public health, ensuring safe and vibrant communities, and supporting local businesses through a fair and modern regulatory approach.

You will lead multidisciplinary teams covering environmental health, food safety, housing standards, disabled facilities grants, environmental protection, health & safety, and licensing. This is an opportunity to shape the strategic direction of these services as Harlow continues its exciting growth and regeneration journey.

What You’ll Do

Provide strategic leadership across Environmental Health and Licensing, ensuring compliance with statutory duties and delivery of excellent public services.
Lead, motivate, and develop professional teams to achieve high performance and continuous improvement.
Oversee delivery of key services including food hygiene, private sector housing enforcement, health & safety, noise and nuisance, pollution control, and all licensing functions.
Work collaboratively with local partners, public health bodies, businesses, and other stakeholders to promote community wellbeing and economic growth.
Drive innovation, service transformation, and digital improvement to enhance efficiency and customer experience.
Act as the Council’s principal adviser on environmental health and licensing matters, providing expert guidance to senior leaders and elected members.
Manage budgets, resources, and regulatory programmes to ensure effective and value-for-money service delivery.

About You

We’re looking for a strategic leader with a strong professional background and a commitment to improving public health and community safety. You will have:

Significant experience in environmental health with particular expertise in Private Sector Housing and/or licensing within a local authority or similar regulatory environment.
Proven leadership and people management skills with the ability to inspire teams and deliver measurable results.
Excellent understanding of regulatory frameworks, including relevant environmental health, housing, and licensing legislation.
Strong communication, negotiation, and stakeholder engagement abilities.
A proactive, solution‑focused approach with the confidence to influence at all levels.
Chartered status or eligibility for Chartered status with the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH) is desirable.

Why Harlow Council?

This is a rare opportunity to help shape services in a borough undergoing major transformation. At Harlow Council, you’ll join a collaborative leadership environment committed to innovation, empowerment, and delivering the best outcomes for residents.

We offer:

Competitive salary and generous local government pension scheme
Flexible and hybrid working options
Support for professional development
A culture that values ideas, improvement, and excellence

For an informal discussion about this role, please contact Sasha Taylor, Director Public Protection, on 01279 446047

Harlow Council is committed to equal opportunities and welcomes applications from all sections of the community. We offer flexibility with purpose through our Dynamic Working approach. While office-based work is the norm, most full-time employees attend the workplace at least three days per week (pro rata) (four days per week from September 2026).

We also support a range of flexible arrangements to help balance work and personal life and provide health and wellbeing initiatives and an employee assistance programme.

As a Disability Confident Employer, we guarantee an interview to disabled candidates who meet the Essential Criteria on the Employee Profile.