Planning and Enabling Manager

Working in a team with the Head of Planning and Enabling and other Planning and Enabling Team Members, the Planning and Enabling Manager will play a critical role in taking the lead (as well as supporting senior colleagues) in the delivery of a portfolio of projects ranging from small to large strategic and more complex sites. You will provide technical knowledge to de-risk the sites and secure planning certainty to enable the supply of new homes on sites within Homes England’s land portfolio. The role may also include working on projects in the wider north of England within multi-functional teams focusing on specific projects and initiatives.

You will be joining an enthusiastic, friendly and experienced team of 12 people, who are committed to making positive change. You will support senior colleagues in the delivery of a varied range of projects using your technical and commercial skills to ensure that your projects are de-risked appropriately and taken to market in an agile way, that maximises the potential for early delivery of development and ensures good value for money for the Agency.

The Head of Planning and Enabling is committed to delivery, taking an innovative and creative approach to resolving issues and pro-actively identifying solutions, wherever possible. We believe in working in a collaborative and flexible way to foster good decision making and problem solving within their team.

The role will support the design and delivery of exciting and rewarding projects across the North West and may include:

• Drafting planning, technical and de-risking strategies/ briefs to instruct consultants
• Preparing responses to Local Plan consultations and supporting the project management of consultants to prepare and submit planning applications.
• The ability to understand, technically appraise and inform a range of planning documents and matters
• Engaging with Local Planning Authorities to, for example, agree content of planning applications and negotiate proportionate planning conditions and s106 Agreements
• You will support colleagues in acquisitions and disposals through the provision of technical support and planning strategy advice by carrying out technical due diligence and assessing planning potential/risks for sites that are being considered.
• You will also be required to contribute to preparing early drafts and shaping approval papers and planning strategies for land owned by the Agency or to be acquired directly through the Other Government Departments transfer model or partnering arrangements.

Person specification:

Educated to degree level and desirably with a recognised professional qualification (MRTPI/RICS) with 3-5 years relevant experience within the residential, commercial or regeneration development industries. You will have strong experience within the development industry and possess a good working knowledge of the development process, pre-acquisition, land transactions, de-risking, development economics and viability appraisals, as well as a sound understanding of the planning process and related policy and legislation.

You’ll have good project management skills and the ability to manage multiple complex projects and consultant teams simultaneously. A good/growing understanding of the marketplace and of the house building sector is essential for this position.

Delivering on a mission as bold as ours isn’t always easy. You will have excellent communication skills including oral, digital, and written and be resilient and comfortable managing stakeholders and your discussions will always be shaped by a good understanding of the commercial and operational impact of what we do as a Planning and Enabling team. You will enjoy working in an innovative, fun and engaging way and will be able to negotiate and persuade.

You will be ambitious, striving to exceed targets and continually improve, and you will be able to demonstrate you can work with others as part of a team in a collaborative, inclusive way.

Benefits:

Homes England is an executive non-departmental public body with its own terms and conditions, benefits and pension scheme. We are a government agency working in partnership with the private sector and want to employ and retain great people. In return we offer a range of excellent benefits, some of the key benefits include:

• Holiday - Homes England offers all staff 33 days annual leave per year in addition to 8 statutory bank holidays.
• Working Flexibly - At Homes England we have a strong culture of flexible working and encourage all employees to have a healthy work/life balance. We offer a wide range of potential working patterns, including part time, job share and compressed hours.
• Health and Wellbeing - We offer health screening with Nuffield Proactive Health Clinics, a free Employee Assistance Programme which offers confidential support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week as well as access to Occupational Health.
• Professional Development - At Homes England we are committed to your continued professional and personal development with learning as one of our core values. We pay for one job-related professional membership subscription per year for our employees.
• We also offer an excellent range of family friendly benefits, for example, maternity, paternity, shared parental leave.

Selection process details:

To apply please follow the links to our careers page. Successful candidates must pass a disclosure and barring security check. For more information on the role, please see the attached Job Description. Successful applicants will be advised of the outcome of their application and interviews held as soon as practical after the closing date. Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Homes England are an equal opportunities employer and positively encourages applications from suitably qualified and eligible candidates. We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer that values and respects the people who work for us. Our aim is to be an employer of choice, enabling everyone to reach their full potential.