The Role

The Falkland Islands are a unique and diverse place to live and work. We have a strong economy, a welcoming community and a stunning natural environment. You could have an opportunity to make your contribution to our successes as the Falkland Islands Government is now looking for a suitable candidate for the Head of Planning and Building Services.

The Falklands operates its own planning system, which shares much with the UK system, adapted for our particular context. The role of Head of Planning & Building Services provides strategic and operational leadership to the planning team and its committees. It also has responsibility for providing advice to the Falkland Islands Government on a range of matters including: development management, building control, policy and regulations development, heritage, and where necessary enforcement.

The Falkland Islands are in the middle of an ambitious capital programme covering critical national infrastructure, routes to enhance sustainable tourism, and an increasing need for growth in the domestic housing market. This role will be key to ensuing those ambitions match up with aspirations on energy use, pollution and waste management, and sustainable development, all within the challenging environment of a remote context.

The Person

The successful candidate will be a highly experienced built environment professional. A hands-on attitude to tackling the unique challenges faced in the planning and building industry in the Falklands is key to succeeding in this role.

Your academic proficiency will be commensurate with your professional skills. You will have recognised planning or building qualifications and hold related accreditation as a chartered member of your profession, such as the Royal Town Planning Institute or the Royal institute of Chartered Surveyors.

You will bring a wide range of development policy experience covering all aspects of the planning and building process from administration to decision making. Developing positive working relationships with applicants, stakeholders and other areas of Government will be second nature to you. Your management experience will extend to the operational elements where staffing, budgets, grant schemes and service delivery require you to flex your organisational skills and balance competing demands on a daily basis.

The work will always be challenging and varied. This role will require you to take the lead on the annual reviews of the Falkland Islands Development Plan as well as progressing ongoing legislative and procedural improvements within the service. A practised understanding of regulation and policy development will place the successful candidate in good stead to drive the service forward and deliver for our community’s future needs.

THE PACKAGE

• Fixed Term Contract, up to 4 years
• Salary Range £53,759 - £61,691 per annum dependent on qualifications and experience
• Eligibility for a 25% Gratuity, paid upon successful completion of the contract.
• 30 Days Annual Leave, plus government and public holidays (totalling 41 days leave).
• Relocation Allowance, to help with moving costs.
• Flights Package for you and your dependents, including annual return flight home.
• Government Housing for rent and a starter pack to help you settle in.
• A stimulating and supportive setting to work in and a unique and beautiful setting to live in

Please note, successful applicants with Falkland Islands Status/PRP will be employed on local terms and conditions.

HOW TO APPLY

If you have the drive and ambition to be successful in this challenging role, and wish to share our ambition for the future of the Falkland Islands and the people we serve, then we certainly want to hear from you.

Interested candidates can download the job description and view further information from our online vacancy page. 

For further information regarding the position please contact Steve Dent, Deputy Director of Development & Commercial Services, by emailing SDent@sec.gov.fk or by calling (+500) 27040.

To apply, please complete our online application form from our vacancy page www.jobs.gov.fk, by clicking on 'Apply Now' and completing the form. 

Timetable for Recruitment and Selection Process

Closing Date for Applications – 26 November 2023

Shortlisting – w/c 27 November 2023

Interviews  - w/c 04 December 2023

The Working Environment

Planning & Building Services

A small, friendly department in Stanley, Planning and Building Services delivers statutory planning and building control functions, provides statutory environmental functions, co-ordinates the delivery, monitoring and review of the Biodiversity Framework and Waste Management Action Plan, administers grant schemes and advances environmental good practice and sustainable use of natural resources within the Falkland Islands.

Development & Commercial Services

The Development & Commercial Services directorate is responsible for the development of ‘Place’ across the Falkland Islands, ensuring that the activities of Planning, Development, Regeneration, Leisure Services, Corporate Programmes and Procurement operate in a co-ordinated manner to efficiently and effectively enable the achievement of the Government’s priorities and successful delivery of the National Infrastructure Plan.

Falkland Islands Government (FIG)

The Falkland Islands is a British Overseas Territory, with full internal self-government.

As the largest employer in the Falkland Islands, we offer many unique and fulfilling job opportunities, across the full spectrum of public services. Our responsibilities include those typically managed by central government – taxation, legislation and policy, as well as those usually managed on a local level such as town planning, health and social services, and education. FIG also provides services specific to the needs of the Falkland Islands, such as fisheries research, power generation and the Government Air Service, FIGAS.

For more information about working for Falkland Islands Government, take a look at our recruitment microsite: www.jobs.gov.fk

The Falkland Islands

Set in the South Atlantic Ocean, around 400 miles east of South America and 8000 miles south-west of the UK, the Falkland Islands are a small, thriving community with a British way of life, benefiting from good local services, a varied social calendar and an absence of traffic jams!

The Falkland Islands’ stunning natural environment provides an unspoiled landscape and amazing wildlife to observe and explore, including penguins, whales and dolphins, all seen from the shore.

For those with a sense of adventure, it provides opportunities which are hard to match anywhere else in the world.