Development Officer

First Choice Homes Oldham; Oldham; Hybrid; GBP 27,000 - 34,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid working

Travel between sites

Healthcare cash plan

Private health insurance

Employee Assistance Programme (EAP)

Doctorline – 24/7 GP access

Benefits platform discounts

30 days holiday + bank holidays

Job summary

First Choice Homes Oldham (FCHO) is seeking a Development Officer to join our Development Team and help deliver high-quality, safe and sustainable new homes across Oldham.

You’ll provide project, administrative and coordination support across the Development Team, attending meetings, updating programme information and assisting with invoices and documentation. You’ll travel between FCHO sites with hybrid working options to suit the role.

Qualifications

• Experience of providing effective administrative, project or coordination support.
• Strong organisational skills and the ability to manage competing priorities and deadlines.
• Experience of maintaining accurate records, databases or management information.
• Good written and verbal communication skills.
• Confidence using Microsoft Office, including Word, Excel, Outlook and Teams.
• A collaborative approach and the ability to build positive working relationships.
• A strong customer focus and willingness to take ownership of tasks.
• An interest in property development, housing, construction or regeneration.

Responsibilities

• Support development schemes from start on site through to practical completion and the end of the defects period.
• Maintain accurate project information, records, databases and development programme information.
• Attend project meetings and support the coordination of minutes, actions and documentation.
• Manage and coordinate enquiries received through the Development Team mailbox.
• Support purchase orders, invoices and other financial administration.
• Coordinate utility and council tax processes for our new development properties.
• Help prepare scheme information and files for Homes England, funding, charging and audit requirements.
• Work with colleagues, contractors, consultants and developers to ensure information is shared accurately and on time.
• Identify and elevate issues, risks or delays where needed.

Skills

Administrative support

Organisational skills

Record keeping

Written communication

Verbal communication

Microsoft Office

Collaboration

Customer focus

Property development interest

Tools

Word

Excel

Outlook

Teams

Job description

Salary: £30,469.62
Location: Oldham, with hybrid working and travel between sites.
Hours: 37 hours per week

Are you organised, detail-focused and interested in building a career in housing and development?

We’re looking for a Development Officer to join our Development Team and help us deliver high-quality, safe and sustainable new homes across Oldham.

This is a great opportunity for someone who enjoys keeping things organised, working with different people and making sure projects run smoothly. You’ll be at the heart of our development programme, supporting schemes from the point they start on site right through to completion and the end of the defects period.

The impact you’ll make

As our Development Officer, you’ll provide project, administrative and coordination support across the Development Team.

No two days will be exactly the same. You could be attending a project meeting with contractors and consultants, updating programme information, helping process invoices, coordinating utilities for new homes or making sure important project documentation is accurate and ready when it’s needed.

You’ll work closely with colleagues across FCHO as well as developers, contractors, consultants and other external partners, giving you the opportunity to develop a broad understanding of affordable housing development.

You’ll:

• Support development schemes from start on site through to practical completion and the end of the defects period
• Maintain accurate project information, records, databases and development programme information
• Attend project meetings and support the coordination of minutes, actions and documentation
• Manage and coordinate enquiries received through the Development Team mailbox
• Support purchase orders, invoices and other financial administration
• Coordinate utility and council tax processes for our new development properties
• Help prepare scheme information and files for Homes England, funding, charging and audit requirements
• Work with colleagues, contractors, consultants and developers to ensure information is shared accurately and on time
• Identify and elevate issues, risks or delays where needed

Our Ideal candidate

You don’t need to know everything about housing development from day one. What’s most important is that you’re organised, curious and keen to learn.

You’ll be someone who can manage different priorities, pays close attention to detail and takes pride in getting things right.

You’ll bring:

• Experience of providing effective administrative, project or coordination support
• Strong organisational skills and the ability to manage competing priorities and deadlines
• Experience of maintaining accurate records, databases or management information
• Good written and verbal communication skills
• Confidence using Microsoft Office, including Word, Excel, Outlook and Teams
• A collaborative approach and the ability to build positive working relationships
• A strong customer focus and willingness to take ownership of tasks
• An interest in property development, housing, construction or regeneration

Experience within housing, construction, regeneration or development would be an advantage, as would experience supporting projects, processing invoices or purchase orders, organising meetings or working with contractors and consultants.

You’ll also need to be able to travel between FCHO sites and development schemes

Why Join FCHO?

First Choice Homes Oldham (FCHO) is a housing association providing safe, affordable and high-quality homes across Oldham and the surrounding areas. We own and manage over 11,500 properties and have the highest regulatory (G1/V1) governance rating. Every day, we’re proud to make a real difference in our communities.

Our work is guided by our Corporate Plan, focused on providing quality homes, excellent services and thriving communities. We care deeply about our customers, colleagues and communities and are committed to improving lives across Oldham.

We need great people to work with us, and it’s an exciting time to join as we continue to deliver new homes and invest in the future of our communities.

What’s In It for You?

We offer a fantastic range of benefits designed to support your wellbeing, work-life balance and career development:

• A salary of £30469.62 per annum
• A 37-hour working week with hybrid working options
• 30 days’ annual leave plus 8 bank holidays
• Option to purchase additional annual leave
• Defined contribution pension scheme with up to 10% employer contribution and salary exchange option
• Healthcare cash plan covering dental, optical and physiotherapy treatments
• Private health insurance
• Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) offering 24-hour confidential support
• Doctorline – 24/7 worldwide GP access for you and your family
• Access to our colleague benefits platform, offering discounts on major retailers and wellbeing tools
• Discounted gym membership
• Professional subscriptions paid where essential for the role
• Enhanced maternity, paternity, adoption and sick pay
• Access to our on-site wellbeing room and on-site café
• Long Service awards

We are committed to building an organisation that represents a variety of backgrounds, perspectives and skills and are proud to be an equal opportunity workplace. As an equal opportunities employer, FCHO is committed to the equal treatment of all current and prospective colleagues and does not condone discrimination on the basis of age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity, race or ethnicity, religion or belief, gender identity, or marriage and civil partnership.

We aspire to have a diverse and inclusive workplace and strongly encourage suitably qualified applicants from a wide range of backgrounds to apply and join us.

We care that you have a great experience with us at FCHO. If you need us to make any reasonable adjustments to make your experience smoother, please let us know and we’ll do all we can.

The Company

AtFirst Choice Homes Oldham, we’re all about being a community anchor organisation and making a positive difference where we work.

Our dedicated team delivers this every day through good quality, affordable homes, excellent services and thriving communities for customers living in our 11,500 homes across Oldham and surrounding boroughs.

We’re a significant employer in the local area and we’re ambitious to grow. We ensure colleagues enjoy working at FCHO, are developed and can build careers for successful futures.

Join us and become a part of a team passionate about providing homes we are proud of and improving lives.

The Benefits

30 days holiday

Family friendly policies

Our People

• Chris Goode
• Project Manager, Investment Delivery

"I've had great opportunities to learn and progress by working with internal and external partners to make a real difference to our homes and customers' lives."

“I enjoy helping our customers and working across teams to provide essential services for their homes.”

“There are so many opportunities to learn and develop new skills.”