Parks and Play Development Officer in Walthamstow

Organisation: London Borough of Waltham Forest

Salary: PO3 £45,750 - £49,056

Contract Type: Full Time/Permanent

Working hours per week: 36

Application Deadline: 22/05/2026

Proposed Interview Date(s): 29/05/2026

Reference: 2110

About Us:

Bursting with culture, energy, and opportunity, the London Borough of Waltham Forest is a fantastic and exciting place to work. We are a highly ambitious borough. Driven by culture and the innate creativity of our residents, we have developed new and innovative ways to build our communities. Our Council is relentlessly resident-focused, insight-led, digitally driven and commercially minded; a Council focused on meeting the needs of our existing and future residents.

London Borough of Waltham Forest is one of the Mayor of London’s Good Work Standard employers. This accreditation is proof of our commitment to creating a healthy, fair and inclusive workplace. This includes fair pay and conditions, workplace well-being, skills and progression and diversity and recruitment.

The Council’s preference is for online application. However, if you have a disability and are unable to complete an online application, please email recruitment@walthamforest.gov.uk so we can arrange an alternative application method.

About the role:

This is a pivotal role in shaping high-quality, inclusive outdoor spaces across Waltham Forest. As our Parks and Playground Development Officer, you will lead the planning, design and delivery of improvement projects for parks, playgrounds and green spaces, working collaboratively with local communities, contractors and key partners. You’ll combine strong project management skills with creative problem-solving to ensure our public spaces are safe, sustainable and inspiring for residents of all ages. You’ll also be part of a small, dedicated team responsible for the day-to-day infrastructure of our parks and open spaces. We’re seeking someone with experience in complex procurement processes and a solid understanding of play design and development. Alongside capital projects, you will contribute to wider parks functions, including delivering Green Flag Management Plans, administering event applications, and monitoring the quality and performance of our parks.

Key Responsibilities:

• Experience in playground monitoring / repairs
• Specific playground safety knowledge / guidance
• Responsible for the delivery of a portfolio of capital schemes from inception to completion
• Devise and implement management processes for Borough’s premier parks.
• Write/deliver management plans.
• Monitor grounds maintenance.
• Deliver and procure infrastructure improvements and maintenance.
• Develop and oversee event applications including processing applications and risk assessments / presenting to SAG
• Monitor budgets for specific sites and/or projects.
• Generate income for parks.
• Write fundraising bids, attract external funding.
• Raising purchase / invoices

Qualifications and Requirements:

• Degree or equivalent or vocational qualification in relevant subject or area
• Experience or accreditation as operational playground inspector to RPII Standard
• Evidence of Continuous Professional Development (required)
• Full UK driving licence and use of own transport for Council business (required)

Terms and conditions:

The below terms and conditions apply to this role:

• Satisfactory employment references and CIFAS identity checks;
• Satisfactory DBS check;
• Suitable driver’s license;
• As a public authority, we must ensure that members of staff in public-facing roles are able to speak fluent English.

How to Apply:

Interested candidates are invited to submit their applications online by pressing the ‘Apply’ button below. This includes a supporting statement that outlines to us how your skills and experience make you a good candidate for this vacancy. We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible.

Equal Opportunity Employer:

Waltham Forest is a diverse borough where diversity is valued and is integral to both service delivery and employment of its staff. The Council is proud of its rich mix of communities and as the largest employer in the area, it works hard to respond to the changing needs of its population. We use our statutory duties on race, gender and disability equality and best practice in respect of age, faith and sexual orientation to ensure equality of opportunity in the workplace. The Council is committed to meeting its 4 equality objectives:

• Promoting equality of opportunity
• Opposing all forms of discrimination, intolerance and disadvantage
• Ensuring our workforce reflects the diverse communities of Waltham Forest at all levels.
• Providing fair, appropriate, accessible and excellent Services to all.

Respecting Diversity is a core Council value.

To support the above and reduce the risk of bias in its recruitment activities, the council is operating an anonymous shortlisting process, which hides personal information that can identify individuals until their application has been considered for shortlisting. The council also operates a scheme whereby, for jobs graded up to and including scale SO2, internal candidates are considered first. This includes those candidates who self-identify as having a disability for the purposes of the Disability Confident scheme. For more information, please refer to our recruitment and selection policy.

We are keen to support employees to balance their working life with other commitments. Therefore, wherever possible, we will consider working arrangements that suit an individual's personal circumstances whilst still meeting the needs of the Council. If you would like to discuss the possible flexible working options that might be applicable to this role, please contact the person named below or feel free to discuss this during your interview.

For more information on the benefits of working for the Council, please visit here.

Contact Information:

If you have any questions about this vacancy or the application process, please contact Ian Sheppard Head of Parks and Open Spaces Ian.sheppard@walthamforest.gov.uk

If you have any technical issues when trying to apply for this post, please contact our Recruitment Team via email at recruitment@walthamforest.gov.uk.