About Us

Affordable Housing Enabling Officer
£46,014 – £55,758 per annum
Permanent 
Full Time (36 hours)
Wandsworth

Are you interested in joining an ambitious team working to deliver affordable housing for Richmond and Wandsworth Councils? Could you bring knowledge about housing, planning and viability together to develop opportunities to deliver more affordable homes?

If you answered yes the post we’re seeking to fill could be for you.

Working with planning services, landowners, developers, registered providers and other charitable housing providers your focus will be to increase affordable housing delivery through partnership working, applying housing and planning policies and your own knowledge and experience.

About the role 

You will work independently on key aspects of affordable housing delivery, including providing advice and assistance to the planning service, landowners, developers and housing providers to secure and increase affordable housing delivery.  

You will represent the borough, acting as a contact in negotiations with developers, landowners and other agencies, such as the Greater London Authority (GLA) at external meetings, as well as providing expert advice for enabling affordable housing on development sites in the borough and negotiating with key funding organisations such as the GLA and Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) to support affordable housing delivery.

In addition, you will also be the key contact for external agencies and Councillors in dealing with issues pertaining to affordable housing and affordable housing providers.

You will have a good understanding of national, regional, and local planning policy and associated legislative requirements and funding guidance and have a good understanding of viability matters.

While the role is based within the Shared Staffing Arrangement, it will involve mainly working on Richmond’s delivery of affordable housing but with an opportunity to also work on Wandsworth schemes. You will also provide reports and briefings for senior officers and Members on affordable housing matters.

We welcome applications from individuals from the public and/or private sector who have knowledge and background in planning and/or housing including knowledge of how financial viability impacts on delivery of affordable housing.

Essential Qualifications, Skills and Experience

• Sound knowledge of the development of affordable housing.
• Understanding of economic appraisal processes in the development of affordable housing.
• Ability to work with external agencies and senior colleagues in other Departments in the development of affordable housing projects.
• Knowledge of Section 106 Legal Agreements and Nomination Agreements.

Closing Date: Sunday 4th August 2024
Shortlisting Date: Monday 5th August 2024
Interview Date: Tuesday 13th August 2024

Richmond and Wandsworth Councils are committed to making our recruitment practices as inclusive as possible for everyone. We are committed to promoting equality and diversity and developing a culture that values differences, recognising that employees from a variety of backgrounds bring important and positive contributions to the Councils and can improve the way we deliver services. 

We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer. If you require any reasonable adjustments throughout the recruitment and selection process, please let us know. 

We are also committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people/vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. Some posts may be exempted under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and as such appointment to these posts will be conditional upon the receipt of a satisfactory response to a check of police records via Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS).

We offer a wide range of benefits designed to attract, develop, and reward our employees such as 40 days annual leave (including Bank Holidays), flexible working and a generous pension plan.  

Richmond and Wandsworth Councils