Assistant Director of Building Control

Shape the future of one of London's most ambitious boroughs

Do you want to lead a building control service at the heart of a borough experiencing transformational growth?

Can you combine technical excellence, strategic leadership and commercial awareness to deliver a modern, high-performing service?

Does the opportunity to influence major regeneration projects, drive innovation and help create safer buildings for thousands of residents excite you?

If so, Southwark could be the place for you.

Why Southwark?

Southwark is one of London's most dynamic boroughs. From nationally significant regeneration programmes and landmark developments to thriving neighbourhoods and historic places, our borough continues to evolve at pace. The decisions made here have a visible impact on communities, businesses and visitors every day.

Building Control plays a vital role in that story. Our service is responsible for ensuring developments across Southwark are safe, compliant, sustainable and fit for purpose. As Assistant Director Building Control, you will lead this critical statutory function and help shape how the borough grows for generations to come.

This is a rare opportunity to take on a senior leadership role with genuine influence across the council and beyond. You'll work alongside senior leaders, developers, regulators and communities, helping to deliver safe, high-quality buildings while driving innovation and continuous improvement within the service.

What You'll Be Doing

As Assistant Director Building Control, you will provide strategic leadership for Southwark's building control function, ensuring compliance with building regulations and associated legislation while delivering an effective, customer-focused service.

You'll lead a team of experienced professionals responsible for a diverse portfolio of work, ranging from residential and commercial developments to complex regeneration schemes and high-profile council projects.

Key responsibilities include:

Leading the borough's statutory building control service and acting as the council's specialist expert on building control matters.
Providing strategic direction across all aspects of building control, from application validation and plan assessment through to inspection, certification and enforcement.
Building strong partnerships with colleagues, regulators, developers and professional networks across London.
Driving service improvement, digital innovation and operational excellence.
Managing service performance, resources, budgets and business planning.
Providing expert advice on complex and sensitive building control issues.
Ensuring the service maintains high professional standards, quality assurance and compliance requirements.

What We're Looking For

We're looking for an experienced and inspiring leader who combines technical credibility with the ability to build high-performing teams and deliver results in a complex environment.

You'll bring:

Qualification as a Class 4 Building Control Inspector and a Class 3 Building Control Inspector.
Extensive knowledge of building control legislation, regulations, standards and guidance.
Significant experience managing complex building control projects and services.
Proven experience leading strategic change, innovation and service improvement.
Strong experience of working with senior stakeholders and navigating complex environments.
Experience managing budgets, resources and service performance.
Knowledge and practical experience of ISO 9001 quality management systems.
Excellent leadership, negotiation and relationship-building skills.
Strong analytical thinking and the ability to develop practical solutions to complex challenges.

Most importantly, you'll share our commitment to delivering excellent public services and helping Southwark remain a safe, sustainable and thriving place for everyone.

For detailed qualifications and requirements, please review the job description and person specification located at the bottom of the advert.

Contact Information

For an informal discussion about the role, please contact Stephen Platts at stephen.platts@southwark.gov.uk.

Additional Information:

Full-time, 36 hours per week.
The role may occasionally require attendance outside normal office hours to meet service requirements.
Politically Restricted Post under the Local Government and Housing Act 1989.
The post includes responsibility for leading the Building Control team and overseeing a significant service budget.
Permanent position.

Please note that we are unable to accept applications from individuals who require visa sponsorship.

Benefits and More Information

We offer a supportive environment where talented people can grow their careers while making a meaningful difference every day.

Find out more about our benefits and why Southwark is a great place to work: https://jobs.southwark.gov.uk/why-us/

Recruitment Timeline

Advert close date: 11:59pm on 01 November 2026

Shortlisting: 04 November 2026

Interviews: TBC

The closing date is given as a guide. We reserve the right to close this vacancy once a sufficient number of applications has been received. We strongly advise you to complete your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

Southwark Council will only contact candidates through official Council recruitment channels. We will not ask you to provide passport details, proof of address, National Insurance number, bank details or payment at application stage. These checks are only requested at the onboarding process – once an offer of employment has been made. If you’re unsure whether a communication you’ve received is genuine, please contact the Resourcing team directly on recruitment@southwark.gov.uk before sharing any personal information.

We are an organisation who is passionate about our people and understands that richness of diversity is a requirement to provide the best possible services to our communities. This is demonstrated through our council-wide ambitious commitment to tackle racial inequality in our communities and workforce through our Southwark Stands Together initiative. We particularly welcome applications from members of the black, Asian and ethnic minority communities to increase representation at senior management level in the Council.

Guaranteed Interview Scheme:

As part of our commitment to inclusion, we offer guaranteed interviews for specific groups of people. To qualify, you'll need to meet the minimum requirements for the role, and identify with one of the below criteria:

Members of the Armed Forces and veterans
Are currently in care, or have previously been in care
If you consider yourself to be disabled or if you have a long-term health condition

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