Job Details:
Salary range: £54,684 - £74,487 per annum
Work location: Westminster City Hall, 64 Victoria Street, Westminster, SW1E 6QP
Hours per week: 36
Contract type: Permanent
Closing date: 27 April 2025
Interview date: 5 May 2025
About Us:
The Environment & Communities Directorate.
The Environment & Communities Directorate in Westminster City Council is a world of extraordinary stories. Where dedicated people like Grace are using their skills and passion to progress environmental action in the heart of London.
It was at university where Grace first started campaigning for improved recycling facilities, water refill stations, and other eco-friendly initiatives. When she saw the real difference people could make when they came together, she knew she wanted to dedicate her career to community action for the planet.
When she joined us as Principal Engagement Officer, Climate Emergency, she quickly established herself as a passionate advocate for community outreach, engaging various stakeholders across Westminster in the social causes, impacts and solutions to climate change, air pollution, and biodiversity loss.
Grace became a driving force behind our first Citizens’ Climate Assembly, which took place across two weekends in the summer of 2023. Fifty residents were chosen at random from across our diverse communities to come together, learn about the climate emergency, and deliberate how we overcome the barriers to becoming a net zero city by 2040. The assembly produced several recommendations which have informed the evolution of our Climate Emergency Action Plan. Due to the success of this initiative, we’re holding more assemblies to continue community involvement in local decision-making.
To see the work of the Westminster Citizens’ Climate Assembly, click here .
The Role:
As our CCTV Technology and Housing Projects Lead you can make your own powerful contribution by helping us keep our residents safe through the introduction of new CCTV technology into their neighbourhoods, and the updating of old technology across our housing assets.
In 2024, we created a new Council CCTV Service which introduced 100 new public realm CCTV cameras into Westminster neighbourhoods. With a focus on placing CCTV in areas that are known crime and ASB hotspots, our cameras have also proved to be hugely helpful in detecting environmental issues and other problems that may affect our residents’ quality of life. As such, this programme has been a huge success, and we are now ready to go further in our work and extend our CCTV offering, including updating more than 1,000 cameras that are outdated, ineffective and may be non-compliant with current standards.
You will be at the heart of this ambition, as we are currently lacking in technical expertise to achieve this vision. We are therefore looking for an ambitious individual who has extensive knowledge of the latest technological developments in surveillance cameras and their supporting systems, to help us implement the most effective network of CCTV options. Working with a wide range of council partners and external stakeholders to bring this vision to life, you will oversee the placement of new cameras and the assessment of old cameras, determining a plan of action for updating or replacing them. Advising on technological solutions, applications and connectivity requirements, you will see to it that we’re complying with our legislative requirements, and you will be a trusted advisor on resident panels to ensure that our communities have faith in the decisions we’re making.
Working under the guidance of the CCTV Strategic Lead, you will act as our technology lead for the council, so there will be a great deal of visibility in this role. As such, you can expect to be involved in the most high-profile meetings, updating elected councillors and other senior partners and stakeholders on your progress.
Whether attending site meetings to agree on the location of CCTV installations, getting quotes from contractors and defining the specifications of third-party CCTV contracts, or advising colleagues on how AI could improve our CCTV service, this is a role that will continually challenge you to do more for Westminster’s communities.
We reserve the right to extend or close this vacancy early without warning subject to the volume of suitable applicants. But don’t forget that it’s a rare chance to shape the role as you see fit, and therefore could attract a number of great applicants – so the best way to demonstrate your enthusiasm, is by applying as early as possible!
Please refer to the Job Description for more information.
About You:
This is an exciting opportunity to shape a brand-new role, and show us what we could be achieving. As the community actively want and need this programme to be a success, every CCTV camera installed or repaired is deemed to be a great success – so job satisfaction is all but guaranteed!
To be equal to this challenge, you will have an in-depth knowledge of CCTV solutions, with expertise in developing technical and technological solutions, including the infrastructure and power requirements of CCTV networks. This will include a deep knowledge of CCTV policy, practice, management and the relevant legislation. Coming from a background in which you have worked to reduce crime or anti-social behaviour, or you have promoted community safety or equivalent, you will appreciate the value of building partnerships with public, voluntary and business groups.
With exceptional research, project and programme management skills, you will be capable of guiding stakeholders, so great communication, influencing and negotiation skills will be essential. You will also be comfortable procuring and managing contracts for the public sector – so you will need to be adept at identifying business needs, mapping processes and defining benefits.
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.
The Council is committed to achieving diverse shortlists to support our desire to increase the number of staff from underrepresented groups in our workforce. We especially encourage applications from a Global Majority ( GM), people who are Black, Asian, Brown, dual-heritage, indigenous to the global south, and or have been racialised as 'ethnic minorities' ( formally known as B.A.M.E, Black, Asian and multiple ethnic) background and, while the role is open to all applicants, we will utilise the positive action provisions of the Equality Act 2010 to appoint a candidate from a global majority background where there is a choice between two candidates of equal merit. If you are from a Global Majority background you can self-declare this to the hiring manager as part of our positive action commitments.
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.