Head of Legal - Development (A0008N)
Homes England
Apply before 11:55 pm on Sunday 12th May 2024
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About the job
Job summary
Working in a team with the Assistant Director Legal – Development and Regeneration, the Head of Legal Development will play a critical role in providing an innovative, proactive, professional legal service to Homes England’s Directorates. You will be joining our small but experienced legal team and leading a team of 4 people, who are committed to making positive change to accelerate housing delivery and create thriving places by acquiring, de-risking and disposing of land for regeneration and development.
This is a rare chance to join a fast growing, national organisation with real social purpose and a clear mission. Working with key internal and external stakeholders you will ensure efficient, consistent and effective provision of legal services and have the opportunity to help deliver the homes and places that our communities need, and to support the regeneration of our towns, cities and rural communities.
There are some exciting and ambitious projects to get involved with and this is an excellent opportunity to balance the design and delivery of key strategic development and regeneration projects across the country with day to day delivery.
Job description
Whilst our day job is to deliver first class customer service to our internal teams, you will be used to "spinning several plates" at once and will always be looking for ways to improve and innovate.
You'll be comfortable supporting the Development and Markets Partners Places Directorates with complex legal and compliance issues, aiming to support the agency to achieve its mission. You will be proficient in land law, property acquisitions and development disposals and you will be aware of public law including public subsidy and public procurement and be prepared to develop your knowledge and skills in these areas.
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 a team. You will enjoy working in an innovative, fun and engaging way and be able to negotiate and persuade.
As an experienced Legal 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.
Person specification
2. Managing the process for acquiring, via statutory transfers, surplus public sector land from other public bodies including due diligence.
3. Managing the innovative and effective provision of professional services in relation to Property and Contract Law – acquisitions and disposals; Planning Law – S106; Landlord and Tenant.
4. Public Law including Public Subsidy, Public Procurement, Compulsory Purchase. If needed, the
successful candidate will be supported to undertake training to acquire the necessary knowledge and skills in these areas.
5. Developing and maintaining a suite of standard documentation and keeping it up to date, fit
for purpose and in line with market practice; consulting with stakeholders on its content; ensure that the procedures for its use are publicised to staff and external lawyers.
6. To support Homes England’s Markets Partners Places (MPP) Directorate by being part of project teams to review and analyse new opportunities for Homes England intervention.
7. If the ‘project’ moves into delivery in the Development Directorate, to continue to be part of
that delivery oversight team to support and advise the project and ensure our external lawyers
deliver the required advice to project deadlines and budget.
8. Advising in relation to potential property related disputes and litigation and supporting the Development Directorate teams to manage litigation where external panel solicitors are engaged.
9. To support Local Authorities (LAs) with guidance on best practice and training in the key areas of expertise.
10. To support the disposal of legacy land (commercial sites and non-housing) for the Contingent Assets and Liabilities (CAL) team. To attend CAL Approvals Board as necessary to support the team with advice and structuring of deals and disposals.
11. Reporting to and attendance at Homes England Committees as required, in particular Local Development Management Teams, Development Projects Executive and Place Project Executive.
12. Attendance at Land and Development Delivery Board to report and advise on legal matters and issues with current Development projects.
13. Applying risk management methodologies to identify and manage legal risks.
Benefits
Holiday - Homes England offers all staff 33 days annual leave per year in addition to 8 statutory bank holidays.
Working Flexibly - At Homes England we have a strong culture of flexible working and encourage all employees to have a healthy work/life balance. We offer a wide range of potential working patterns, including part time, job share and compressed hours.
Health and Wellbeing - We offer health screening with Nuffield Proactive Health Clinics, a free Employee Assistance Programme which offers confidential support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week as well as access to Occupational Health.
Professional Development - At Homes England we are committed to your continued professional and personal development with learning as one of our core values. We pay for one job-related professional membership subscription per year for our employees.
We also offer an excellent range of family friendly benefits, for example, maternity, paternity, shared parental leave.
Things you need to know
Selection process details
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.
Further information
Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.
Contact point for applicants
Name: Recruitment Team
Email: recruitmentinfo@homesengland.gov.uk
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
Security
Nationality requirements
Working for the Civil Service
Apply and further information
Contact point for applicants
Job contact :
- Name : Recruitmentinfo@homesengland.gov.uk
- Email : Recruitmentinfo@homesengland.gov.uk
Recruitment team
- Email : Recruitmentinfo@homesengland.gov.uk
