Infrastructure Planning Team Leader

Infrastructure Planning Team Leader 
PO7 - £57,402 - £60,573 annum
 

About Us

The Planning & Development service is shaping the places our residents and businesses use every day.  We do this by working with and holding developers or landowners to the high standards in our bold Local Plan and the London Plan.

he newly established Development Delivery team is building on the aspirations of our residents and members.  We want to ensure our residents can benefit from genuinely affordable homes, have access to beautiful and truly accessible public spaces, can secure the new jobs being created in a range of industries, and have access to the social infrastructure for everyone to thrive. Our strategic sites will create new communities that must truly connect with their neighbours. 

The Development Delivery team want to forge more productive relationships with stakeholders to help with the delivery of development alongside adequate infrastructure.  Our borough is growing and so is our team.

About the Job

This is a leadership role in our newly established Development Delivery team – leading on infrastructure planning with a team of two officers reporting to you. 

We are a growing and ambitious borough.  We want the best for our residents.

Our team need to ensure that where development is happening there is commensurate infrastructure and council services.

This role will have autonomy to establish our approach to infrastructure planning, there are pockets of amazing practice and relationships between the planning service, the wider council, the third sector and infrastructure providers – but this role will bring all of those threads together.

You will be supported by a committed senior manager to help you achieve yours and the wider council vision of success. 

This is a new team – so you can make your mark as a leader at Newham.

The team will take over the updates to the infrastructure delivery plan and establish a network of connections internally and with external infrastructure providers to more acutely understand their business plans and investment decisions; the team will also lead on the establishment of an updated CIL infrastructure list and work with colleagues in finance to start to establish a process for prioritising infrastructure (to inform part of our ongoing iterative local plan evidence base and a material planning consideration of infrastructure sufficiency). 

You will be able to support the progression and adoption of the local plan at any future examination in public as an expert witness on infrastructure planning; or equivalent settings.

Building relationships with developers and infrastructure providers to facilitate and unlock sites may also become part of this team’s function as things evolve during the year and beyond.  Supporting development management with infrastructure sufficiency and prioritisation judgements will also follow.

The Principal Aviation Officer role will report to this post and will remain committed to the monitoring of compliance with the airport’s extant planning permission and will support the (new) Senior Infrastructure Planner and team leader to assimilate to Newham’s approach to infrastructure.

The team leader will collaborate with colleagues in planning policy and the two developer contributions teams to establish a work programme – transferring tasks previously undertaken by other officers and establishing other tasks that we have not had capacity to resource. 

About You 

Do you want to create and shape a new team?  If you do, please read on.

You are a passionate and informed advocate for the council in relation to your infrastructure planning expertise as an MRTPI or MRICS planner or working towards membership of these institutions.  Or you may have a project management qualification and skills that you have honed in your previous work experience.

You are a leader or showing your leadership qualities in your current role and are keen to collaborate with a team of colleagues to shape their professional development and facilitate their learning.  You will be keen to learn and develop too.

You will be confident in your own abilities but not afraid to be honest if something does not go to plan. You will foster an atmosphere of shared accountability with your team, the wider service and other stakeholders.

You will be confident in preparing and presenting reports to a range of audiences to inform, influence or engage on planning obligations, planning policy and site specific considerations. 

You will be ready to direct but also get involved with tasks alongside your svelte but mighty team. Bringing together and co-ordinating actions happening across the council you will be the anchor to initially steady this ship; but you will then be the captain that gets our infrastructure planning team moving in the right direction.

You will already be a part of or quickly become familiar with a range of pan-London infrastructure planning thematic groups and in negotiation with planning policy you will become the borough’s representative for these forums.  Soon you will be leading or hosting these forums.

You will have experience of or feel comfortable in being the face for your team but also allowing chances for your team to shine too – in conversations with residents, members, senior leaders, developers, land owners, and infrastructure providers.

As a non-negotiable you will be committed to the achievement of equality, diversity and inclusion in both employment and service delivery.

Please view JD here https://www.newham.gov.uk/downloads/file/7557/infrastructure-planning-t…;

Additional Information

Closing date: 7^th September

Interview dates: 19^th or 22^nd September comprising a test/assessment and an interview with a panel.

To complete a successful application please carefully review the person specification and ensure you offer examples of your work experience.

Should you wish to have a confidential conversation about this job you may contact the Hiring Manager Jennifer Bishop Assistant Director Development Delivery on 02033731168 or Jennifer.Bishop@newham.gov.uk. 

The council are committed to enabling development opportunities for our colleagues.  During the course of your employment, subject to your meeting the relevant course entry requirements and based on the exigencies of the service, the Development Delivery team would support applications towards relevant apprenticeships for this role. This is also subject to government proposals to amend the use of the apprenticeship levy.

If you are currently on an apprenticeship levy funded course please contact us so we can discuss how this could be transferred to Newham.

Additional information

We are committed to creating an inclusive, anti-racist environment for all. When you apply for a job at Newham, your application is considered on its merits regardless of your age, disability, ethnicity, faith, gender identity or sexual orientation. If you share our vision and values, and you bring the experience and skills we need, that’s all that matters to us.

The London Borough of Newham has important responsibilities for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. If you are appointed to a job that involves working with these groups, you may be subject to a Disclosure and