Head of Strategic Asset Management and Sustainability

JOB DESCRIPTION

London Borough of Waltham Forest

Directorate: Place

Grade: PO10

Salary: £66,651 - £70,152

Retention Bonus/ Market Supplement: N/A

Contract Type: Full-Time / Permanent

Working hours per week: 36

Weeks per year: 52

Application Deadline: 23/01/2025

Proposed Interview Date(s): TBC

Reference: 1596

** INTERNAL ONLY**

About Us:

Bursting with culture, energy, and opportunity, the London Borough of Waltham Forest is a fantastic and exciting place to work.

We are a highly ambitious borough. Driven by culture and the innate creativity of our residents, we have developed new and innovative ways to build our communities. Our Council is relentlessly resident-focused, insight-led, digitally driven and commercially minded; a Council focused on meeting the needs of our existing and future residents.

London Borough of Waltham Forest is one of the Mayor of London's Good Work Standard employers. This accreditation is a proof of our commitment to creating a healthy, fair and inclusive workplace. This includes fair pay and conditions, workplace well-being, skills and progression and diversity and recruitment.

About the Role

We are seeking a dynamic and experienced Head of Strategic Asset Management and Sustainability to lead the strategic management and development of LBWF's housing portfolio. This pivotal role focuses on creating and implementing comprehensive strategies that ensure long-term sustainability, efficiency, and service quality.

You will work closely with Planned Works to shape and deliver programmes that enhance housing services, optimise resource allocation, and drive carbon reduction initiatives. As the leader of the Asset Management team, you will oversee major works programmes, housing initiatives, and improvement projects, ensuring alignment with LBWF's business plan and objectives. This role requires a forward-thinking individual who can develop innovative solutions, manage complex issues, and deliver high-quality services that meet the needs of our residents and communities.

This is a senior leadership position with significant responsibilities, including managing a £30m budget, leading a growing team (currently three direct reports, with potential expansion to six), and ensuring the successful delivery of asset management strategies. If you are passionate about sustainability, operational excellence, and making a positive impact on housing services, we encourage you to apply.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and execute a comprehensive asset management strategy that prioritises sustainability, efficiency, and long-term value.
• Lead the development of holistic investment plans, integrating building safety remediation, zero-carbon retrofitting, and standard investment.
• Oversee the delivery of major works programmes, housing initiatives, and improvement projects, ensuring alignment with strategic objectives.
• Collaborate with internal and external stakeholders to develop and maintain effective engagement frameworks.
• Manage contractors and consultants to ensure quality, value for money, and compliance with agreed standards.
• Lead annual business planning and budget-setting processes for Housing Assets, ensuring effective monitoring and communication of investment programmes.
• Ensure the accurate upkeep of data on housing management systems to support robust decision-making.
• Explore and leverage funding opportunities related to building safety and zero-carbon initiatives.
• Act as the lead for Housing Assets, working in partnership with Housing Delivery and Housing Management to review and monitor specifications.
• Participate in the Out of Hours Service duty rota to ensure resident safety and timely emergency responses.

Qualifications and Requirements

To be considered for this position, you should meet the following requirements:

• Proven experience in strategic asset management, with a focus on sustainability in housing properties.
• Demonstrated success in reducing reactive repair costs through cost-effective asset management strategies.
• Strong operational leadership experience, with the ability to align activities with organisational objectives.
• Expertise in managing the commercial aspects of contracts, including negotiation, performance monitoring, and compliance.
• Proficiency in analysing operational data to monitor performance and inform decision-making.
• Experience in managing tenant relations, addressing concerns, and maintaining high levels of tenant satisfaction.
• Familiarity with property management software and tools to streamline operational processes.
• Strong budget management skills, with experience overseeing significant budgets (e.g., £30m).
• Knowledge of building safety regulations, zero-carbon initiatives, and funding opportunities.

Skills and Competencies

• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills for engaging with internal teams, stakeholders, and tenants.
• Strong leadership and team management skills, with experience motivating and developing high-performing teams.
• Ability to identify operational inefficiencies and implement process improvements.
• Political awareness and the ability to collaborate effectively with elected officials.
• Strong attention to detail in reporting, documentation, and maintaining accurate records.
• Ability to respond swiftly and effectively to emergencies and incidents.

Desirable Qualifications

• Relevant professional qualification in asset management, sustainability, or a related field.
• Experience in lifecycle cost analysis and its application in decision-making.

>> Click here to download the Role Profile <<

Terms and conditions:

The below terms and conditions apply to this role:

• Satisfactory employment references and CIFAS identity checks;
• Satisfactory declaration of interest;
• As a public authority, we must ensure that members of staff in public-facing roles are able to speak fluent English. This means that they must have a command of spoken English, with confidence and accuracy, sufficient for the effective performance of their role. This requirement does not refer to any particular English language qualifications, regional or international accents, dialects, speech impediments or the tone of conversations. It does not require staff to speak only in English.

How to Apply:

** INTERNAL ONLY**

Interested candidates are invited to submit their applications online by pressing the 'Apply' button below. This includes a supporting statement that outlines to us how your skills and experience make you a good candidate for this vacancy.

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible.

Equal Opportunity Employer:

Waltham Forest is a diverse borough where diversity is valued and is integral to both, service delivery and employment of its staff. The Council is proud of its rich mix of communities and as the largest employer in the area, it works hard to respond to the changing needs of its population. We use our statutory duties on race, gender and disability equality and best practice in respect of age, faith and sexual orientation to ensure equality of opportunity in the workplace. The Council is committed to meeting its 4 equality objectives: - Promoting equality of opportunity - Opposing all forms of discrimination, intolerance and disadvantage - Ensuring our workforce reflects the diverse communities of Waltham Forest at all levels. - Providing fair, appropriate, accessible and excellent Services to all. Respecting Diversity is a core Council value.

To support the above and reduce the risk of bias in its recruitment activities, the council is operating an anonymous shortlisting process, which hides personal information that can identify individuals until their application has been considered for shortlisting. The council also operates a scheme whereby, for jobs graded up to and including scale SO2, internal candidates are considered first. This includes those candidates who self-identify as having a disability for the purposes of the Disability Confident scheme. For more information, please refer to our recruitment and selection policy.

We are keen to support employees to balance their working life with other commitments. Therefore, wherever possible, we will consider working arrangements that suit an individual's personal circumstances whilst still meeting the needs of the Council. If you would like to discuss the possible flexible working options that might be applicable to this role, please contact the person named below or feel free to discuss this during your interview.

For more information on the benefits of working for the Council, please visit https://www.walthamforest.gov.uk/jobs-and-training/find-jobs-and-other-opportunities/working-us.

Contact Information:

If you have any questions about this vacancy or the application process, please contact Valdrin Rexha, AD - Strategic Asset Management & Compliance at valdrin.rexha@walthamforest.gov.uk

If you have any technical issues when trying to apply for this post, please contact our Recruitment Team via email at recruitment@walthamforest.gov.uk.

The Council's preference is for online application. However, if you have a disability and are unable to complete an online application, please email recruitment@walthamforest.gov.uk so we can arrange an alternative application method.

Click here for further information on the Human Resources recruitment privacy notice.