Strategic Director of Place
Strategic Director of Place
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Job Description
Organisation: London Borough of Waltham Forest
Salary: SD..64 plus London Weighting
Contract Type: Fulltime Permanent
Working hours per week: 36
Application Deadline: 25/04/2025
Proposed Interview Date(s): to be confirmed
Reference:1698
About Us:
The London Borough of Waltham Forest is a vibrant outer London borough in north London we have a thriving business district and close transport links to central London.
Bursting with culture energy and opportunity Waltham Forest is a great placebenefiting from a blend of ages heritage and local historywhere people want to live work and visit.
Waltham Forest is one of thirtytwo London boroughs bordering Hackney Haringey Enfield Redbridge and Epping Forest District Council in northeast London.
Within the borough we have four main neighbourhood areas with a distinct identity: Chingford Leyton Leytonstone and Walthamstow. An estimated278400residents call Waltham Forest home.
Waltham Forest has a youngerthanaverage population with 24.5 per cent of residents being aged 0 to 19 compared to 23 per cent in London and nationally.
Like London Waltham Forest also has a high proportion of workingage adults aged 16 to 64 69.6 per cent compared to 68.9 per cent in London and 62.9 per cent nationally).
There are proportionately fewer people aged over 65 living in Waltham Forest 10.2 per cent) compared to London 11.9 per cent) and the UK average 18.6 per cent).
We are one of the most diverse areas in the country (top 20 with an estimated 47 per cent of residents are from a minority ethnic background.
According to the 2021 Census the top three countries of origin for residents born overseas are Romania Pakistan and Other EU countries.
The top languages spoken locally other than English are Romanian Urdu Bulgarian Polish Turkish and Spanish.
Waltham Forest fulltime workers in 2023 have a median weekly income of 764.8 just below the London average 796.30higher than the median income for England 682.60.
Waltham Forests deprivation score is 25.209 which means it is ranked number 12 out of all London Boroughs (excluding the City of London) and number 79 out of all 317 authorities in England LG Inform.
Our Population Projections
Population projections estimate that the Waltham Forest population will increase from 276350 residents in 2021 to a total of 287800 by 2026.
The fastest growing group is projected to be those aged 1821 13.5 per cent) and 65 15.5 per cent).
Our health and disability
A total of 12300 residents considered their health to be bad or very bad. This is equivalent to 6 per cent of the population.
Health tends to deteriorate further with age with 42 per cent of population aged 65 and over 10906 having a limiting longterm health problem or disability.
Waltham Forests Health Index score increased in 2021. The borough has an overall Health Index score of 104.1 which is up 3.6 points compared with the previous year.
(A score of 100 represents average levels of health in England in 2015. A higher number always means better health and a lower number means worse health).
Educationalsettings
In Waltham Forest there are currently 51 primary schools 15 secondary schools four Family Hubs four 16 plus three nurseries and two allthrough.
In total theres approximately 45000 pupils in Waltham Forest. There are almost twice as many primary school students as there is secondary.
The Councils preference is for online application. However if you have a disability and are unable to complete an online application please email so we can arrange an alternative application method
About the role:
We are seeking a visionary Strategic Director to lead the Councils Place Directorate. This is an exciting opportunity to deliver innovative solutions to some of the most pressing challenges facing Waltham Forest. The role encompasses oversight of the following services:
- Regeneration & Planning
- Capital Strategy & Delivery
- Commercial Estate & Investment
- Housing(including both landlord and statutory homelessness services)
Over recent years we have successfully transformed our land and buildings through significant investment delivering new homes green spaces and improved public realm across our borough. We are now looking for a dynamic leader to continue this journey spearheading our plans to unlock the boroughs inclusive growth potential through our adopted Local Plan.
The successful candidate will play a pivotal role in implementing Mission Waltham Forest which outlines the Councils vision for a fairer borough by 2030. Key to this will be leadership of Waltham Forests Housing Service the Councils capital programme (including schools) and effectively harnessing investment and external partnerships to deliver the homes and community infrastructure our borough needs.
About you
You will be a natural collaborator with extensive experience of delivering both placebased and residentfocused services in a local government setting and understand the benefits of crossCouncil working to deliver the best possible outcomes.
Skilled in building strategic relationships and politically astute you will be able to influence across a broad spectrum of internal and external partners and be adept at leading strategic programmes of work.
As an active member of the Councils Senior Leadership Team (SLT) you will support the Cabinet and Chief Executive to achieve the aims of the Council. You will be supported in the role by a talented Senior Management Team 3 direct reports).
Key Responsibilities:
- Lead manage and take overall responsibility for the work of the Place directorate.
- To ensure the Councils statutory duties in respect to Place services are always met and that the Council is prepared for all new relevant legislation prior to its introduction.
- Provide strategic oversight direct and lead a portfolio of services ensuring the development of strategies policies targets and objectives deliver Waltham Forests strategic operational and financial requirements.
- Oversee the quality of Council owned and managed social housing.
- Lead the placeshaping regeneration and planning policies of the Council.
- Lead and manage the Councils capital assets budget and delivery.
- To manage external relationships formally represent the Council negotiate partnership working and liaison with London wide and subregional agencies.
- Reporting to the Chief Executive.
- Direct supervision and management of 3 Corporate Directors and overall strategic leadership to a total number of staff across the Place directorate: c470 staff
- Budget Responsibilities:36m Revenue net Budget
- Total Capital budget (including schools capital programme):circa 712m from 2024/25 to 2034/35
Qualifications and Requirements:
- Educated to degree level or equivalent standard.
- Relevant postgraduate / professional qualifications.
Terms and conditions:
The below terms and conditions apply to this role:
Satisfactory employment references and CIFAS identity checks;
Satisfactory declaration of interest;
This post is politically restricted therefore the post holder is disqualified from undertaking certain political activities under the Local Government Officers (Political Restrictions) Regulations 1990.
As a public authority we must ensure that members of staff in publicfacing 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:
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 selfidentify 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 individuals 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 Information:
If you have any questions about this vacancy or the application process please contact Lee Witham Corporate Director of Culture and Workforce Development ator Maria Matthews Leadership Support Assistant at.
If you have any technical issues when trying to apply for this post please contact our Recruitment Team via email at .
Click here for further information on the Human Resources recruitment privacy notice.
Required Experience:
Director
Employment Type
Full-Time
