Land & Partnerships Manager

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Job Title                                 Land & Partnerships Manager

Role Type                               Permanent, full time

Job Location                          Billingshurst, West Sussex or Wokingham, Berkshire

Reports to                              Land Director

The Company

Thakeham is an infrastructure-led community creator and strategic land promoter and proud winner of a Sunday Times 100 Best Small Companies to Work For.

The business is committed to partnerships, innovation and creating amazing places to live and work. Thakeham is a leader in the industry on sustainability and biodiversity. We are at the forefront of delivering sustainable homes, committed to ensuring every Thakeham home is carbon-neutral in production, and carbon-zero throughout its lifetime use by 2025. These core values underpin the company-wide mission to affect communities in a positive way

Thakeham was launched in 2003. From day one, the company was driven by a clear vision: to transform the way people think about new-built developments. Today, Thakeham employs close to 200 people with a turnover of over £105m.

People are Thakeham’s most important asset. Thakeham operates a thriving graduate recruitment programme and supports the Movement to Work initiative to help young people secure work. Thakeham has signed the HBF Mental Health Charter and recently organised a health and wellbeing programme during Lockdown.

A Silver Armed Forces Covenant signatory and supporter of armed force’s charity Mission Motorsport, Thakeham operates a Talent for Development outreach campaign for military veterans and college leavers.

Away from work, Thakeham offers a range of staff events including quiz nights and participates in charity challenges including dragon boat racing.

We pride ourselves on our ‘Infrastructure first’ approach, ensuring communities release the benefits of new development at the outset, rather than later on in the process. Thakeham strive to not just create new homes, but genuinely amazing places to live, work and play. Thakeham delivers social, affordable and retirement housing for some of the biggest housing associations and local authorities in the country.  Partners include the NHS England Healthy New Towns Initiative, the Plunkett Foundation, Social Value UK and have been awarded a prestigious Gold Supply Chain School.

Offering exciting career opportunities that are second to none, we are keen to develop, guide and support our employees throughout their careers. Our people enjoy excellent rewards and working conditions in an exciting and fast growing business.

The Department 

We have a fantastic opportunity for somebody to join our growing land team.  Our dedicated team works closely with clients, landowners, promoters, consultants and land agents to plan, progress and implement new projects whether this be for strategic promotion, s106 delivery or as land and package deals for our public sector partners.

We are looking for several Land & Partnership Manager’s to cover the following operational areas; Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hants & Wilts, Berks, Bucks and Oxford.

The Job Role

The role holder’s primary responsibilities will be

• Responsible to the Land Director and working alongside the Land team to deliver the company’s Business Plan. More specifically to primarily deliver the revenue targets associated with securing new projects  for Thakeham Partnerships. From time to time the job holder will be required to work with the Land Director on matters associated with securing new projects for Thakeham Strategic
• Identify and bring forward new land opportunities that would be of interest to our housing associations and local authority clients
• Sourcing Land opportunities via promotion of the business to direct Land owners, Land agents and existing clients
• Working with the Business Development team to promote to external partners the added value that Thakeham Group offer
• . Demonstrate a clear understanding of how land deals can be concluded through the use of maximising any RP’s financial appraisal, red book, board approval process or value engineering their specification and employer’s requirements
• Oversee the land sale through to an exchange of contracts
• Manage a database to record all key activity as projects move through key stages and milestones
• Participate in the sale of Thakeham Homes controlled sites (s106) to council and housing association partners. Primarily this will involve collating offer packs, seeking offers and working with solicitors to secure to execution of a Development Agreement
• Work closely with our Development Management team and other internal stakeholders to deliver a competitive cost plan and when required a commercially acceptable build contract
• Participate in writing bid documents to support public sector tenders
• At all opportunities fully explain the Thakeham Partnerships ethos and detail the added value benefits that we can offer – e.g. zero carbon, MMC, BIM, BNG, ESG, standard house types
• Represent Thakeham at industry functions and conferences
• Use knowledge of local market and competitors to identify and develop the Company’s unique business proposition and differentiators
• Provide monthly/weekly reports to Land director as directed
• Attend regional board meetings to deliver business activity reports when required
• Main operating areas will be as detailed above, but will be required to attend meetings or work on projects across other parts of the South East
• Attend meetings with individual RP’s across the South East to promote Thakeham plus review service delivery.
• From time to time work with MD of Joint Ventures in promoting new JV opportunities and actively working on live schemes that lead to an exchange of contracts
• Ensuring that the above tasks are delivered in accordance in compliance with existing systems and procedures.
• Have an understanding or the role that employer’s agents play and how they can be influential in winning new work
• Be able to use as leverage the Thakeham Strategic land bank as reciprocation for RP’s to bring to us new land opportunities that a build contract can be negotiated for Thakeham Partnerships
• Work with local authority housing and planning departments to secure desired outcomes for the business. This may involve seeking DPA waivers, variations to s106 and agree tenure mixes as part of s106 agreements

This list is not exhaustive. Tasks will be allocated to reflect increasing levels of development and experience.

The Required Skills

• Excellent knowledge of MS Office (Word, Excel & Outlook)
• Excellent communication skills and confidence to liaise with people internally and externally
• Good attention to detail and organisational skills
• Effective time management skills
• Professional approach with high degree of discretion
• Willing to be flexible and get involved with a wide range of tasks
• Ability to work on own initiative and generate solutions
• Good working understanding of the planning system
• Good working understanding of construction contracts and other legal documentation such as title reports and sectional agreements
• The successful applicant will be able to demonstrate a track record in securing new land opportunities and managing these through the an exchange of contracts
• Ideally the applicant will have a business development background in the residential housing sector whether this be for Housing Associations, plc’s or private SME
• Ideally be able to bring into the business a network of new ;and promoters and agents
• Have an understanding of grant and the operations of Homes England

The Benefits

• Competitive salary
• Car allowance
• Salary sacrifice car scheme
• Annual holiday allowance 26 days increasing to 27 after 3yrs service and 28 after 5yrs service (plus bank holidays)
• Life assurance
• Private medical insurance
• Health screening
• Pension scheme
• Bonus scheme
• Company Social events
• Flexible working hours in a modern office environment / Working from Home Policy
• Excellent development and progression opportunities for the right candidate
• Company Social events

Plus a whole range of other employee benefits that we can tell you all about, our employees are rewarded for their performance, attitude and results.

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Thakeham is committed to providing equal opportunities in employment and treating people fairly. We will treat all job applicants and employees equally regardless of age, race, religious belief, colour, ethnic or national origin, sex, marital status, sexual orientation or disability. We welcome applicants from all sectors of society and we are committed to promoting an inclusive environment for all.

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