Reports To: Senior Estates Officer
Salary: £26,500- £31,500 DoE
Terms: Permanent Full-time 36 hours p/w
Location: Linmere (Houghton Regis)/Wellingborough (Stanton Cross) /Aylesbury
About the Role:
The Estates & Community Officer will manage grounds maintenance contracts and engage residents across a small portfolio of residential service charge sites, maximising the environmental and social value of the developments’ green spaces.
Reporting to the Land Trust’s Senior Estates Officer, the post holder will work closely with Land Trust colleagues, developers, contractors and external stakeholders.
The role will ensure high standards through effective contractor management, regular site inspections, accurate records, liaison with the Master Developer and contractors, and prompt resolution of issues.
A strong customer focus is essential, ensuring residents receive excellent service and clear information about the green spaces. Duties include regular liaison through the Trust’s Customer Relationship Management System and leading an annual programme of community events and activities.
The post holder will contribute to landscape and planting designs, comment on plans for future phases and bring completed areas into management.
The role requires collaboration across Estates, Fundraising, Finance and Project Management teams, as well as with the Master Developer, to deliver the service charge effectively.
Working closely with the Land Trust’s Communications Team, the post holder will promote the sites creatively through events and activities.
The post holder will champion the Land Trust’s role in creating sustainable communities.
The role will be based at our clients offices at Linmere (approx. 3 days per week) along with regular travel to our other sites in Wellingborough and Aylesbury. A UK driving licence and car is essential.
ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES
- Management of Public Open Spaces
- Act as a point of contact for Master Developer and service charge customers, dealing with emerging issues and maintaining a high standard of site management and customer relationships.
- Act as a point of contact for contractors, discussing and putting into practice any actions as required.
- Ensuring monitoring and management of site Key Performance Indicators including charitable impact, site management, nature conservation, community engagement and health and safety. This will be done through regular inspections, review meetings and reports.
- Ensure contractors maintain the sites to agreed service levels and within budgets.
- Develop and monitor a site-specific list of contractors who can react to emergency work on site.
- Work with the Land Trusts finance Team in the process of negotiating and agreeing annual budgets with the master developer.
- Monitoring expenditure during the year; This includes raising purchase orders, processing of quarterly reports, claims and paying invoices.
- Monitoring and supporting the land transfer of future phases, reviewing the snagging process and ensuring transfer ready conditions are met.
- Assist in the development of the site landscape management plans and assist in the appointment and reappointment of grounds maintenance contractors at the required intervals.
- Maintain the necessary administrative systems to ensure effective site management and monitoring
- Community Engagement
- Coordinate and hold regular residents’ engagement, including events and service charge meetings, this may include evenings and weekends depending on requirements.
- Work with the communications team, both Land Trust and the client, and Master Developer to ensure that site and their activities are effectively and appropriately promoted, including the development of site-specific marketing, engagement and communication plans for site.
- Liaising with schools and charities, community interest groups and community trusts or Parish Council and Town Council in the area to engage with the public open space on site.
- Ensure all relevant Trust policies and procedures are adhered to e.g. Health and Safety.
PERSON SPECIFICATION
Essential Skills:
- Relevant professional qualification or equivalent experience
- Experienced in management of landscape contracts
- Excellent communication skills including the ability to develop and manage relationships with partner organisations and contractors, engaging with local people in resolving issues and site management
- Experience in liaising with residents and members of the public
- IT literate with proven skills in using MS Office packages
- Ability and confidence to work on own initiative, as well as part of a team, and to resolve problems as they arise, remaining calm under pressure
- High level of tact, diplomacy and confidentiality
- Confidence to manage competing priorities under own initiative
- Ability to balance a long-term vision with attention to detail to ensure that the vision can be successfully realised
Desirable Experience:
- Developing, implementing, and monitoring management agreements, landscape management plans and management contracts
- Experience in the management of sites funded through service charges
- Experience of working with a range of partners including public, private, and voluntary sector organisations
- Experience of setting up and running landscape management contracts
- Experience in the use of Customer Service Relationship Management Systems
- Horticultural and Landscape management experience.
OTHER RELEVANT INFORMATION
- The post will involve infrequent travel to other Land Trust offices and sites for training and development.
- This position requires the post holder to act flexibly and undertake other duties and responsibilities commensurate with the post as discussed with the Senior Estates Officer and agreed with the master developer.
- Working outside
- Some evening, weekend and bank holiday working
- Business travel costs will be reimbursed
- The role may require a DBS check
- Full UK driving licence and access to a vehicle for work purposes is essential as this role involves extensive travel.
Salary and Benefits
£26,500 – £31,500 depending on experience
- A salary sacrifice pension scheme, with LT matching employee contributions up to 6%
- Life Insurance (4 x salary)
- Flexi time and hybrid working
- 26.5 days holiday per year plus bank holidays, increasing to 31.5 days with service
- Option to buy additional holiday
- Employee Assistance Program
- Health Care Cash back scheme (Medicash)
- Training and Development support
- Enhanced Family leave
APPLICATIONS
Please email a CV and covering letter to recruitment@thelandtrust.org.uk
Closing date for applications is Midnight on Monday 2nd November
Interviews will commence w/c 9th November
Interviews for any shortlisted candidates will be combination of MS Teams and face to face on site at our Linmere site.
We are not currently accepting agencies.
Must have the right to work in the UK.
The Land Trust is committed to the principle of equal opportunity in employment and its employment policies for recruitment are designed to ensure that no job applicant or employee receives less favourable treatment on the grounds of age, disability, gender re-assignment, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation.
ABOUT THE LAND TRUST
The Land Trust is the UK’s premier green space management organisation, offering outstanding stewardship and delivery for clients, communities and the environment.
Our aim is to create and maintain sustainable high-quality greenspaces to improve the quality of people’s lives and enhance the environment both now and for future generations.
Our vision is to improve the quality of people’s lives by creating sustainable, high-quality green spaces that deliver environmental, social and economic benefits.
We manage over 90 sites across the UK and help a wide range of public and private landowners who, for a variety of reasons, want to pass on responsibility (or liability) for the management of sites, public open space or new green infrastructure to find bespoke long-term funding and, management solutions. These can include service charges, section 106 or endowment, or a hybrid of funding sources. Our current endowment portfolio of approximately £180m provides the financial resources to ensure that our endowed sites are managed to a good standard and contribute to the wellbeing of the communities by which they are surrounded.
Our work is guided by the delivery of our five charitable objectives: Health and Wellbeing, Environment and biodiversity, community cohesion; Education and learning; and economic vitality.
