Development Manager

Do you have the drive to unlock housing and regeneration projects that would otherwise fail to progress?

The West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) is looking for a Development Manager (Grants) to join our Housing, Property and Regeneration Directorate.

This is an exciting opportunity to play a key role in accelerating the delivery of housing and regeneration projects across the West Midlands. You will work with local authorities, developers, house builders and investors to identify opportunities where grant funding can unlock development, overcome viability challenges and bring forward schemes that deliver lasting benefits for communities.

You will manage projects from initial engagement through to funding approval and delivery, ensuring public investment is targeted effectively and delivers maximum value. Working on complex projects, you will assess development opportunities, negotiate funding solutions, manage risks and help shape regeneration outcomes across the region.

This is not a traditional development or investment role. You'll use your commercial and development expertise to identify market failures, structure grant interventions and help bring forward projects that may otherwise stall.

This is a 12-month fixed-term contract.

• Building relationships with local authorities, developers, house builders and property sector stakeholders to identify and develop a strong pipeline of housing and regeneration opportunities.
• Sourcing projects requiring grant intervention and managing respective applications from initial concept through to funding approval, contract execution and delivery.
• Appraising funding applications and development opportunities, assessing viability, deliverability and value for money.
• Undertaking due diligence, commercial appraisal and risk assessment to support investment recommendations.
• Negotiating grant funding packages and funding agreements to achieve the best outcomes for both projects and the public purse.
• Managing complex development and regeneration projects where viability, infrastructure, planning or other challenges need to be overcome.
• Working closely with colleagues across Finance, Legal and Programme Assurance to ensure robust decision-making and governance.
• Monitoring project performance and proactively intervening where projects are at risk of not delivering agreed outcomes.

• Experience working within residential and/or commercial real estate markets.
• Significant experience originating, appraising and delivering complex real estate funding interventions, such as grants, loans or equity investments.
• Experience developing business cases and assessing the viability of development projects.
• Strong understanding of development appraisals, project viability and the commercial factors that influence development decisions.
• Experience negotiating funding agreements and managing projects through multiple approval stages.
• A structured approach to identifying, assessing and managing risk.
• The ability to build strong partnerships and influence stakeholders across both the public and private sectors.
• Experience delivering projects through collaboration with multiple stakeholders who may have differing priorities.
• Ability to manage a varied workload and deliver outcomes within challenging timescales.
• Excellent communication, negotiation and presentation skills.
• Knowledge of government funding programmes and how public funding can be used to address market failure.

The location for this role is 16 Summer Lane, Birmingham, with at least two days per week spent in the office.

We advertise salary ranges, with new appointments typically starting at the lowest salary point. In exceptional cases, the salary point may be…