Development Officer

HQN Ltd; Kendal; Hybrid; GBP 38,000 - 54,000; Full time

Job summary

HQN Ltd is seeking a Development Officer to drive our new homes programme, lead on S106 and acquisitions, and support land-led development. The role will involve active site presence, relationship-building with stakeholders, and coordinating development to handover, sale and occupation.

You will work across Development, Sales and the wider organisation, ensuring schemes progress on time, within budget and to quality standards, while supporting the Sales & Home Ownership team as needed.

Qualifications

• Experience delivering development projects, including S106 and acquisitions, is highly desirable.
• Strong stakeholder relationship management and contract administration skills.
• Site presence and ability to oversee multiple schemes across delivery stages.

Responsibilities

• Lead the appraisal and delivery of S106 and acquisitions programmes from initial reviews to handover.
• Build external relationships with developers, authorities and partners to generate opportunities.
• Maintain site presence, attend progress meetings and manage risks and quality on schemes.
• Oversee programme milestones, information requests, costs, cashflows and action tracking.
• Support land-led development with coordination, appointments and grant applications.
• Coordinate handovers of new homes with stakeholders to ensure timely readiness.

Job description

Purpose of the job:
The Development Officer will play a key role in delivering our new homes programme, taking the lead on
our Section 106 (S106) and acquisitions programme and supporting the Development & Sales Manager
with land-led development, including leading on land-led schemes where required.

This is an active, relationship focused role. You will build strong and positive relationships with all key
stakeholders, creating the connections needed to keep schemes moving and deliver high-quality new
homes for our residents.

You will take ownership of a varied portfolio of schemes, maintaining a strong understanding of
progress, risks, quality and key milestones. Regular presence on our development sites will be an
important part of the role.

Working across Development, Sales and the wider organisation, you will be highly organised, responsive
and comfortable managing multiple priorities at different stages of delivery. You will also work closely
with and provide support to the Sales & Home Ownership Officer and Development and Sales Assistant,
helping to create a seamless journey from development through to handover, sale and occupation.

Key accountabilities

• 1. Lead the appraisal and delivery of the S106 and acquisitions programme, taking day-to-day
  ownership of allocated schemes from initial scheme reviews, financial appraisals, acquisition
  and contract stages through construction, handover and completion making sure the scheme
  runs to programme and budget.
• 2. Develop strong and productive external relationships with open market developers,
  contractors, Clerks of Works, local authorities, consultants and other partners. Be a visible
  and engaged ambassador for the organisation, developing new business opportunities and
  increasing our profile and networks within the sector.
• 3. Maintain an active presence on development sites, undertaking regular site visits, attending
  project and progress meetings and building effective working relationships with site teams.
  Develop a thorough understanding of progress on each scheme and ensure emerging risks,
  delays or quality issues are identified, acted upon and escalated to team members where
  appropriate.
• 4. Drive schemes forward, maintaining oversight of programmes, key milestones, information
  requirements, risks and risk registers, service charges, financial viability of developers, project
  costs, cashflows and actions. Proactively follow up outstanding matters and work with
  colleagues and partners to find solutions where barriers arise. Ensure significant risks, delays
  or issues are addressed or escalated promptly to the Development & Sales Manager, with clear
  information on impact and proposed next steps.
• 5. Support the Development & Sales Manager with land-led development, including project
  coordination, consultant and contractor appointment and liaison, scheme information,
  meetings, financial and programme monitoring and external grant applications. Where
  appropriate, take the lead on individual land-led schemes through to delivery.
• 6. Coordinate and lead the handover of new homes, bringing together all stakeholders to ensure
  homes and all required information are ready at the right time.
• 7. Work closely with, support and oversee the day-to-day work of the Development & Sales
  Assistant in relation to allocated schemes, providing clear direction on priorities and ensuring
  key administrative, handover, defect, aftercare, resident satisfaction and project actions are
  progressed accurately and on time.
• 8. Support the Development & Sales Assistant with coordinating defects, aftercare and end of
  defects activity, managing resident and contractor communication, maintaining accurate
  defect records and monitoring against KPI’s and dashboards.
• 9. Work collaboratively with the Sales & Home Ownership Officer, sharing information and
  providing support across the sales and home ownership programme where required.
• 10. Build strong relationships across the organisation, working particularly closely with Asset,
  Building Safety, Housing, Sales, Finance and other colleagues to ensure their requirements are
  understood and incorporated into development delivery.
• 11. Champion equality, diversity and inclusion and the resident experience, ensuring new homes
  meet agreed design, specification and quality requirements, reflecting the diverse needs of our
  communities. Use customer feedback and performance information to improve the service,
  identifying recurring issues and recommending improvements.
• 12. Maintain accurate and up-to-date scheme information and trackers, including programme,
  property, financial, Homes England audit and handover information, ensuring systems and
  records provide a clear and reliable picture of each development. Prepare information for
  internal meetings, Committee meetings and Board meetings relevant to your responsibilities.
• 13. Support with managing the development inbox, ensuring enquiries are reviewed, responded to
  or allocated promptly and information is shared with the right colleagues.
• 14. Support the Development and Sales Manager to ensure adherence to health, wellbeing, and
  safety policies and procedures, taking responsibility for the SLH’s compliance with statutory site
  safety requirements and other relevant regulations including CDM.
• 15. Support customer complaints and feedback within your area of responsibility, ensuring issues
  are responded to promptly, learning is captured and improvements are made to services.
• 16. Take responsibility for your continued professional development, actively building knowledge,
  skills and experience to support your role and the wider team.
• 17. Development and Sales is a varied and fast-moving area and no profile can capture every
  activity. The postholder will be expected to work proactively, flexibly and collaboratively,
  supporting wider team priorities as required.