Senior Project Officer | Placemaking
Grade 9-11
Salary (£34,209 - £40,869)
Update - Closing date 6th April 11:49pm
The post offers an exciting opportunity for experienced and motivated designers with backgrounds in landscape and public realm design to join one of the most progressive public sector design and policy teams in the UK.
This is an exciting time to be working in Croydon. As we emerge from the impacts of the pandemic, we face an unprecedented challenge in shaping the recovery and sustainable growth of our borough. Croydon Council is also building back from declaring an S114 notice last year, and we are having to work innovatively, build partnerships and strengthen ties with local communities, businesses and wider society, working towards a more sustainable and inclusive future for the whole borough.
The Planning and Regeneration directorate is driving this recovery through a diverse range of activities and programmes to support good growth, working to ensure Croydon meets its full potential; providing inclusive and inviting places to live, work and visit.
High-quality design and placemaking sit at the heart of Croydon’s vision and work is already underway with the delivery of an ambitious programme of regeneration projects led by both the council and private sector 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.
Central to this is the Placemaking Team and its exemplary work to transform the physical and environmental quality of a Croydon and tangibly improve the economic and social well-being of Croydon’s communities.
About the Placemaking Team
The Croydon Council Placemaking Team is an award-winning, multidisciplinary team of built environment practitioners with experience from the strategic level through to detailed design and delivery. The team sits within the council’s Strategic Planning and Regeneration directorate and works across strategic planning, urban design, architecture & landscape architecture, research, public engagement, public realm, public art & culture, heritage and conservation. The team is part of the Spatial Planning Service, which brings together Croydon’s Placemaking and Planmaking functions to provide a holistic and coordinated approach to planning, design and delivery. It comprises urban designers, architects, landscape architects, built heritage specialists, cultural practitioners and planners.
The work of the team has been highlighted and praised in the Farrell Review as an exemplar for best practice in ‘proactive planning’, emphasising the unique role that the team plays in providing a range of design and placemaking services to internal and external clients. This ranges from collaboratively developing 20-year Croydon Local Plans and related guidance documents; championing heritage; working with developers and local communities to create high quality and inclusive places and spaces; producing urban design frameworks and masterplans; building community capacity; improving perceptions and identity of places, and designing and building short, medium and long term projects on the ground.
The team’s work has contributed to several awards over recent years. Most recently, the team has gained recognition for innovative approaches to planning, design and regeneration, including the New London Architecture Meanwhile Award for the ongoing Meanwhile Croydon programme and a Planning Award for Planning for Increased Housing Delivery for the Suburban Design Guide SPD. In April 2021 the team successfully became one of 20 Corporate Partners of the Design Council, the only local authority team to be selected.
About the role
We are looking for candidates with innovative and holistic approaches to the public realm and landscape design and delivery along with in-depth technical expertise.
Candidates should be independent, critical and creative thinkers with experience in developing and delivering public realm and landscape led projects across a range of scales, and through the majority of RIBA work stages. Candidates should have a good knowledge of landscape and ecological principles and planning issues, along with an understanding of national and local environmental planning policy and guidance.
Also desirable is knowledge and experience of project and contract management, the planning and development process, bid writing, and public engagement practices.
Commitment to diversity and inclusion
The Croydon Placemaking Team is committed to ensuring a fair and open place of work. We aim to shape places that are created with and enjoyed by all people of different cultures, identities, needs and experiences. We believe that our team should reflect the diverse communities we serve and therefore particularly encourage applications from disability groups and BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Colour), and people with trans+ identities who are currently under-represented within our team.
As users of the disability confident scheme, we guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for the advertised role. We will also be pleased to consider applications from candidates seeking flexible working arrangements.
Croydon council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults and expects all staff to share this commitment.
For an informal discussion please call either Robert Buckley (Lead Conservation Officer) on 07707277388, Hannah Martin (Placemaking Deputy Team Leader) on 07926085016, or Anisha Jogani (Placemaking Team Leader) on 07742405438.