H&T 369 - Strategy and Policy Officer

Employer Description

South Lanarkshire Council is the unitary authority serving the South Lanarkshire council area in Scotland. The council has its headquarters in Hamilton, has 16,000 employees, and a budget of almost £1bn. The large and varied geographical territory takes in rural and upland areas, market towns such as Lanark, Strathaven and Carluke, the urban burghs of Rutherglen, Cambuslang, and East Kilbride which was Scotland's first new town.

Our vision is for South Lanarkshire as set out in our Economic Strategy is to have one of the strongest and most dynamic economies in Scotland, where businesses, communities, and residents achieve their full potential and prosper.

We will achieve this through three key interrelated themes:

• People - skills, learning and employability
• Place - physical infrastructure and place
• Business - business development and growth

Job Description

An exciting opportunity has arisen within Housing and Technical Resources, and we are seeking to recruit a Strategy and Policy Officer to provide a housing input to one of the largest affordable housing supply programmes in Scotland, with over £40m in new housing projects anticipated to be delivered in South Lanarkshire during 2024/25.

You will work with technical colleagues to ensure that housing services are represented in the delivery of new homes whilst contributing to wider strategic objectives to ensure the delivery of affordable housing across South Lanarkshire. You will also:

• Provide support in the acquisition of private homes through the council’s Market Purchase Scheme.
• support the continued development and review of procedures and policies relating to new build affordable housing, as well private sector housing.
• play a key role in further developing best practice in relation to development of affordable housing and private sector housing.
• Assess development projects for inclusion in the Council’s Strategic Housing Investment Plan (SHIP) including those submitted by partner landlords

You will have:

• Experience in contributing to the delivery of new social housing
• A comprehensive understanding of the legal and regulatory framework relating to social housing development.
• Understanding of the funding mechanisms in place for delivery of affordable housing
• excellent IT and written communication skills

Drive and the ability to develop effective working arrangements across internal and external partners will be critical to this post. You should be able to demonstrate excellent communication, planning and organisational skills as well as the ability to effectively manage a challenging workload.

If you are self-motivated and resourceful and would like to make a difference in contributing to project work, this may be the post for you.

Successful applicants will be required to be flexible in their approach.

Job Description

Permanent Post.

Hours: 35 hours per week

Work Pattern: Monday to Friday

Salary: £39,235 - £45,184 per annum

To view the Strategy and Policy Officer job profile please click here

Please apply online - All correspondence will be via your email address.

Please note we do not accept CVs, any submitted will be disregarded. If you require to submit additional information to support your application, please upload this under supporting documents.

Legislative Information

This post is excepted in terms of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 2003.

This post is considered Regulated Work with Children and/or adults, under the Protection of Vulnerable Groups (Scotland) Act, 2007. Therefore, it is an offence to apply if you are barred from working with children and/or adults.

Preferred candidates will be required to join the PVG Scheme, or undergo a PVG Scheme Update check, prior to a formal offer of employment being made.

Please refer to http://www.disclosurescotland.co.uk for further information about the disclosure process and best practice.

Foreign Police Check

Candidates should be able to detail any gaps in employment and provide a foreign police check where applicable for any periods living or working abroad.

Equal Opportunities and Armed Forces Community Covenant

South Lanarkshire Council is an Equal Opportunities employer and encourages applications from all members of the community. As a user of the disability confident scheme, we guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum competency/behaviour requirements for the position.

South Lanarkshire Council is committed to providing support to members of the armed forces, veterans and their families which is set out in the Armed Forces Community Covenant. Veterans are guaranteed an interview who meet the minimum requirements for the position.

As an employee of South Lanarkshire Council you would also receive a wide range of benefits including:

• Enrolment in award winning local government pension scheme
• Up to 33 days annual leave which will be calculated into hours on commencement of the role
• Public holiday entitlement (up to 10 days)
• Occupational sick pay
• Family friendly policies - flexible working and leave, maternity/paternity leave, enhanced leave.
• Employee Discounts – including discounts at the cinema.

Range of benefits to support you (Cycle to Work Scheme, Physiotherapy, Employee Assistance Program which offers practical and emotional support)