Role: Town Planner
Contract Length: 6 months
Location: Guilford, Northstowe, Cambridge or Bristol/ Hyrbrid
Description:
Working in our Southern Development Planning and Enabling team, the Senior Planning and Enabling Manager will play a critical role in project management of residential led/mixed use development projects, de-risking and securing planning certainty (including master planning/consents/S106 agreements and planning conditions), commission and managing capital works contracts (e.g. demolition, remediation, infrastructure)and ensuring key objectives related to design and quality of place, social value and levelling up are achieved.
You will be responsible for a portfolio of complex development projects across the South of varying scale and be required to take an innovative and creative approach to resolving complex planning, technical and legal issues.
You will also at times support acquisitions colleagues in assessing planning and development risk and help to prepare project delivery strategies. You will support disposal colleagues in assessing tenders and layouts to ensure compliance with the planning framework and quality standards set for our schemes. You will be joining our large, friendly, experienced and highly skilled team, who are committed to making positive change and supporting how the Agency delivers its overarching Mission.
This is a rare chance to shape the future of the Southern area in a fast growing, national organisation with real social purpose. Working positively with key stakeholders and partners, appointing specialist consultants, and working with a range of professional multidisciplinary internal professionals, you will ensure efficient, consistent and effective resolution of delivery challenges. You will have the opportunity to support the wider sector to tackle the housing and regeneration challenges faced by communities around the Country, to enable the delivery of new homes and housing-led, mixed use, regeneration and development.
There are a number of ambitious projects to get involved with across the South and this is an excellent opportunity to balance day to day delivery whilst bringing innovative solutions to the Southern Development Team offering.
You'll be comfortable supporting the Regional Director, Heads Of and Project Directors within the Southern team (as well as working with the wide range of Agency teams such as investment, markets, places and partnerships, legal, technical services, risk and commercial) with complex planning and development issues, aiming to help shape, and then deliver, the Annual Business Plan. You will be proficient in project management, town planning and technical delivery matters. You’ll also have experience in collaborative working with a range of stakeholders and internal staff.
As an experienced development professional you’ll understand how to manage colleagues and be able to demonstrate you can work with others as part of a team in a collaborative, inclusive way. The applicant will ideally have a background in management/mitigation of development constraints including programme management and critical path identification, awareness of key technical project risks (utilities, contamination, ground conditions, asbestos, ecology etc), and mitigation strategies. The applicant will also ideally have experience in the procuring and managing of multi-disciplinary teams, working collaboratively to identify, and implement risk mitigation strategies. The applicant will have an understanding of future development requirements for instance, transport, energy, utilities, drainage, ecology/biodiversity, sustainable design.
Key accountabilities and responsibilities
• Manager a portfolio of projects for the timely delivery of high quality, large scale and/or complex development through the planning system by resolving planning / delivery / placemaking, infrastructure issues and managing junior members of staff.
• Broker appropriate planning solutions between parties based upon knowledge and good practice, building consensus and mediating between conflicting positions where necessary. For example, this will include the negotiation of section 106 agreements and planning conditions, supported by relevant technical information including robust viability appraisals.
• Commission and oversee capital works contract, supported by technical colleagues, required to de-risk sites (e.g. demolition, infrastructure, remediation etc) as and when required prior to disposal.
• Thorough understanding of Homes England key strategic priorities, focusing on spatial business plan priorities of the Agency to ensure milestones and targets are achieved. Providing input into and identifying new potential opportunities for Homes England to be involved in - “the single pipeline”.
• Demonstrate a detailed understanding of development markets, land transactions, with particular focus on the residential and commercial market in their local area.
• Engage with the wider resource and skills of Homes England colleagues and other relevant partner agencies and stakeholders in order to gain consensus, identify appropriate site planning and de-risking strategies and unlock delivery constraints.
• Experience of preparing tender documents & managing contracts for, but not limited to, property advice, planning advice & legal advice and instructing solicitors. Ensuring document control of the projects undertaken is maintained.
• Drafting and presenting high quality approval papers to obtain committee and Board approval for projects at key stages of their life cycle.
• Liaison with Estate Management colleagues to ensure that appropriate management regimes are employed on site.
• Support partners to identify/reach key project milestones through the planning process e.g. planning application submissions/regulatory approvals/starts on site.
• Maintain trust and strengthen relationships within Homes England, with Local Authorities, housing and wider government colleagues through regular communication and feedback.
• Provide planning and enabling advice to colleagues within the Agency to support the acquisition, disposal and de-risking of a pipeline development sites.
• Homes England Employees are expected to be flexible in undertaking duties and responsibilities commensurate with the general character of the role and level of responsibility.
Key skills, knowledge and experience
• Considerable and demonstrable experience within the planning/development industry of aiding the delivery of large-scale complex development proposals, working with public and private sector partners.
• Thorough understanding of the components of high-quality development and detailed knowledge of the development process, an ability to identify and resolve site delivery constraints, a good understanding of related policy and legislation, with a focus on accelerating the delivery of new homes across Homes England’s sites.
• High level of communication skills and ability to delivery clear messages.
• An ability to work at pace and project manage a portfolio of assigned sites to secure delivery certainty.
• Qualified to degree level or suitable professional qualification/membership of relevant professional body. Extensive experience working at a senior level in a relevant sector.
• Extensive experience of managing multi-disciplinary teams. In depth knowledge of housing sector and government policy and current best industry practice.
• Excellent project management skills & the ability to manage multiple complex projects simultaneously. Experience of risk mitigation strategies.
Key competencies
• Decision maker with a high level of personal and professional responsibility.
• Ability to credibly represent Homes England in dealings with local authorities/key stakeholders and understanding their influences/approaches/expectations from the planning process.
• Ability to mediate and negotiate outcomes between parties with a cooperative approach to resolve difficult issues. Display an influential & assertive approach whilst maintaining positive working relationships with internal and external partners. Ability to manage and mentor staff; leading to them become high performing team members