Principal Enforcement Officer - Regulatory Health & Safety Team

Why Southwark?

Can you use your health and safety enforcement expertise to protect workers, businesses and communities across one of London's most diverse boroughs?

Do you thrive on complex investigations, evidence-led enforcement and delivering positive regulatory outcomes?

Are you ready to take a leading role in shaping regulatory services, mentoring colleagues and driving compliance across a varied business landscape?

If yes, we have the perfect role for you!

Our Regulatory Health & Safety Team is looking for an experienced and motivated Principal Enforcement Officer to join our specialist enforcement service and help make a difference across Southwark.

Based within our dedicated Regulatory Health & Safety Team, you will work as an active field officer responsible for enforcing, advising on and promoting health and safety legislation across a wide range of businesses and workplaces, including licensed premises.

This is an exciting opportunity to join a high-performing regulatory service that plays a vital role in protecting public health, safety and wellbeing across one of London's most vibrant and diverse boroughs.

What You'll Be Doing

As a Principal Enforcement Officer, you will lead on a range of enforcement and compliance activities, ensuring businesses meet their legal obligations while protecting employees, residents and visitors.

You will:

• Carry out risk-based inspections of businesses and workplaces across the borough.
• Investigate workplace accidents, complaints and service requests.
• Lead and contribute to local and national enforcement initiatives.
• Respond to licensing applications and support regulatory activity within Southwark's night-time economy.
• Identify breaches of legislation and determine appropriate enforcement action.
• Prepare detailed reports, witness statements and prosecution files.
• Represent the Council in court proceedings and provide expert evidence where required.
• Act as the lead officer in specialist areas of health and safety enforcement.
• Build strong relationships with businesses, residents, partner agencies and other enforcement bodies.
• Support the development of junior officers through mentoring and professional guidance.
• Contribute to service improvements, policy development and the delivery of strategic priorities.

What We're Looking For

As a senior member of the team, you will bring strong technical expertise, excellent judgement and a commitment to delivering high-quality regulatory services.

To be successful in this role, you will have:

• Significant experience in health and safety enforcement.
• An appropriate professional qualification relevant to health and safety enforcement and investigative work.
• Experience leading complex investigations and managing enforcement casework.
• A thorough understanding of health and safety legislation and regulatory enforcement practices.
• Experience preparing cases for legal proceedings and presenting evidence in court.
• Experience of criminal investigation and prosecution work within an intelligence-led environment.
• Excellent communication and influencing skills, with the confidence to engage constructively with a wide range of stakeholders.
• The ability to balance advice, education and enforcement to achieve positive outcomes.
• Strong organisational skills and the ability to manage competing priorities effectively.
• Experience of supporting, mentoring or developing colleagues.
• A proactive and collaborative approach with a commitment to continuous improvement.

Contact Information

For an informal discussion about the role, please contact Sailesh Chudasama at .uk.

Additional Information

The role will involve both office and field-based working

Occasional evening and weekend working may be required to meet service needs

Benefits and More Information

https://jobs.southwark.gov.uk/why-us/

Recruitment Timeline

Advert Live: 12 August 2026
Advert Close: 11:59pm on 7th September 2026
Shortlisting: W/C 14th September 2026
Interviews: W/C commencing 21st September 2026

The closing date is given as a guide. We reserve the right to close this vacancy once a sufficient number of applications has been received. We strongly advise you to complete your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

We are an organisation who is passionate about our people and understands that richness of diversity is a requirement to provide the best possible services to our communities. This is demonstrated through our council-wide ambitious commitment to tackle racial inequality in our communities and workforce through our Southwark Stands Together initiative.

Southwark Council will only contact candidates through official Council recruitment channels. We will not ask you to provide passport details, proof of address, National Insurance number, bank details or payment at application stage. These checks are only requested at the onboarding process – once an offer of employment has been made. If you’re unsure whether a communication you’ve received is genuine, please contact the Resourcing team directly on .uk  before sharing any personal information.

Guaranteed Interview Scheme

As part of our commitment to inclusion, we offer guaranteed interviews for specific groups of people. To qualify, you'll need to meet the minimum requirements for the role and identify with one of the below criteria: