Head - Acquisitions
Homes England
- Department
- Homes England
- Location
- London, Longstanton
- Openings
- 1 post
- Grade
- Other
- Salary
- £69,831 to £81,443
- Closing
- 14 days left
- Profession
- Project & Programme Delivery, Engineering
- Contract
- Permanent
- Security clearance
- BPSS
- Working pattern
- Flexible working, Full-time
Job summary
Working in the South Acquisitions Team with Assistant Director for South, this role plays a critical part in leading the Team. You will be joining a highly experienced, skilled and successful team who are focussed on unlocking difficult and undelivered sites.
The team works closely with colleagues in all parts of Homes England to intervene in the market when required and secure land through acquisition. Many of the sites being secured are challenging sites with either delivery problems or planning constraints. This is an exciting role to lead the team in the South East of England in acquiring numerous development sites
What they’re looking for
- We are looking for someone to join our team who is a confident leader and understands land buying and the South East housing market. We are seeking individuals who are passionate about unlocking and delivering complex sites and know the barriers faced in delivering them.
- You will enjoy working as part of multi-disciplinary team in a fast-paced environment drawing on your skills and experience. You’ll have a strong understanding of the development delivery process, land assembly, design, planning and funding.
- You’ll have the ability to review and absorb information on complex projects, undertake analysis and produce reports for internal and external stakeholders.
- You’ll have worked in environments and on projects where attention to detail is of paramount importance, but also where you can take a strategic approach.
- Delivering on a mission as bold as ours isn’t always easy. You will be resilient and comfortable managing stakeholders at a senior level and your discussions will always be shaped by a good understanding of the commercial and operational impact of what we do as an Acquisition Team. You will enjoy working in an innovative, fun and engaging way and be able to negotiate and persuade.
- As an experienced land acquisition and delivery professional, you’ll understand how to manage colleagues and be able to demonstrate you can work with others as part of a team in a collaborative, inclusive way.
- Key Skills & Experience
- Land Acquisition – You will need a proven track record in identifying and acquiring sites in your previous roles.
- Working in partnership – you will be used to working successfully with the full range of partners and stakeholders involved in the development process and understand their needs and priorities.
- Development Experience - Experience of working on large scale or complex development projects, with an understanding of the factors that drive strategic development and planning.
- Development Appraisals & Cash Flows – We spend a lot of time reviewing viabilities and appraisals as well as creating our own viabilities and business plans. A knowledge of Argus Appraisal system is helpful but not essential.
- Funding Knowledge – Knowledge of the economics and funding of major infrastructure to support large scale housing developments. Experience of infrastructure / development funding would be an advantage, but it is not essential.
- Report / Paper Writing – Preparing reports and papers for internal and external readership is a core part of the role. Preparation and presentation of papers to Peer Reviewers and Approval Boards to support the Acquisition is a requirement of the role. Some of the reports produced by our team may include briefing papers for our CEO, Ministry for Housing Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), Secretary of State in addition to internal decision-making boards.
- Leading teams - Experience of managing, guiding and inspiring direct reportees.
- Essential: Degree level qualification or equivalent experience as a: Chartered Surveyor (MRICS), Town Planner (RTPI), Housebuilder, Urban Regeneration specialist or experience in Development Finance.
- As a Head of Acquisitions, you will be asked to support on a number of projects that require various property development skills and knowledge. We appreciate you may not have all the skills/experience listed in the job description.
Job description
We are currently working across a number of projects and acquisitions ranging from 80 homes to over 13,000 homes, with all sites having the potential to deliver over 30,000 homes collectively.
An example of some of our recent acquisitions.
- Carrow Works – Norwich
The home of the former Colemans Mustard Factory and Robinsons Squash Factory this brownfield site has been acquired as part of the regeneration of East Norwich.
- Former Northeye Prison – Bexhill
This former redundant prison and army base sits in the countryside close to Bexhill and although allocated has a number of challenges such as ecology, drainage and access.
- Hill Top Farm – Folkestone
Acquired and purchased with a short window to help support the delivery of a new large settlement.
Our mission is to accelerate and unlock the delivery of high-quality homes, whilst also supporting economic growth through regeneration and placemaking. This is a rare chance to work for an organisation which is uniquely positioned to shape the future of place-based housing delivery and regeneration. Working with internal and external stakeholders, you will support our experienced team in driving delivery on complex sites.
Nationality requirements
This job is broadly open to the following groups:
- UK nationals
- nationals of the Republic of Ireland
- nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
- nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
- nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
- individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
- Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service
Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)
Selection process
How to apply?
To apply please follow the links to our careers page.
Security
Successful candidates must pass a disclosure and barring security check.
Selection process details
For more information on the role, please see the attached Job Description.
Successful applicants will be advised of the outcome of their application and interviews held as soon as practical after the closing date. Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment. We would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your interest in this role and Homes England.
Please note – Homes England has a responsibility to ensure compliance with HMG Baseline Personnel Security Standard to address the potential problems of identity fraud, illegal working and deception generally. To ensure compliance we will carry out a pre-employment Personal Identity and Vetting Report through Experian to meet the standard and you will therefore be asked to provide certain information in order that the verification check can be carried out if you are successful in your application.
Homes England are an equal opportunities employer and positively encourages applications from suitably qualified and eligible candidates. We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer that values and respects the people who work for us. Our aim is to be an employer of choice, enabling everyone to reach their full potential.
Homes England is committed to protecting the privacy and security of your personal data. For further information please refer to our Privacy Notice which can be viewed here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/homes-england/about/personal-information-charter
Nationality requirements
Open to UK, Commonwealth and European Economic Area (EEA) and certain non EEA nationals. Further information on whether you are able to apply is available here.
Working for the Civil Service
Please note this Post is NOT regulated by the Civil Service Commission.
The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equality of opportunity. There is a guaranteed disability confident interview scheme for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
Practise before you apply
Civil Service panels score every answer against the Success Profiles behaviours. Practise STAR answers and get them marked against the same framework.
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