Lead Landscape Officer, Grade 15 (£52,116 - £54,129)

Croydon is placed to be a major strategic force for growth and transformation in London and the South East, as conveyed in the Council's Local Plan, its award-winning masterplans and the Croydon Opportunity Area Planning Framework. High-quality design and placemaking sit at the heart of Croydon's ambitious vision and work is already underway on the delivery of an ambitious programme of regeneration projects led by both the council and private sectors partners. This includes the revival of large urban quarters and its suburbs, delivery of the Council's Growth Zone programme including significant public realm improvements, and high profile mixed-use developments across the borough. This post offers an exciting opportunity for an experienced and motivated designer with a background in landscape architecture to work with the Spatial Planning, Regeneration & Growth Zone Service. The Service brings together Croydon's Placemaking, Plan-making, Regeneration and Growth Zone teams to provide a coordinated approach to planning, design and delivery of Croydon's future development and projects. The team are currently undertaking a number of exciting projects including some major landscape and public realm interventions across the town centre funded by Growth Zone and Levelling Up Fund, alongside developing and testing new tools for meaningful community engagement in the Croydon Urban Room; running a high profile Design Review Panel of built environment experts, and heritage-led regeneration projects. The team continue to seek opportunities for collaborations with local and regional partners including community organisations, universities and schools and creative practitioners. Lead Landscape Officer (Placemaking Team) You will be part of the management that leads the Placemaking Team of the Spatial Planning, Regeneration & Growth Zone Service - recognised as one of the most progressive placemaking teams in the UK. In this role you will help to lead an award-winning team of placemaking professionals with backgrounds in architecture, planning, urban design, heritage & conservation, landscape architecture and culture. You will line manage and support up to four Placemaking officers, guiding them through their experience of working at Croydon Council including regular 1-1 sessions, liaison with HR and annual appraisals. You will demonstrate experience in leading and managing teams and work with the Placemaking management to plan and shape team structure, recruitment and resourcing, as well as organise relevant training and upskilling opportunities for the Placemaking officers. You will work closely with Team Leaders in Plan Making, Regeneration, Growth Zone and Development Management to monitor progress and collaborative working across planning and regeneration processes. You will report to the Head of Spatial Planning, Regeneration and Growth Zone to provide regular updates on relevant projects and team updates You will deliver and contribute towards project briefings for the council's Executive Mayor and Cabinet Members as well as the Director for Planning and Sustainable Regeneration, and the Corporate Director for Sustainable Communities, Regeneration and Economic Recovery. You will regularly engage with both internal and external stakeholders including statutory consultees such as the Lead Local Flood Authority and Natural England, project funders and major landowners, as well as contractors and other delivery partners. You will contribute your landscape design skills and experience to assist the delivery of Croydon's spatial planning framework; In particular, you will be responsible for the strategies and policies to manage a Landscape Architectural Service including developing, managing and delivering a programme of major public realm, urban design, green-blue Infrastructure and landscape architecture projects. You will project manage design-led landscape projects as well as provide specialist landscape design advice as part of the Council's own regeneration projects, acting as Lead Landscape Designer on major public realm and urban greening projects in the town centre. You will critically take a leading role working closely with developers and their design teams providing proactive design critique and input to shaping landscape proposals on major applications through the Council's development management pre-application process, providing specialist guidance and advice across Urban Greening Factor and Biodiversity Net Gain requirements and processes. You will work collaboratively with colleagues across the Council, and especially with those in the Sustainable Communities, Regeneration and Economic Recovery. You will be expected to maintain and further build on the high standard of work and reputation with which Croydon's Spatial Planning, Regeneration & Growth Zone Service and Placemaking Team has become associated.

You will demonstrate practitioner experience in the development and delivery of high-quality landscape and urban design, and a thorough understanding of delivering high quality through the planning system. You are expected to have a degree in a related field and expertise in landscape designing and delivering high-quality landscape design projects as well as experience of spatial planning, complex negotiations, stakeholder and community engagement, and working with local government. You will be a strategic thinker who also has an eye for detail. You will be both creative and pragmatic. In addition to the person specification, you will be driven to work in a collaborative environment and will be highly motivated and able to prioritise a varied and challenging work programme. For this role, strong team leadership and project management skills are essential.

The council is an inclusive employer offering flexible working opportunities, an annual volunteering day, Local Government Pension scheme, Cycle Plus and Cycle 2 Work schemes, commuter club and more. The council also has staff networks which provide personal and career support, run awareness-raising events, sit on the culture board and help shape the big decisions which affect everyone at Croydon. These include:

• LGBT+ Allies staff network
• Mental health and wellbeing staff network
• BAME staff network
• Disability staff network
• Women's staff network
• Working carers staff network
The council has a strong commitment to achieving equality of opportunity in its services to the community and in the employment of people. It expects all employees to understand, comply with and to promote its policies in their own work, to undertake any appropriate training and to challenge racism, prejudice and discrimination. https://www.croydon.gov.uk/community/equality/ei-policy Croydon Council has been recognised for its work on equalities and diversity, including:
• · winning Public Sector Employer of the Year at the 2018 Employers Network for Equality and Inclusion (enei)
• · placing in the top 30% of employers for LGBT people in the 2018 Stonewall index