Education Capital and Place Planning Officer
Education Capital and Place Planning Officer – Inside IR35
Purpose of the job
To ensure the Clients meet their statutory duty to secure sufficient education provision across North Northamptonshire:
Planning and reviewing of demand across the area
Contributing to the commissioning and establishing of new places in consultation with other statutory bodies.
Contributing to the development and on-going review of policies and procedures in respect of the planning and commissioning of 0-25 educational provision in line with established and changing national policies.
Facilitate the conversion process whereby maintained schools become academies, operating independently from the Client.
The Education Capital and Place Planning Officer will support the client’s delivery of its statutory duty to provide sufficient school places by identifying need and the determination of how school places should be provided through the delivery of new capital projects.
The post holder will support the improvement of the maintained schools estate and, in particular, in its decarbonisation and adoption of the DfE’s Good Estate Management System (GEMS) for effective use of their devolved maintenance funding. This will be achieved through leading and co-ordinating the delivery of an effective project management service team, including professional service consultants and contractors. As well as lead and co-ordinate on the delivery of school capital projects ensuring that specification, quality, deadline and budget targets and any other relevant requirements are met
Principal responsibilities
To undertake a statutory school place planning role for the council. This will include regular liaison and partnership working with the Clients Admissions Team, headteachers, planning and regeneration officers, developers and contractors.
To monitor the Clients planning process and identify schemes where section 106 contributions are required. To ensure that a robust negotiating position is prepared using forecast data and robust costings of the physical education infrastructure required.
To be responsible for specific school capital projects within the capital programme. This will entail:
Ensuring capital projects are delivered within key performance criteria relating to time, cost, value for money and sustainability
managing project specific risks and issues ensuring these are recorded accurately and reviewed and resolved in a timely manner
meeting deadlines for corporate project reporting on a monthly basis and specifically for the service Strategic Highlight Report and the Children’s Capital Programme Board
To manage external project consultants including monitoring their contractual progress and deliverables and preparation of related documents
To take the lead role in developing and delivering each projects communication strategy
To take the lead role in organising and co-ordinating key project events and consultations both informal and statutory, including pre-planning application consultation. To ensure that the necessary publicity and information is provided as required and that adequate stakeholder consultation take place ensuring that all stakeholders are consulted and given the opportunity to participate in the process
To deal sensitively with a range of complex and contentious enquiries from all stakeholders, dealing efficiently with any issues requiring immediate attention (including Members and MPs questions and Freedom of Information requests
To keep abreast of new legislation, statutory guidance, central government policies, local authority policies and practices and internal and external factors relevant to the successful delivery of the Client’s Schools Capital Programme (e.g. Building Bulletins)
To evaluate the performance of procurement and delivery methods used and contribute to the procurement strategy for the education capital programme
To develop and support the service offered to maintained schools by developing schools’ Asset Management Plans to prioritise the use of devolved maintenance and capital funding in line with building condition priorities and, in particular, support decarbonisation of the schools estate by identify bidding opportunities for capital funding identified in each schools Heat Decarbonisation Plan.
Person Specification
Attributes
Education, Qualifications and Training
* Educated to degree level or equivalent qualification e.g. NVQ 4, HNC
* Evidence of commitment to continuing personal and professional development.
Experience and Knowledge
* Experience of managing and contributing to commissioning or procurement and tendering of projects.
* Understanding of the analysis of demographic data, school capacity information and available information on housing developments to determine the impact of these on individual schools/groups of schools.
* Identifying and assessing options for developing existing schools.
* Acting as advisor to Headteachers and governing bodies in respect of capital projects.
* Up to date specialist knowledge and understanding of DfE Design guidance and Education Act 2011 and the responsibility of the Client to fulfil their statutory duties to provide sufficient school places.
* Experience of working with multiple partners to deliver a desired outcome
* In depth understanding of project management methodologies.
* Proven ability to use project management tolls and systems to monitor progress against established milestones and deliver intended outcomes.
* Using existing property information, including school capacity and suitability data to determine the size, scale and nature of building works required.
* Understanding the role of regulatory bodies in relation to the provision of early years and childcare, school and post 16 places.
Ability and Skills
* Proficient in spoken English
* Ability to develop professional rapport with stakeholders at all levels.
* Communicate and engage whilst working with school governance and agencies as well as young people and their families.
* Ability to interpret cost plans for capital projects and financial profiles for schemes within budget.
* Interpret demographic data and pupil forecasts to prepare school review/organisation proposals.
* Adapting working approach to suits the needs of the work.
* Ability to organise workload and take a flexible approach when matters arise.
* Able to work on occasion outside of normal working hours (governing body meetings and public consultations)
* Ability to work to statutory deadlines and manage workload to meet capital project completion dates, NCC reporting deadlines for senior officers and members.
* Proven ICT skills
* Ability to work with a large diverse team and organisation.
* Ability to foresee and take appropriate, corrective action to address potential problems.
* Ability to foster and develop robust relationships with key stakeholders, including Councillors, Directors and representatives from the DfE, Multi Academy Trusts, Trade Unions, Headteachers, Governors, Parents, Early Years sector.
Rate of Pay
PAYE: £330.22
Umbrella: £425
Location: Northampton(Remote WFH with occasional need to visit School’s around the Northamptonshire area)