Senior Manager - Chair's Office

Senior Manager - Chair's Office

Closing Date: 8/5/2025

Interviews will take place week commencing 19/5/2024 and 26/5/2025 

A bit about the role...

The Chair’s Office senior manager (Chief of staff) sits within the Cambridge Growth Company (CGC), a subsidiary of Homes England, the government’s housing and regeneration agency. This role’s core focus will be to enable the CGC’s Chair, Peter Freeman, to effectively carry out their role and responsibilities, by working closely and responsively with them on a daily basis.

This role is critical to senior information flows within the company, ensuring that: the Chair’s requests, instructions and priorities are effectively communicated to key stakeholders, including the CGC’s Executive / Senior Leadership Team etc. and asks of the Chair are triaged and dealt with quickly and to a high standard. The Senior Manager will also play a vital role in quality assuring materials provided to the Chair – whether briefing or for onward communication.

This role, together with the Executive Assistant to the Chair, are the key interface between the Chair, the CGC, MHCLG, Homes England and wider partners across Greater Cambridge. As part of this team, the Senior Manager will support the effective operation of all aspects of the company through their knowledge and insight on key issues and ability to communicate the Chair’s steers and instructions.

This role is based on Cambridgeshire, therefore you will need you live within travel distance to be office based 50% of the week.

This  role will support the chair in their day to day duties, including joining them at regular meetings with partners across Greater Cambridge, and often travelling to London for meetings with Government. As such, the successful candidate will need to be able to travel regularly across Greater Cambridge (and London on occasion) maybe as much as 50% of a standard week. 

A bit about you…

This role is pivotal in ensuring the Chair can carry out their duties in leading the CGC. You will need the ability to thrive in a fast-paced and ever-changing environment and be able to remain calm under pressure.

You will need to: 

• Have a strong understanding of the strategic and operating environment for the Cambridge Growth Company;

• Understand the Chair’s pressures and priorities on a daily, weekly, monthly basis; and

• Enable them to focus on what they need to do, by taking care of the details.

You will need to have an excellent eye for detail and have outstanding communication skills, with the ability to produce first-class reports and briefings including being able to create and analyse complex data and information. You will be comfortable with working with senior leaders and executives.

You will need to have a positive, can-do attitude and will be proactive in identifying emerging challenges and providing solutions. You will be articulate, dynamic, energetic and self-motivated and used to managing a varied workload and "spinning several plates" at once.

Who are we? 

Homes England: The Housing and Regeneration Agency

We believe that affordable, quality homes in well-designed places are key to improving people’s lives. As the government’s housing and regeneration agency, we create thriving new places and transform urban areas, combining the full breadth of our powers, expertise, land, capital and influence to bring investment to communities and get more homes built.

How? We form long-term partnerships that bridge the gap between the public and private sector to meet local needs and aspirations. We use our influence to champion the creation of sustainable homes, communities and places that are brilliantly designed for the people that live there now, and in the future. And we use our funding and support to build a more resilient, diverse and innovative housing sector, helping new entrants in the market, encouraging modern methods of construction and design, and promoting the utmost attention to building safety.

Together with our partners, we’re accelerating the pace of house building, remediation and regeneration across the country, as we seek to deliver ever more affordable homes in places people are proud to call home for generations to come.

What is the Cambridge Growth Company?

The Cambridge Growth Company (CGC) is a company limited by guarantee and a subsidiary of Homes England, the government’s housing and regeneration agency.

The CGC has established itself as a government supported, pro-growth company working closely and collaboratively with local elected leaders to overcome obstacles to growth and to promote sustainable, infrastructure-led development and economic growth.

The task of the Cambridge Growth Company is to work with local government, the University, business occupiers, residents, landowners, developers and investors to ensure successful delivery of the government’s plans over the next 25 years.

What we offer... 

As well as a competitive salary and 33 days annual leave, we are committed to 50/50 hybrid working. We’ll support you, wherever possible, so that you don’t miss out on what matters to you. 

Membership of the Homes and Communities Agency Pension Scheme, which is a contributory defined benefit scheme with the amount you receive on retirement based on your salary and years worked at the Agency.

Internal applicants: please note that if you are successful, the salary you are offered will be in accordance with our pay policy. You can find details on the HR Hub SharePoint site.

If you ever need a bit of extra help, we have a great employee assistance programme, financial wellbeing support and access to many great discounts with leading high street names. 

Our range of network groups are also there to support you to be yourself at work and play a key role in helping shape our future. 

If you are a member of a professional body, we’ll pay for your membership and once you get your digital kit, you’ll be good to go. 

Homes England are a geographically diverse community. We work to a 50/50 office/ home based model. Moving back into our office environments has enabled us to utilise our space and time together in the most collaborative way. 

We would encourage all applicants to apply as soon as possible as we may close vacancies early should we receive a high number of applications. 

We also encourage you to apply using the full application option as opposed to quick apply, this is especially important if you would like to indicate to us that you would like to be considered under the disability confident scheme. 

If your application is shortlisted to interview we will require you to provide proof of your right to work in the UK at this stage.