Development Manager

Places for People; Milton Keynes; Hybrid; GBP 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Pension with matched contributions up

Bonus scheme

35 days holiday including bank

Healthcare cashback plan

Wellbeing support and EAP

Place Rewards discounts

Training and career progression

Recognition programmes

Inclusion and wellbeing focus

Free Places Gyms membership

Life Assurance and will-writing access

Job summary

Places for People is seeking a Development Manager to drive the delivery of a portfolio of live residential developments across Cambridgeshire and the Northern Home Counties. You will own schemes from planning through delivery, coordinating with consultants, Local Planning Authorities and JV partners to ensure time, cost and quality targets are met.

You will be responsible for managing budgets, preparing business cases and board-level papers, and supporting bid submissions and new opportunities

Qualifications

• Experience managing residential development projects through planning, design and delivery stages.
• Strong financial appraisal experience, including development viability assessments and budget management.
• Experience coordinating planning applications with Local Planning Authorities and managing external consultant teams.
• Proven ability to prepare business cases, approval papers and bid submissions for senior stakeholders.
• Experience working with housing developers, registered providers, local authorities or joint venture partners in residential development.

Responsibilities

• Drive successful delivery of a portfolio of live residential developments across Cambridgeshire and the Northern Home Counties.
• Take ownership of schemes through the development lifecycle with consultants and authorities to meet programme and budget.
• Support delivery from planning and design through pre-construction to delivery, and manage consultant teams.
• Maintain financial appraisals, monitor budgets and identify opportunities to improve scheme performance.
• Prepare business cases, gateway approvals and board papers; review partner-led developments for risks and opportunities.
• Assist with bid submissions and assessment of new opportunities where required.

Job description

At Places for People, we hire People, not numbers! So, if you like the sound of one of our jobs, you could be just who we're looking for! Of course, experience and track record are important, but we're more interested in hiring someone that embodies our People Promises. That's someone that does the right thing, is enthusiastic and motivated to grow, believes in Community spirit, is respectful and enjoys their work. As the UK's leading Social Enterprise we're dedicated to creating inclusive and thriving Communities for both our Customers and Employees.

So, what are you waiting for? Join a community that cares about you!

More about your role

Please note: This is a Fixed Term contract until December 2027 and will require two days per week in our Kings Cross office in London.

We're looking for a Development Manager to help drive the successful delivery of a portfolio of live residential developments across Cambridgeshire and the Northern Home Counties.

This is a project-focused development role where you'll take ownership of schemes already progressing through the development lifecycle, working closely with consultants, local authorities, joint venture partners and internal teams to ensure projects are delivered in line with programme, budget and business objectives.

You'll support the delivery of developments at various stages, from planning and design through to pre-construction and delivery, managing consultant teams, coordinating planning applications and engaging with stakeholders to keep projects moving forward. You'll be responsible for maintaining financial appraisals, monitoring project budgets and expenditure, and identifying opportunities to improve scheme performance and maximise returns.

Working alongside senior members of the development team, you'll prepare business cases, gateway approvals and board papers, whilst also reviewing partner-led developments to identify risks and opportunities. Although the primary focus is on managing live projects, you'll also support the preparation of bid submissions and assessment of selected new opportunities where required.

Essential Criteria

• Experience managing residential development projects through planning, design and delivery stages.
• Strong financial appraisal experience, including development viability assessments and budget management.
• Experience managing external consultant teams and coordinating planning applications with Local Planning Authorities.
• Proven ability to prepare business cases, approval papers, bid submissions or development reports for senior stakeholders.
• Experience working with housing developers, registered providers, local authorities or joint venture partners within the residential development sector.

More about you

You're an organised and commercially aware development professional with experience delivering residential projects and managing multiple stakeholders. You understand how to balance programme, quality, risk and financial performance to achieve successful outcomes.

You'll be confident managing consultants, reviewing development appraisals and challenging assumptions to drive value throughout the development process. Experience using financial appraisal tools such as ProVal would be beneficial, alongside an understanding of affordable housing delivery and development viability.

You enjoy working collaboratively, building effective relationships with partners, consultants and local authorities, and you're comfortable presenting information and recommendations to senior colleagues. Most importantly, you'll bring a proactive approach and a passion for delivering high-quality communities that make a positive difference.

Benefits

We are a large diverse and ambitious business, which will give you all the challenge you could wish for.

We know that there's always more we can do to make you smile, that's why we offer a comprehensive benefits package with each role, yours will include:

• Pension with matched contributions up to 7%
• Bonus scheme
• 35 days holiday (including bank holidays) with the option to buy or sell days
• Healthcare cashback plan for everyday medical costs, with private GP and health support services available
• Comprehensive wellbeing support including counselling, flu jabs, our Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) and access to our Wellbeing Hub, supporting your mental, physical and financial wellbeing
• Access to Our Place Rewards, offering discounts and savings on groceries, travel, shopping, home products and other lifestyle purchases
• Ongoing training, professional qualifications, internal development programmes and career progression opportunities
• Recognition programmes including Star Awards and Colleague Awards, celebrating achievements and recognising great work
• Strong focus on inclusion, wellbeing and colleague engagement
• Free membership to Places Gyms
• Life Assurance to provide financial security for your loved ones, alongside access to will writing services to help you plan for the future with confidence