Divisional Applications Client Officer

Tower Hamlets Planning and Building Control service is at the heart of ensuring the built environment remains a place residents, businesses and visitors can enjoy and benefit from. To keep apace with the pioneering work that has shaped the borough, and as digital planning gains more traction through legislation, the service has established a new unit focused on innovation and developing a truly digital service. If you're interested in being part of something new and exciting where you can help shape connectivity between individuals and place, through the creation and identification of digital tools that transform the traditional approach to development management, then read on. 

Role Purpose

The successful candidate will provide a crucial client role for all of Planning and Building Control’s digital systems, new and existing, adding capacity and focus to the ICT relationship to make sure we get the right solutions. The role will encompass working with stakeholders across multiple services within Tower Hamlets to promote awareness and adherence to IT quality standards and processes. As the Council strives to transform its services this role will assist with the co-ordination of project feedback on the projects delivered by the IT Portfolio service with a view to providing input for continuous improvement to the service. You will assist with the governance of projects including risk management, dependency tracking and financial budget monitoring.

Responsibilities

Key responsibilities will include analysing needs with client service managers and divisional business plans to identify any future ICT application requirements and provide advice on, and input to any decisions on the future and on-going use of the Division’s ICT applications.

You will be the key link ensuring that the division’s business plans and requirements are discussed with and approved by corporate ICT and solutions developed to meet business and on-going service needs, both at optimal cost and in accordance with corporate ICT strategy.

You will also be responsible for developing and defining divisional service requirements and enable performance monitoring of the operation of any Service Level Agreements relating to all Divisional ICT systems and service standards.

Requirements

You will have a strong working knowledge and understanding of the value and application of digital solutions in local government.

You will understand and interpret business requirements and provide innovative, logical and imaginative approaches to problem solving and developing solutions including exploring use of automation tools and advising Head of Service.

You will be a skilled project manager with a track record of successfully working in a projects environment and have knowledge of the relevant professional qualifications to support project delivery i.e. APM, Prince2 or similar, as well as extensive experience of partnering, liaising and negotiating with a corporate ICT service, either in public or private sector setting.

Knowledege of relational databases, understanding of maps and ICT solutions and an awareness of planning and building control services and/or the emerging PropTech sector will be a significant advantage. You will have a passion for emerging technologies with an understanding of the variety of technological platforms and software used within the Planning and Building control sector.

We are seeking someone who is able to demonstrate an understanding of object orientated programming and implementation. Technical knowledge of application development and programming skills including knowledge of SQL, will be an advantage.

You will need to possess the ability to deal collaboratively with colleagues both within and across the organisation and externally. We are looking for Excellent inter-personal skills, and the ability to be a team player, along with confidence in communicating and managing internal and external stakeholders at all level

Additional Employee Information

Tower Hamlets vision for our borough is that: people are aspirational, independent and have equal access to opportunities; we are a borough that our residents are proud of and love to live in; and we are a dynamic, outcomes-based council using digital innovation and partnership working to respond to the changing needs of our borough. We want people who aspire to our TOWER values: Together; Open; Willing; Excellent; Respect.

Tower Hamlets has a zero-tolerance approach to, and works to eradicate, all forms of discrimination on the basis of race, sex, disability, age, religion or belief, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, marital status, status as a civil partner, gender, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy and maternity and looks to employ a diverse workforce representative of those groups. We recognise that people can also be disadvantaged by their social and economic circumstances, so we will work to eliminate discrimination and disadvantage caused by social class.

We welcome applicants interested in flexible working arrangements and also applicants who live in the borough.

The Council is looking to fill this position on a permanent basis.

For an informal discussion please contact the Head of Service Divisional Digital, Commercial and Innovation Unit Umbreen Qureshi on umbreen.qureshi@towerhamlets.gov.uk

Tower Hamlets is a modern, forward thinking local authority, offering flexible working arrangements, generous annual leave, local government pension scheme and other staff benefits