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Sustrans is the UK’s leading active travel organisation, working to make it possible for people across society to walk, wheel and cycle. We have a new strategy for the next five years, a key strand of which is to unlock active travel in new housing developments, and we are recruiting a Head of New Developments to lead this work.

This is a new position in which you will draw on your experience in the housing delivery sector to grow Sustrans’ contribution to the creation of new communities that have active mobility at their heart. As well as leading our influencing work aimed at organisations in housing delivery, you will develop and promote an offer to partners, drawing on Sustrans’ existing infrastructure, behaviour change and advisory services. You will connect with, inform and inspire professionals and decision makers involved in delivering new homes to adopt the actions required to increase active travel in their developments. Through collaboration with our Commercial team and subject experts across Sustrans, you will develop a pipeline of funded work from public, private and third sector organisations, ultimately enabling more households to walk, wheel or cycle for their day-to-day journeys.

The role can be based in any Sustrans office and will involve frequent in-person meetings and site visits, particularly (but not exclusively) in the Midlands and South of England.

About Sustrans

We work in urban and rural areas, making it possible, safe and appealing for people to people to walk, wheel and cycle. We address the barriers that prevent people from travelling actively – barriers that disproportionately affect people who live in deprived areas, those who are disabled, people who are older or younger, and women and girls.

We’re a practical, can-do charity, designing award-winning infrastructure solutions in streets and across neighbourhoods, and working with communities to give people the skills, confidence, motivation and equipment to travel actively. We’re experts in community and stakeholder engagement, carefully navigating the sometimes heated territory of our work to tackle traffic dominance and car dependency. And we provide data, insight and advice to decision-makers, helping them invest effectively in transport, place-shaping and their communities. We work with government, to support wider work to improve mobility, and to advocate for changes to policy and funding. And over the last 30 years, Sustrans has developed the National Cycle Network from scratch, working with supporters, volunteers, governments and stakeholders to create 16,500 miles of traffic-free and low-traffic routes, loved and enjoyed by communities across the UK.

We are now embarking on a new chapter for our charity, with a refreshed strategy. The Head of New Developments will play a key role in growing our impact in this new chapter.

About you

You’ll have significant experience contributing to the delivery of new developments through work for or with organisations such as developers, housing providers, consultancies, local authorities or government. We’re looking for applicants with a professional network in housing delivery, and significant experience securing new commissions from and/or influencing organisations involved in delivering new developments. You’ll have a strong understanding of the development process, including the spatial planning system, and of the roles of the parties involved in delivering new developments, the power dynamics between them, and the opportunities and appetite each has for taking action to increase active travel. Naturally, you’ll have deep knowledge of the challenges, opportunities and hot topics in housing delivery – for new towns, urban extensions and urban intensification schemes.

You’ll have exceptional external-facing leadership skills, and be a strategic, creative thinker, able to solve problems and convert new ideas into practical actions. Your outstanding communication skills will enable you to engage with stakeholders at a senior level, including on contentious subjects and on high-profile projects. You’ll have strong business acumen to secure new commissions and deliver effectively for clients, and the skills to influence decision-makers.

You’ll have experience of engaging meaningfully with communities to ensure that new developments respond to the challenges and aspirations of local residents and stakeholders. And you’ll have good knowledge of how active travel can be embedded into new developments to maximise the number of routine journeys that are walked, wheeled or cycled.

We’re looking for exceptional collaboration and people management skills and a commitment to fostering an inclusive and high-performing organisational culture. We welcome Chartered membership of a relevant professional body.