Principal Infrastructure & Development Viability Officer

Town Hall
160 Whitechapel Road
LONDON
E1 1BJ

Principal Infrastructure & Development Viability Officer

Salary & Benefits: We are offering a salary between £56,733 - £59,772 (experience dependent - with annual increments). Our additional benefits are exemplary and unrivalled - see remuneration pack for full details.

Start Date: May 2025 (alternative commencement dates will be considered for lengthy notice periods)

Contract: Permanent

Eligibility: Applicants must be a formal member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) - Minimum MRICS status or higher in a relevant discipline; OR working towards their MRICS (Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors) status.

Application Closing Date: 30th March 2024

Location: Hybrid - London (Whitechapel) and home working

Background:

The housing crisis is an ongoing issue within the UK and more specifically within Greater London. The need to accommodate thousands of individuals and families on housing waiting lists across the capital continues to grow rapidly creating an urgent need in seeking to maximise the affordable housing contributions made by developers as part of new development schemes.

To meet this urgent need requires a consistent delivery of both private and affordable housing across the whole of London. It is therefore critical that a well-planned and coordinated policy base is maintained, and that this is implemented consistently and robustly. To this end, Development Viability plays an integral part within the planning process and the delivery of affordable housing/developer contributions.

The Team - Tower Hamlets Viability (THV):

To ensure Tower Hamlets is best placed to address matters relating to development viability, the council has created a dedicated team to assess development appraisals and provide advice to planning officers and politicians.

THV is an internal council service & a fee earning commercial service providing specialist development viability advice to the planning department at LBTH. The team holds professional expertise in development viability/valuation and relevant RICS accreditation (qualified chartered status) and is led by Olivia D'Mello-Browning (MRICS). Experience held within the team is vast with private and public sector backgrounds.

Key Responsibilities:

• Review & negotiate financial viability assessments/development appraisals of mixed-use development schemes from small to very large/strategic development (2000+ units).
• Area wide development viability advice (Local Plan/CIL Charging Schedule).
• Site inspections where required.
• Review mechanisms (Securing effective reviews through s.106 agreements and undertaking assessments at triggers).
• Community Led Housing/Self Build Projects - reviewing viability assessments and assessing affordability.
• CIL Payment in Kind - land valuations/approach advice.

Your Responsibilities:

• Gaining a strong, in-depth knowledge of Tower Hamlets and London property/development markets in a planning context and staying up to date with changes to legislation and practice as part of an industry-leading borough.
• Leading and producing written reports of financial viability assessments (FVAs), supported by viability appraisals prepared using Argus Developer software. This also includes undertaking follow-up assessments triggered by review mechanisms.
• Undertaking site inspections as necessary.
• Providing valuation/viability advice to planning officers to assist with decision making and with negotiating maximum amounts of affordable housing with applicants.
• Forging strong relationships with public sector clients such as planning authorities/councils mainly across London where THV are commissioned to undertake instructions on their behalf.
• Preparing briefing notes for politicians and appearing at Development Committee meetings where relevant to provide viability-specific advice and respond to queries.
• Preparing documents for planning appeals and inquiries and appearing as expert witness where required.
• Assisting with procurement and management of Quantity Surveyors feeding into viability assessments undertaken by THV and other Surveyors/Firms for strategic projects such as Local Plan evidence bases, Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) rate setting, and various Supplementary Planning Documents (SPDs).
• Supporting and providing advice to legal/planning colleagues with respects to securing affordable housing provisions/clauses as part of any legal agreement.
• Supporting and providing Ad-Hoc viability/valuation advice relating to any matter within the council.

Is This Role for Me?

This is a principal level post in a dynamic team, and therefore ideal for candidates with a strong background in valuations (ideally with development appraisals within a planning context). The position will require the candidate to be familiar with the planning process and is able to undertake duties upon commencement with minimal supervision.

The Package/Benefits:

The council is determined to employ and more importantly retain valued members of the team. Given that we offer so much by way of additional benefits we have set out the full and extensive list within the remuneration pack (attached/available on our website as part of the role). From excellent pay scales, training and support we've not missed anything out. Our aim is to have staff feel confident in their roles and recognised for their continuous efforts.

Apply:

This is a genuinely fantastic opportunity with outstanding benefits so apply today via the council's recruitment portal (Alvius).

We strongly advise you to read "Advice for Applicants 2025" carefully before applying. This can be found on our website as part of the role and will be the best form of guidance when creating an application.