Head of New Developments

SUSTRANS; Bristol; Hybrid; GBP 57,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading active travel charity in the UK is seeking a Head of New Developments to promote active travel in new housing projects. The role involves collaboration with partners and stakeholders to influence development practices, ensuring new communities prioritize walking and cycling. Candidates must have substantial experience in housing delivery and excellent leadership abilities. The position offers a salary of £56,254 per annum plus additional benefits, including hybrid working options.

Benefits

28 days' leave plus bank holidays

Ability to buy extra leave

Flexible working practices

Group Personal Pension scheme

Access to cycle to work schemes

Qualifications

• Significant experience in housing delivery sector.
• Strong network in housing development.
• Deep knowledge of development process and active travel.

Responsibilities

• Lead initiatives for active travel in new developments.
• Develop partnerships and pipeline for funded work.
• Engage with stakeholders and communities effectively.

Skills

Leadership skills

Strategic thinking

Communication skills

Business acumen

Collaboration

Education

Chartered membership of a relevant professional body

Job description

Head of New Developments

£56,254 per annum, with a London Weighting Allowance of £4,530 for those living within a London Borough (32 local authority districts plus the City of London)

Ref: 09REC

Full Time 37.5 hours per week – happy to talk flexible working

The role

Sustrans is the UK’s leading active travel organisation, working to make it possible for people across society to walk, wheel and cycle. We have a new strategy for the next five years, a key strand of which is to unlock active travel in new housing developments, and we are recruiting a Head of New Developments to lead this work.

This is a new position in which you will draw on your experience in the housing delivery sector to grow Sustrans’ contribution to the creation of new communities that have active mobility at their heart. As well as leading our influencing work aimed at organisations in housing delivery, you will develop and promote an offer to partners, drawing on Sustrans’ existing infrastructure, behaviour change and advisory services. You will connect with, inform and inspire professionals and decision makers involved in delivering new homes to adopt the actions required to increase active travel in their developments. Through collaboration with our Commercial team and subject experts across Sustrans, you will develop a pipeline of funded work from public, private and third sector organisations, ultimately enabling more households to walk, wheel or cycle for their day-to-day journeys.

The role can be based in any Sustrans office and will involve frequent in-person meetings and site visits, particularly (but not exclusively) in the Midlands and South of England.

About you

You’ll have significant experience contributing to the delivery of new developments through work for or with organisations such as developers, housing providers, consultancies, local authorities or government. We’re looking for applicants with a professional network in housing delivery, and significant experience securing new commissions from and/or influencing organisations involved in delivering new developments. You’ll have a strong understanding of the development process, including the spatial planning system, and of the roles of the parties involved in delivering new developments, the power dynamics between them, and the opportunities and appetite each has for taking action to increase active travel. Naturally, you’ll have deep knowledge of the challenges, opportunities and hot topics in housing delivery – for new towns, urban extensions and urban intensification schemes.

You’ll have exceptional external-facing leadership skills, and be a strategic, creative thinker, able to solve problems and convert new ideas into practical actions. Your outstanding communication skills will enable you to engage with stakeholders at a senior level, including on contentious subjects and on high-profile projects. You’ll have strong business acumen to secure new commissions and deliver effectively for clients, and the skills to influence decision-makers.

You’ll have experience of engaging meaningfully with communities to ensure that new developments respond to the challenges and aspirations of local residents and stakeholders. And you’ll have good knowledge of how active travel can be embedded into new developments to maximise the number of routine journeys that are walked, wheeled or cycled.

We’re looking for exceptional collaboration and people management skills and a commitment to fostering an inclusive and high-performing organisational culture. We welcome Chartered membership of a relevant professional body.

About Sustrans

We work in urban and rural areas, making it possible, safe and appealing for people to people to walk, wheel and cycle. We address the barriers that prevent people from travelling actively – barriers that disproportionately affect people who live in deprived areas, those who are disabled, people who are older or younger, and women and girls.

We’re a practical, can-do charity, designing award-winning infrastructure solutions in streets and across neighbourhoods, and working with communities to give people the skills, confidence, motivation and equipment to travel actively. We’re experts in community and stakeholder engagement, carefully navigating the sometimes heated territory of our work to tackle traffic dominance and car dependency. And we provide data, insight and advice to decision-makers, helping them invest effectively in transport, place-shaping and their communities. We work with government, to support wider work to improve mobility, and to advocate for changes to policy and funding. And over the last 30 years, Sustrans has developed the National Cycle Network from scratch, working with supporters, volunteers, governments and stakeholders to create 16,500 miles of traffic-free and low-traffic routes, loved and enjoyed by communities across the UK.

We are now embarking on a new chapter for our charity, with a refreshed strategy. The Head of New Developments will play a key role in growing our impact in this new chapter.

What we offer

Sustrans has a long-term commitment to being a charity for everyone - reducing inequality, valuing diversity, enabling inclusion and ensuring all people are treated with dignity and respect. We aim to be a truly inclusive employer and welcome applications from people from all parts of the community, in particular from under-represented groups.

In return we can offer true hybrid working to suit individual circumstances and a flexible, supportive and rewarding working environment.

Wellbeing

• 28 days’ leave per annum plus bank holidays for full-time working
• Ability to buy an extra week of annual leave (pro-rata for part-time staff)
• Staff volunteer days
• 24/7 free, impartial and confidential support service
• We are members of the Green Commute Initiative and Cycle Scheme who both offer cycle to work schemes

Financial

• Group Personal Pension scheme with a 6% or 7% of basic salary contribution being matched by Sustrans
• Bike, computer and season ticket loans
• Discount benefits
• London Weighting Allowance of £4,530 for all those living within a London Borough (32 local authority districts plus the City of London)
• Death in service benefit – 3 x annual salary

Family Friendly

• Enhanced maternity and paternity pay
• Flexible working practices (full time hours are 37.5 per week, Monday - Friday)

Additional information

• Closing date for the receipt of completed applications is 23:59, 10th August 2025.
• Interviews are expected to take place in person in London week commencing 18th August 2025.
• To discuss this role, please [e-mail] arrange a call with our Connected Neighbourhoods Director, Rachel Toms.
• Applications are invited in the form of a CV and covering letter.