Design Development Officer
Salary £ 44,100
1GC/Hybrid
Vacancy listed 02/02/2023
Application deadline 21/02/2023
Details
Here at Letchworth Heritage Foundation, we have a vision to make Letchworth, the world’s first Garden City, a great place for everyone to live, work and visit!
 
We work tirelessly to manage our local property portfolio to generate income which we invest back into the community and landscape of Letchworth Garden City.  Whether it is managing our portfolio, servicing our customers at our venues or providing heritage advice all our teams play an integral part in our amazing journey and now is a really exciting opportunity to be part of our incredible journey.  
 
Letchworth Garden City Heritage Foundation owns the freehold of the Letchworth Garden City Estate and is the successor body to First Garden City Limited that developed the world’s first garden city.
 
As part of its stewardship role, the Heritage Foundation administers a Scheme of Management, which along with residential leases, requires prior approval for external alterations, changes of use and tree/hedge removal on the greater proportion of homes in Letchworth.
 
We are looking for Design Development Officers to assist with the determination of circa 1000 applications and pre-applications submitted each year to the Heritage Advice Service, which is a small but dedicated team that processes these applications, as well as dealing with appeals and referrals, enforcement matters and business licenses.  
 
The application process is separate from the statutory planning process, with the scope of permission exceeding those of the local planning authority and is based on a set of Design Principles, formulated to help preserve the special characteristics of the Garden City.
 
As well as undertaking site visits and making recommendations on applications, the role will necessitate discussion and negotiation with homeowners and their representatives and attending meetings with the Heritage Foundation’s internal committee structure.
 
More information on our application process and the Design Principles can be found at:  https://www.letchworth.com/your-home  
 
We are seeking individuals with skills and experience in planning, architecture or conservation and a proactive approach to problem solving. 

  
JOB PURPOSE
 
  • To play an integral part in the Heritage Advice Service, which is responsible for providing advice on building design for the Heritage Foundation and for the Scheme of Management and the leaseholders, ensuring that alterations to properties it covers, protect the heritage of Letchworth Garden

  • To assist in new development proposals undertaken by the Heritage Foundation. 

  • To ensure enforcement procedures are undertaken for any non-compliance under the Scheme of Management.
 
KEY AREAS AND TASKS
 
Applications:
 
Responsible for a caseload of applications for alterations submitted under the terms of residential leases and the Scheme of Management process for residential properties in Letchworth Garden City, including:

  • provide pre-submission guidance to homeowners and their representatives. 

  • Carrying out site inspections of all applications.

  • Assess acceptability of applications against the Design Principles.

  •  Working with homeowners and their agents to secure   improvements to their proposals where necessary.

  • Acknowledging all general correspondence, scanning and uploading correspondence sent and received.

  • Making recommendations to the team, Board of Trustees, Advisory Management Committee and the Heritage Foundation’s Householder Applications Committee under a scheme of delegation, including written reports and verbal presentations

  • Complete and compile all reports and background papers for the Independent Inspector, including attending the site visit on behalf of the Foundation: and

  •  Ensure that all final completions are inspected and discharged expeditiously, with any outstanding matters dealt with accordingly.

Design Principles:
 
  • assist with the Heritage Advice Service’s monitoring and review of the Design Principles policies, recommending updates where necessary, including consultation with key stakeholders and the Householder Application Committee.

  • drafting of advice leaflets, including consultation with key stakeholders and the Householder Application Committee.

Enforcement:

Support the Heritage Advice Service enforcement activities:

  •  monitor the Scheme of Management area to identify and investigate any breaches and to act on these accordingly.

  • respond to complaints and monitor the implementation of works and investigate, identify, and highlight where enforcement action may be necessary under the Scheme of Management, including discussions with homeowners and their agents and operatives.
 
Other Responsibilities:
 
  • assist the Heritage Advice Service to respond to general enquiries and be able to discuss and explain the Design Principles to local residents and their representatives. 

  • support the Foundation’s community liaison, including meetings with the local architects’ panel, key stakeholders, community groups and occasional evening and weekend community sessions.

  • advise on the design and quality of applications related to commercial properties where covenants require the Heritage Foundation’s prior approval.
 
KEY AREAS AND TASKS

Essential:
 
  • A minimum of 3 years’ experience of building design or determining applications for approval. 
  •  Good IT skills including MS Office (Outlook, Word, PowerPoint, and Excel).
  • Experience of discussion and negotiation with members of the public and architects regarding development proposals. 
 
Preferable:
  • A qualification in town planning, architecture, conservation or building design at degree level or higher
 
Benefits

At Letchworth Heritage Foundation we are looking to evolve our benefits for our people. Our employees are the key to our success. Our office is designed for collaboration not to mention our limitless coffee and tea!

All our colleagues are offered a benefits package of:

• 27 days holiday plus bank holidays
• Cash Health Plan & Employee Assistance Programme
• Company Pension
• Life Assurance
• Physical Wellbeing Allowance
• Cycle to Work
• Buy/Sell Holiday
• Venues Discount
• Volunteering Leave

Notes

APPLICATION
All applications should include a CV and a covering statement explaining why you are applying for the role. Applications without a covering statement may not be accepted.

EQUAL OPPORTUNTITIES
Whether it is creating diversity in our services or building new teams, we care about our people and the opportunities they have.

We are committed to equality of opportunity across our organisation. At all levels we promote equality, ensuring our people are consistently treated in a fair and equal manner.

SAFEGUARDING
We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and adults at risk and expect all our colleagues to share this commitment.

FLEXIBILITY
We understand that you might need a little help balancing your work and home life. Many of our colleagues work flexibly in many different ways. Please feel free to talk to us about the flexibility you may need; we’re happy to explore what’s possible for you and the role.

PERSONAL DATA
Letchworth Garden City Heritage Foundation (LGCHF) will only collect personal data relevant to the recruitment process and will process that data in compliance with the Data Protection Act 2018 / UKGDPR. Your personal data will only be shared with persons directly involved in the recruitment process, and LGCHF will retain your personal data for only as long as it remains relevant to LGCHF.

For further information please ask for a copy of our general recruitment privacy policy.

For information on your data rights, go to www.ico.org.uk.

This vacancy has now been closed