Job Title: Senior Project Officer

Salary: PO4 £46,142 - £49,282

Hours: 37 hours per week

Location: Merrion House, Leeds

Can you help us meet the challenge of increasing the number of affordable homes in Leeds ?

The Council Housing Growth team was established to deliver additional council housing for some of those in greatest need across the city. In the last 5 years we have completed almost 1,200 homes and we’re looking to continue this growth over the next 5 years with the next phase of our delivery programme.

The Council recently confirmed its commitment to increasing affordable housing delivery over the next 10 years by approving its updated Leeds Affordable Housing Strategy which includes continued use of the council’s own resources and capitalising on the opportunities offered by central government’s £39bn Social and Affordable Homes Programme.

About You:

As a Senior Project Officer you will bring experience of:

supporting the delivery of/project managing complex built environment projects through all the Design e.g. RIBA/lifecycle/Gateway stages with competing workstreams, including the development and leadership of multi-disciplinary teams.
contributing to effective project decision-making, reporting, governance and delivery, including the drafting and presentation of decision reports for senior officer and board approval.
line management duties and staff development and able to demonstrate drive, resilience, and leadership skills.
supporting complex commercial negotiations to secure value for money and drive quality, undertaking risk management and problem solving with some experience of contract management to ensure quality, cost and timescales are being met.
presenting complex information in a clear and concise manner, supporting and maintaining relationships with partners to ensure the Councils ambitions and plans are delivered.
working in and effectively co-ordinating activity within a multi-disciplinary built environment project context, including interfacing with other service areas such as legal, finance and technical as needed, taking guidance or providing support to senior officers and team members where needed; and
being able to evidence excellent communication skills with the ability to inform, influence and negotiate to form positive relationships with a variety of stakeholders within and partners outside the Council.

About the role:

You will have responsibility for supporting a range of complex and often diverse projects, ensuring that financially viable, high-quality schemes can be delivered in a timely fashion within a commercial environment.

You’ll be supporting the leadership of a team of project management staff as part of a larger professionally qualified technical, project management and commercial colleagues, to ensure effective co-ordination and relationship management with our primary internal commissioning partners in Housing Leeds along with a range of internal stakeholders and teams providing key commercial, legal and procurement support.

You’ll also support the interface with our project, technical advisory and contract management consultants to ensure compliance, value for money and effective commercial management along with supporting effective working relationships with our development partners.

Our current key service objectives include:

Completing the remainder of our Phase 1 programme including our latest extra care housing scheme of 63 apartments and associated communal facilities for older people requiring care and support in Armley and a scheme of 55 houses and 27 apartments on site in Pudsey;
Acquiring a further 100 ex-right to buy properties per year for the next 5 years;
Completing a further 36 homes as part of the Local Authority Housing Fund Round 4 with external grant funding over the next 3 years;
Progressing our initial Phase 2 pipeline of just under 600 new build homes;
Reviewing our delivery models and financial headroom including securing Homes England grant funding with a view to maximising the number of homes we can deliver over the next 10 years.

About the role:

You will be an experienced, pro-active, commercially minded problem solver, committed to getting the best out of people and partnerships. You will need proven experience and expertise in contributing to successful delivery of complex built environment projects, ideally with experience in delivering new build affordable housing.

The delivery environment is proving increasingly challenging and we are currently reviewing our existing approaches and the available opportunities to maximise the delivery of new council housing over the next 5-10 years. Experience of different delivery models and securing grant funding from external agencies like Homes England will be advantageous.

You will support the effective leadership of the service and work effectively with colleagues and external partners and contribute to a positive team culture. You will understand the importance and be capable of actively using governance and risk management to progress your work and be a highly able communicator through report writing, presentations and your own engaging personal style.

You will contribute to maintaining and building on good working relationships with colleagues, clients and partners to deliver council objectives across all levels, with commercial intelligence and a clear understanding of how to work in a political setting. You will be open, inclusive, responsive, and accountable and always focused on positive solutions, whilst supporting diversity and equality in all aspects of your work.

In this context, your supporting statement should respond directly to the context detailed above, and the essential requirements of this post.

What we offer you

Leeds City Council is one of the largest employers in the region with over 14,000 employees. We seek to recruit and develop talented individuals who embody our council values and ambitions.

We take pride in offering the best employee experience, with benefits including:

a competitive salary of up to a competitive salary of up to £54,495
annual leave entitlement plus statutory holidays (29 days rising to 34 days after 5 years’ service)
membership of the West Yorkshire Pension Fund with generous employer contributions
flexible and hybrid working arrangements subject to service requirements
a clear career pathway and continuing professional development opportunities
a range of staff benefits to help you boost your wellbeing and make your money go further

How to Apply:

Please upload your CV (no more than 3 sides of A4) and complete a personal statement of no more than 3 sides of A4 (Size 12 Arial, with ‘Normal’ MS Word Margins used. Read our guidancefor further advice. Please check your information carefully and ensure you complete all sections before submitting your application.

Please contact Liz Milne, Project Manager Tel: 0113 3785970 if you would like an informal discussion in advance submitting your application or by email on: liz.milne@leeds.gov.uk

We welcome applications from everyone and actively seek a diverse range of applicants from all backgrounds and cultures. We particularly encourage applications from, but not limited to, women, carers, veterans as well as LGBT+, ethnically diverse, disabled and care experienced people.

This role is based in the UK. Home Office guidance states that candidates must evidence their right to work in the UK prior to commencing employment, either as a UK or Irish citizen, under the EU Settlement scheme or having secured any other relevant work visa.

If you do not have the right to work in the UK, you must consider your own eligibility for sponsorship for a particular role through the Skilled Worker visa route before applying. To be eligible for sponsorship you'll usually need to be paid the standard salary rate of at least £41,700 per year or meet one of the other eligibility criteria. Ensure you are eligible before applying.

Job Description

Job purpose

Working as part of a team modelling the Council’s values and behaviours to help achieve Council ambitions you will be responsible for leading and managing the delivery of projects or workstreams within complex projects and management functions across the council and in collaboration with partner organisations which are primarily focused on place making and the built environment. The work is fast paced and dynamic supporting the delivery and improvement of services which meet the needs of our communities and stakeholders.

Responsibilities

The post holder will be responsible for leading projects and supporting professional and management functions. It will include on-site working and leading on projects commensurate with grade as well as supporting the authority to meet a range of statutory and regulatory functions in relation to procurement, planning and highways. The post holder will also be required to support and provide information to ward members and other services on related project and commercial activity.

The Built Environment Senior Project Officer will be able to demonstrate relevant skills and experience in project management in the built environment.

Qualifications

Considerable relevant demonstrable skills or experience at a level equivalent to apm Level C and/or apm PMQ
Degree or relevant demonstrable experience in the built environment

Essential requirements You need be able to demonstrate the following criteria for the post

Management and governance

Experience of supporting the delivery of complex projects or project managing built environment projects through all the Design e.g RIBA/lifecycle/Gateway stages with competing workstreams, including coordinating multi-disciplinary teams.
Contribute to effective project decision-making, reporting, governance and delivery, including the drafting and presentation of decision reports for senior officer and board approval.
Experience of line management duties and staff development and able to demonstrate drive, resilience, and leadership skills.
Ability to oversee and support the implementation of project management methodology and tools to deliver complex built environment projects i.e., risk logs, communications plans, project brief, cost plans and procurement strategy reports etc.

Financial and Commercial

Experience of supporting complex commercial negotiations to secure value for money and drive quality.
Experience of supporting effective identification and resolution of risks and issues with the ability to find and implement creative and innovative solutions to complex problems at programme and project level.
Knowledge, understanding and some experience of contract management including commercial negotiation, monitoring and evaluation resulting in improvements to performance outcomes and continuous learning.
Ability to identify and develop funding opportunities, complete applications and supporting the development of bids to external bodies and to identify funding and cost saving opportunities to support project viability whilst maintaining project quality.
Experience of risk management including mitigating / minimising the Council’s liabilities or risk exposure.

Teamwork and communication

Ability to present complex information in a clear and concise manner using a variety of formats to stakeholders at all levels.
Experience of supporting and maintaining relationships with strategic partners to influence strategic policy and project ambitions to ensure the Councils ambitions and plans are delivered.
Experience of working in a multi-disciplinary built environment project environment and coordinating inputs from across a project team, including interfacing with other service areas such as legal, finance and technical as needed, taking guidance or providing support to senior officers and team members where needed.
Ability to work both within the council and with external stakeholders and partners, focusing on delivering quality outcomes.
Excellent communication skills with the ability to inform, influence and negotiate to form positive relationships with a variety of stakeholders within the Council and a range of stakeholders and partners outside the Council.

Essential Behavioural and other Characteristics

Understand and embrace Leeds City Council Values and Behaviours and codes of conduct.
Committed to continuous improvement in all areas and work towards delivering the Best City Ambition of Health & Wellbeing, Inclusive Growth and Zero Carbon
Able to understand and observe Leeds City Council equality and diversity policies.
Carry out all duties having regard to an employee’s responsibility under Health and Safety Policies.
Willingness to actively participate in training and development activities.
Flexible and adaptable to change to assist other services as required commensurate to grade.
Participate in appraisal, training, and development activities.
Be aware of and comply with Leeds City Council policies and procedures.
Be aware of and support difference and ensure equality for all working in an anti-discriminatory manner, upholding, equality & diversity policies of Leeds City Council. Promote and support positive solutions to achieve diversity and equality of opportunity in all aspects of service delivery, community engagement activity and human resource
Recognise and appropriately challenge any incidents of racism, bullying, harassment, victimisation, and any form of abuse, reporting any concerns to the appropriate person.
The Council has adopted a flexibility protocol and the role will be expected to work within these parameters.