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  • Property Consultant

    The opportunity

    We are a progressive and delivery-focused consultancy working to transition places to deliver better outcomes for people and the planet. We understand the traditional ways of urban development, planning, and strategies, but we break with those traditions to find innovative ways to solve the challenges our towns and communities face.  

    We are excited to offer a new opportunity at Consultant level for about to be or newly qualified Chartered Surveyors. 

    We want to hear from candidates seeking to develop the next stage of their career in a creative and fast-moving environment which values fresh perspectives on how property development, assets and land work for clients, partners and communities.

    A PDF version of this job post is available here.

    Property is a fundamental pillar of what we do at PRD and our work involves:

    • Bringing an appreciation of development to our ideas for projects and places
    • Identifying strategic investment opportunities
    • The optimisation of limited resources
    • Making applications for funding to support project delivery
    • Running viability appraisals, including early-stage viability to influence the trajectory of a project
    • Strategic consideration of assets and property within masterplans and place-based initiatives
    • Championing re-use and re-purposing assets
    • Creative approaches to portfolio investment and management
    • Thinking differently about the role that property can play in places considering net zero and sustainability challenges
    • Identifying opportunities for value creation and designing inward investment strategies
    • Reshaping the role of the public sector in property and building local capacity
    • Building property strategies based on a fresh approach to assimilating place-based evidence and data
    • Considering practical and realisable steps for onward delivery

    Salary & benefits

    • We operate hybrid working arrangements. We are based in London but service projects throughout the UK and Ireland. Regular in-person attendance in London is essential (currently 3 days for 5 day/week staff, 2 days for 4 day/week staff) but our employees need not be London-based​.
    • Starting salary from £31,500 to £36,500 depending on experience​
    • Employer pension contribution of 5% gross salary​
    • Discretionary bonus​
    • 25 days holiday (in addition to public holidays)​
    • Medicash scheme
    • Annual overnight company away day​
    • Enhanced maternity and paternity leave ​
    • Paid sabbatical after long service ​
    • Cycle to work scheme​
    • Company Tate membership ​
    • Ringfenced volunteering time

    About you

    You are an interested and passionate professional with experience in property through a combination of regeneration, development and investment. You will play an integral role in curating, managing and supporting the delivery of our projects, bringing property expertise to a range of regeneration work. Your work will span projects for the public, private and civil society sectors, and you will be a key voice within multi-disciplinary project teams.

    You will support project managers, Associate Directors and Directors on multiple projects concurrently and will be active across the spectrum of our development and strategy projects. You will be expected to be able to manage tasks across multiple projects, taking ownership of timely and quality outputs. This will include being responsible for market research and analysis, engaging and liaising with clients and partners, including work with spatial and technical advisors, contributing towards strategy development and leading on production of reports and other outputs. As part of this, you will work closely and effectively with PRD colleagues and external collaborators. 

    You will support the development of PRD’s new business pipeline such as by helping write bids and proposals, inputting your expertise from a property and delivery angle. You will support the broader external positioning of new ideas and campaigns and wider activities to support the business.

    There will be unlimited opportunities for internal collaboration with colleagues who specialise in different areas, but who also see things differently and are focussed on better outcomes for places, communities and stakeholders. 

    You will be actively encouraged to think creatively and challenge the perceived normal way of doing things. 

    Essential attributes

    • A minimum of one year of relevant development experience from the consultancy or client side
    • Experience of appraising development through Argus Developer or MS Excel
    • Membership of the RICS or actively building towards RICS qualification (ideally looking to submit within 12 months’ time)
    • Ability to analyse and assess property market data across commercial and residential sectors
    • An interest in regeneration, cities and the built environment and generally exploring new ways of working in these areas, with an interest in guiding the development of masterplans and area-based studies 
    • A creative thinker who is motivated by problem solving and finding ways for projects and plans to happen
    • An excellent communicator who is comfortable expressing their opinion with colleagues and external audiences
    • Possess a practical and commercial understanding of the complexities of property development, regeneration led development and the motivations of the various stakeholders in achieving the successful delivery of development
    • Excellent writing skills

    Desirable attributes

    • Understanding of the financing and funding of development and associated investment models
    • Experience of, or an interest in, developing cross sector working between the public, private and third sectors
    • Strong analytical skills, to be used in developing property market baselines, evolving complex development appraisals, and determining creative options for large regeneration sites
    • Able to deliver pragmatic and creative advice that supports our clients to meet their objectives
    • Interest in developing your own ideas and market offering in a dynamic consultancy environment

    Behaviours & competencies

    Organisation: ability to alternate between different projects and activities, retaining diligence and quality

    Collaborative approach: ability to thrive in small teams where you can work with teammates with a broad range of skills 

    Interpersonal skills: ability to communicate ideas and information with colleagues

    Analytical thinking: ability to identify key messages and clear insights from data

    Problem solving: taking the initiative to overcome challenges and develop new ideas to move projects and ideas forward 

    Delivering a variety of quality work at pace: taking an efficient and diligent approach to your work, even when working on a variety of different projects simultaneously

    About PRD

    Based just off Union Street in Southwark, London we are a focused team (about 20 of us) of subject area specialists who combine our skills around our shared passion for designing strategies to deliver more inclusive economies, impactful investment, and considered development. ​

    Our core areas of work include social, economic, investment, activation and delivery strategies for places.​

    We empower our clients to shape and realise their ambitions as well as to measure and demonstrate positive impact. ​

    The team has experience supporting some of the most interesting and challenging areas of the UK to develop holistic, progressive and transformative place and asset strategies.

    We are a values-driven company

    Our work is always…

    • Useful & useable
    • Positively disruptive

    Our work supports…

    • Fairness in places & communities
    • A just transition to net zero

    We do this by being…

    • Collaborative
    • Agile
    • Generous with our knowledge

    What we do

    We do not define our work in terms of specific service areas. As a principle, we are agile and responsive to the needs of each individual client. 

    Reflecting this, our work covers a broad spectrum of projects. Over the past year this has included:

    • Undertaking social and economic research into places, economies and communities
    • Developing strategies from individual buildings to town centres to cities and regions
    • Making the case for investment in towns and cities, including developing strategic and technical business cases
    • Defining and measuring project outcomes and success
    • Advising on the development and delivery process, including building new delivery approaches, partnerships and governance mechanisms

    Our team members cover a range of specialisms and interests, including:

    • Inclusive approaches to addressing inequality and social injustice
    • The transition to net zero and the role of the circular economy within this
    • The role of data and evidence in improving strategic decision making
    • Better approaches to engagement and participation
    • More progressive approaches to development and property
    • Cultural and creative industries

    We are always looking to grow and strengthen these specialist areas, alongside adding new ones where these align with our mission and values.

    Hallmarks of our approach

    We…

    • are creative and entrepreneurial in the way we approach our work and relationships
    • partner with our clients to help the mobilise the strategies we develop together
    • are values driven in the work we chose to do, how we do it and how we treat each other
    • are committed to creating a positive work environment where everyone is supported to reach their full potential (including opportunities for training and personal development)
    • are proud of our record of delivering community engagement projects that have enabled local people to shape the places they live, work and study and have created more inclusive and prosperous places
    • listen to communities and respond to their ideas, aspirations, and concerns
    • are committed to considering people and planet in everything we do
    • are growing fast, with plenty of exciting projects and opportunities underway and on the horizon
    • come from broad range of technical backgrounds, bringing different perspectives to our work and opportunities for team knowledge sharing

    Application process

    We are committed to being an inclusive employer and we welcome applications from everyone regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, class, faith or disability. If you have particular accessibility needs, please get in touch and let us know any requirements you may have. We are more than happy to make reasonable adjustments.​

    You must have the right to work in the UK.

    If you have any questions about the role or recruitment process, please contact Jen Gutteridge, Jen.Gutteridge@prdemail.co.uk​

    Direct applications only please, no recruiters.​

    To apply, send the following items to careers@prdemail.co.uk with PROPERTY in the subject line by 9 am on Tuesday 28 May 2024. You do not need to supply a cover letter.

    1. CV

    2. Responses to the following prompts:

    • Tell us about two previous jobs or assignments. We want to hear about what you delivered, how the work relates to the role, why you are proud of your work and what value you added personally (max 250 words per job)
    • Tell us about a specific challenge or opportunity you observe in a specific place (as big or small as you like). How would you personally tackle this through better approaches to property development and investment? (max 300 words)

    3. Please complete the Equalities Monitoring Form. This form is separated from the rest of your job application upon receipt and will not be considered as part of the shortlisting or appointment process. Your application will not be considered complete unless this form has been submitted. If you do not wish to provide some of this information, there is an option within the form to select ‘Prefer not to say’.​