Job details
- Salary: £25,584 to £27,269 plus allowance
- Status: Permanent
- Hours: 37 hours
- Closing date: 3 January 2025.
The Role
The newly created Housing Development Officer role will be a supporting role to the Senior Development Manager (SDM) and will work with and support the Senior Development Manager and Project Development Manager to deliver the Council’s Development Strategy 2024-29 and objectives of providing high quality new affordable Council homes as set out in the Corporate Plan. This an excellent opportunity for someone who has a relevant background in the housing sector and/or is interested in furthering their career and expanding their skills in the affordable housing development field.
Responsibilities
- To provide project management assistance, including research and investigations, liaison with external consultants and contractors, collation, and production of documents
- To adopt a project management approach to the delivery of new housing schemes to ensure they are delivered in a timely and transparent manner and within budget and that meet the required quality standards.
- To adopt a partnership approach to the delivery of new schemes working with internal and external stakeholders to ensure that new schemes are supported and meet GBC’s quality, affordability and sustainability objectives.
- To assist in and take on the day-to-day project management of development projects, taking corrective action where necessary and progressing projects to handover and final feedback evaluations by residents.
- Work closely with all departments to ensure that new properties are handed over efficiently and subsequent defects rectification processes are successfully concluded.
- To liaise with lawyers, planners, quantity surveyors, employer’s agents, architects and other property professionals and house-builder partners to ensure the successful delivery of projects.
- To assess the feasibility and viability of schemes proposed, using the Podplan and working with the development leadership team and finance.
- To ensure that there is appropriate and effective liaison with other council officers to deliver projects such as finance; legal; procurement; community development; housing officers; lettings officers and also liaison with planning officers in respect of planning applications and Section 106 Agreement affordable housing proposals by developers. This is to ensure that client department requirements are met and competing priorities are resolved.
- To liaise with tenants, leaseholders, community groups, lead Members, Ward Members and other local stakeholders to ensure projects are delivered with appropriate engagement of the local community. This includes facilitating Planning Consultation meetings and other resident communications about their homes, both tenanted and leasehold, and dealing with any associated and necessary decant processes from existing homes where redevelopment is required. The postholder will also assist in managing the purchase of leasehold properties to enable redevelopment.
- To proactively promote the Council’s quality standards for new housing, ensuring that legal and regulatory requirements plus also Council policies and procedures are complied with, including design standards.
- To assist with the preparation of reports for Management team and Members in respect of individual projects including the preparation of report to secure approvals for new contracts.
- To report regularly and frequently on progress with schemes, including Health and Safety, project costs, quality standards and programme, for internal stakeholders and external stakeholders, such as Homes England.
- Assist in the process of bidding for and managing grant funding timetables through the Homes England IMS system.
- To ensure accurate records are kept and documents filed ready for any Compliance Audit.
- To assist the team research new initiatives and the development of policies that make up the framework for the delivery of new schemes.
- Contribute to the team’s responses to Government consultation papers.
- Contribute to development of publicity material and promotion of the service.
Desirable qualifications/experience-
- Local government / housing / financial procedures / budget monitoring
- Awareness of the issues specific to Local Authorities in relation to the need to develop housing and its delivery
- An understanding of contract law and procurement practices
Working for Gravesham
We are committed to delivering to the community and working with us means you are part of delivering the level of growth and improvement our community needs and deserves. A range of services have been provided to over 106,000 people and 4,000 businesses.
The Borough of Gravesham, situated in the north west corner of Kent, covers 25,000 acres of the most varied countryside in south east England. Bordered by the River Thames to the north, it is at the heart of Thames Gateway and has a significant role to play in the regeneration of a major government growth area.
Read more information about working for us.
Benefits
- A minimum of 23 Days Annual Leave plus bank holidays.
- Membership to Local Government Pension Scheme - Local Government Pension Scheme
- Access to over 1000+ instant discounts from favourite retailers, restaurants, food delivery services and attractions via our benefits portal VivUp.
- Career development, training opportunities and access to e-learning
- Access to eye care vouchers and VDU Glasses
- External Occupational Health service
- Cycle to Work Scheme
- Access to EAP Services 24/7
- Hybrid Working
- Free parking
- Octopus Electric Vehicles Salary Sacrifice Scheme
Important Information
Applicants must be able to demonstrate all essential requirements as listed in the job description.
Please be advised that if you are not contacted within 3 weeks of the advert closing date then you have not been shortlisted. All recruitment correspondence, including interview letters and contracts of employment will usually be sent out via email.
We reserve the right to close this vacancy at any time prior to the closing date.
If you would like to have an informal discussion with the recruiting manager, please call Paul White on 01474 337938.
How to apply
Please send your CV and covering letter to recruitment@gravesham.gov.uk by 3 January 2025.
If you are not contacted within 3 weeks of the advert closing date then you have not been shortlisted.
All recruitment correspondence, including interview letters and contracts of employment will usually be sent out via email, if you require documentation in different format such as braille or large print, please contact the Human Resources Team on 01474 337374.