Development Manager

Salary: £49,153 – £55,322

Directorate: Housing & Regeneration

Roles Purpose:

WMCA is committed to building a healthier, happier, better connected and more prosperous West Midlands. This is their vision.

Their values are central to how they work and interact with their wider partners and their stakeholders. They encourage their colleagues to:

Be Collaborative, Be Innovative, Be Driven, and Be Inclusive

This specialist real estate role will lead on the development and delivery of effective acquisition, investment, and disposal strategies for sites across the West Midlands region – requiring huge tenacity and drive to make things happen where for decades development may have been stalled or unviable.

This will mean working across the Housing and Regeneration Team and in close collaboration with the wider Combined Authority including dealing directly with the Mayor of the West Midlands, senior council leaders and other senior public and private sector partners; excellent stakeholder engagement is crucial, as is technical due diligence to mitigate and minimise risk where possible

Responsibilities include:

• Providing expert advice to identify opportunity sites for acquisition or investment by WMCA where delivery can be expedited
• Leading on technical due diligence, including instructing valuations and development appraisals and prepare reports to WMCA Investment Board where WMCA acquisition or investment is sought
• Working closely with Local Authorities, LEPs and other public sector bodies, and private sector partners including developers, investors and agents to be a single point of contact for all acquisitions and disposals – including representation at steering groups, project boards and internal WMCA boards as appropriate –
  adopting a collegiate approach to site enabling, and building strong and purposeful delivery partnerships
• Preparing de-risking strategies (e.g. securing planning, carrying out demolition works, delivering infrastructure), commissioning external consultancy advice as appropriate, aimed at making sites development-ready for developers
• Identifying opportunities to utilise appropriate funding to lever in and broker private sector investment
• Producing accurate, concise reports, business plans and briefings summarizing complex financial and development issues; providing clear recommendations for consideration by the Mayor, Combined Authority leadership and its partners; accessible to those from both property and non-property related backgrounds.
• Ensuring that acquisitions and disposals align with the relevant frameworks, funding opportunities and Corporate Plan
• Negotiating terms for the purchase of identified sites with landowners and agents
• Ensuring that the Combined Authority’s commercial interests, and those of Local Authority partners, are properly represented and protected when negotiating and entering into strategic development partnerships and joint ventures, and in their subsequent operation
• Devising creative disposal strategies which seek to promote the development of sites at pace
• Managing competitive developer procurement exercises based on the agreed site disposal strategy
• Leading on the procurement of consultant teams and other relevant advisors to support the work of the team, including the pro-active management of consultants e.g. legal due diligence, contract negotiation, site due diligence, master planning, marketing;
• Managing risk by way of appropriate reporting and mitigation, and in particular to ensure public money is safeguarded
• Representing the Combined Authority to advocate the organisation’s role in driving up housing supply, improving quality and delivering inclusive growth
• Promoting the work of the team across the WMCA to strengthen and expand the team’s professional contacts, network of key influencers and decision-makers

Required skills

• Background in real estate, from development through to delivery
• Experience of identifying and appraising sites with development potential
• Experience in creating business cases to support projects, including funding, risk management and delivery strategy for land acquisition, disposal and grant investment
• Experience of negotiation of transactions, which may include acquisition and disposal of land for development or joint ventures with developers, landowners and public sector bodies
• Ability to problem solve and deliver projects with challenging  conditions including contamination, access, new
  infrastructure, sustainability, viability and similar technical issues
• Able to work with and deliver results through collaboration with multiple stakeholders and meeting expectations of multiple organisations with differing priorities
• Experience of leading/working within a multi-disciplinary professional team e.g. co-ordinating and managing the work of external consultants

Desirables 

• Educated to Degree level or equivalent in a subject relevant
  to the role
• Appropriate professional membership, or working towards,
  such as RICS

Rewards

• £49,153 – £55,322
• Flexible Working Hours –
  • Designed to provide flexibility over start, finish and lunch breaks allowing people to better balance their work and home commitments.
• 27 days annual leave
  • Plus public holidays, which increases after 5 and 10 years of service
• Local government pension
• Annual Salary Progression
  • Progression is on 1 April each year provided performance is satisfactory and you have completed six months of service within the post. Increments are applied where no other salary increase has been received six months prior to 1 April.
• Discounted gym membership
• Free breakdown cover for essential car users
• Discounted Gourmet Society membership
• Free approved professional development
• Occupational health support
• Free Yoga sessions
• Cycle to work scheme

If you’re committed to a vibrant, diverse Birmingham and would like to join a great team of talented professionals and use your experience and leadership to drive improvement, please contact our retained consultant at Joshua Robert for further information as detailed below: