Location: Bridge Mills Business Centre, Stramongate, Kendal Cumbria LA9 4BD
Salary: £41K including Market Supplement
Contact name: Wayne Boak
Contact email: [email protected]
Contact phone: 01539 717718
Purpose of the job:
The Development Officer will play a key role in delivering our new homes programme, taking the lead on our Section 106 (S106) and acquisitions programme and supporting the Development & Sales Manager with land-led development, including leading on land-led schemes where required.
This is an active, relationship focused role. You will build strong and positive relationships with all key stakeholders, creating the connections needed to keep schemes moving and deliver high-quality new homes for our residents.
You will take ownership of a varied portfolio of schemes, maintaining a strong understanding of progress, risks, quality and key milestones. Regular presence on our development sites will be an important part of the role.
Working across Development, Sales and the wider organisation, you will be highly organised, responsive and comfortable managing multiple priorities at different stages of delivery. You will also work closely with and provide support to the Sales & Home Ownership Officer and Development and Sales Assistant, helping to create a seamless journey from development through to handover, sale and occupation.
Key accountabilities:
| 1. | Lead the appraisal and delivery of the S106 and acquisitions programme, taking day-to-day ownership of allocated schemes from initial scheme reviews, financial appraisals, acquisition and contract stages through construction, handover and completion making sure the scheme runs to programme and budget.
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Develop strong and productive external relationships with open market developers, contractors, Clerks of Works, local authorities, consultants and other partners. Be a visible and engaged ambassador for the organisation, developing new business opportunities and increasing our profile and networks within the sector.
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Maintain an active presence on development sites, undertaking regular site visits, attending project and progress meetings and building effective working relationships with site teams. Develop a thorough understanding of progress on each scheme and ensure emerging risks, delays or quality issues are identified, acted upon and escalated to team members where appropriate.
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| 4. | Drive schemes forward, maintaining oversight of programmes, key milestones, information requirements, risks and risk registers, service charges, financial viability of developers, project costs, cashflows and actions. Proactively follow up outstanding matters and work with colleagues and partners to find solutions where barriers arise. Ensure significant risks, delays or issues are addressed or escalated promptly to the Development & Sales Manager, with clear information on impact and proposed next steps.
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| 5. | Support the Development & Sales Manager with land-led development, including project coordination, consultant and contractor appointment and liaison, scheme information, meetings, financial and programme monitoring and external grant applications. Where appropriate, take the lead on individual land-led schemes through to delivery.
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| 6. | Coordinate and lead the handover of new homes, bringing together all stakeholders to ensure homes and all required information are ready at the right time.
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| 7. | Work closely with, support and oversee the day-to-day work of the Development & Sales Assistant in relation to allocated schemes, providing clear direction on priorities and ensuring key administrative, handover, defect, aftercare, resident satisfaction and project actions are progressed accurately and on time.
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| 8. | Support the Development & Sales Assistant with coordinating defects, aftercare and end of defects activity, managing resident and contractor communication, maintaining accurate defect records and monitoring against KPI’s and dashboards.
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| 9. | Work collaboratively with the Sales & Home Ownership Officer, sharing information and providing support across the sales and home ownership programme where required.
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| 10. | Build strong relationships across the organisation, working particularly closely with Asset, Building Safety, Housing, Sales, Finance and other colleagues to ensure their requirements are understood and incorporated into development delivery.
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| 11. | Champion equality, diversity and inclusion and the resident experience, ensuring new homes meet agreed design, specification and quality requirements, reflecting the diverse needs of our communities. Use customer feedback and performance information to improve the service, identifying recurring issues and recommending improvements.
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| 12. | Maintain accurate and up-to-date scheme information and trackers, including programme, property, financial, Homes England audit and handover information, ensuring systems and records provide a clear and reliable picture of each development. Prepare information for internal meetings, Committee meetings and Board meetings relevant to your responsibilities.
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| 13. | Support with managing the development inbox, ensuring enquiries are reviewed, responded to or allocated promptly and information is shared with the right colleagues.
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| 14. | Support the Development and Sales Manager to ensure adherence to health, wellbeing, and safety policies and procedures, taking responsibility for the SLH’s compliance with statutory site safety requirements and other relevant regulations including CDM.
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| 15. | Support customer complaints and feedback within your area of responsibility, ensuring issues are responded to promptly, learning is captured and improvements are made to services.
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| 16. | Take responsibility for your continued professional development, actively building knowledge, skills and experience to support your role and the wider team.
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| 17. | Development and Sales is a varied and fast-moving area and no profile can capture every activity. The postholder will be expected to work proactively, flexibly and collaboratively, supporting wider team priorities as required.
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