Acquisitions Manager

Job Description

Job Category: Housing
Location: Laurence House – Fourth Floor, Lewisham Council
Hours Per Week: 35.00
Start Date: Immediate Start
Start Time: 09:00
End Time: 17:00
Salary: £33.00

Property acquisitions person – they should be able to negotiate good prices, manage diaries for the valuers and contractors and progress sales from sourcing and offer, right through to completion and turnkey. It will require travelling beyond the Lewisham borough for the completions and dealing with numerous staff departments and contractors. The current position is held by someone who is excellent at the role, but is currently long-term sick. Therefore, the role is 3 months to start with. Depending on when the current postholder recovers and how well the new person does, may result in a contract extension, because we have over 300 homes to purchase over 3 years, and due to the success of my first programme, more Council departments are asking us to source properties for them.

The current pay is £42 per hour/£294 per day, but there is some scope to pay more for the right person who can start immediately. It’s hybrid working at 2 days in the office (Weds and Thurs) which is not negotiable, but the rest is working from home. They will be provided with a laptop and a mobile phone.

Knowledge:
• RICS registered Red book valuer with excellent knowledge of best practice in aspects of property valuation and good knowledge of project and programme delivery and budget management with experience in a similarly complex, challenging environment.
• Excellent knowledge and understanding of all aspects of the conveyancing process, valuation negotiations and timekeeping and related regulatory and professional compliance.
• Good knowledge of fire regulations and other building control requirements and some knowledge of wheelchair and adapted housing.
• Good knowledge of the political interface in a local authority and the role and needs of elected members.
• Good knowledge of the issues facing the management of a public sector organisation.
• Excellent knowledge of successful financial management associated with the conveyancing process, including what has to be paid and at what points in the process in order to complete in optimum time and good financial knowledge of financial viability.
• Excellent knowledge of procurement practice
• Excellent knowledge of sustainability and retrofitting
• Excellent knowledge of Health & Safety legislation
• Excellent knowledge of Property Systems and Processes

Experience:
• Substantial experience of property valuation work within a similarly complex and challenging environment with experience of successfully managing and delivering cross-cutting or integrated programmes of work within a local authority or Housing Association environment.
• Substantial experience of project and programme viability.
• Substantial experience of successful budgetary management and control, both at departmental level and contributing to overall corporate effectiveness.
• Substantial experience of having delivered effective performance measures and a performance culture that achieves objectives and drives up performance standards.
• Substantial experience of developing and managing strategic partnerships that are focused on outcomes rather than process and that have made a demonstrable difference to the quality of programme delivery.

General Education:
• Surveying and / or Planning and Development qualification
• Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors status including Red Book Valuation accreditation.
• High level of literacy and numeracy.
• Evidence of professional development (CPD).