Director of retail jobs

A senior role that sits at the heart of our mission, turning empty and underused buildings into safe, dignified places to live through our Empty Spaces to Homes programme.

 Habitat for Humanity Great Britain (Habitat GB) is part of the global Habitat for Humanity Federation fighting global poverty and homelessness. We believe that a decent home helps to permanently break the cycle of poverty and allows families to achieve strength, stability, and self-reliance.

Job Purpose

The Head of Construction (Feasibility & Delivery) is a leadership and technical role responsible for the end-to-end development, delivery and stewardship of Habitat GB’s construction and property portfolio.

Key responsibilities include strategic planning and technical leadership for core aspects of Habitat GB’s domestic programme, such as the construction project pipeline associated with our Empty Spaces to Homes (ES2H) programme. The postholder will lead the feasibility, design, costing, procurement and delivery of demonstration construction projects, primarily the conversion of empty commercial and retail buildings into high-quality, affordable homes, while also ensuring the safe, compliant operation and maintenance of HFHGB-owned, leased and operated properties, including ReStore sites.

The Head of Construction (Feasibility & Delivery) is also responsible for the people management of staff, contractors and consultants and (where relevant) volunteers. Key areas of risk management that sit within the portfolio of this role include project and site health & safety, compliance and asset maintenance.

This role is central to translating Habitat GB’s mission and strategy into high-quality, buildable, scalable projects that maximise social impact.

This is a home based role with regular travel.

Key Accountabilities/Responsibilities

Construction & Programme Delivery

• Lead the planning, design and delivery of Habitat GB’s demonstration construction projects within the ES2H programme.

• Contribute technical leadership to programme strategy, performance monitoring, evaluation and learning.

• Work collaboratively with other ES2H workstreams (Advocacy, Research, Scalability) to ensure projects inform and support wider systems change.

• Provide expert construction input into organisational decision-making, risk management, and strategy implementation.

Building Pipeline Development & Feasibility

• Lead the identification, assessment and prioritisation of potential conversion opportunities across Great Britain.
• Conduct frequent site visits to assess empty or underutilised commercial buildings.
• Undertake and/or oversee:
  • Building diagnostics and technical surveys
  • Early identification of structural, asbestos, planning, fire and compliance risks
  • Location-based risk profiling (logistics, supply chains, neighbourhood constraints)
• Act as the organisation’s technical authority on building viability and conversion risk.

Design, Specification & Cost Leadership

• Develop initial design concepts, spatial layouts and performance specifications that balance cost‑efficiency, compliance, buildability and the dignity of residents.
• Ensure all designs meet relevant statutory and organisational requirements, including:
  • UK Building Regulations
  • Fire safety and CDM 2015
  • Sustainability and environmental standards
• Provide client side cost leadership and quantity surveying oversight across projects, including:
  • Preparing feasibility cost models, early stage estimates and robust construction budgets
  • Assessing and benchmarking contractor quotations and negotiating best value outcomes aligned with charitable objectives
  • Maintaining effective cost control and financial visibility throughout delivery
• Lead the appointment and management of architects, planning consultants and specialist technical advisors as required.

Construction Delivery, Contractor & Site Management

• Identify, appoint and manage contractors, subcontractors and consultants on a project-by-project basis.
• Ensure projects are delivered: safely; to specification; on time and within approved budgets
• Combine on-site leadership with remote project management, using digital tools, dashboards and reporting systems.
• Maintain a national overview of live and pipeline projects, providing the Executive Team with clear, real-time updates on milestones, risks, spend and cashflow, and delivery confidence.

Health, Safety & Risk Management

• Be responsible for Health & Safety across Habitat GB’s construction and property portfolio.
• Ensure full compliance with relevant legislation, including CDM 2015.
• Oversee:
  • Risk assessments and method statements (RAMS)
  • Training and inductions
  • Incident reporting and corrective actions
• Ensure a strong safety culture across construction sites and property sites, working closely with the Site & Property Maintenance Officer to delivery their responsibilities successfully and safely.
• Work with colleagues to ensure appropriate insurances are in place.

Financial Management & Reporting

· Own construction and maintenance budgets, ensuring strong financial control and value for money.

· Lead procurement processes for works, materials, and equipment.

· Work closely with Finance to ensure accurate forecasting, cost tracking, and timely payment of invoices.

· Maintain robust project management tools, trackers, schedules, and cost sheets.

· Provide regular input into organisational performance reporting, risk registers, and assurance processes.

People Leadership & Culture

· Line-manage and support direct reports, setting clear objectives, and providing regular supervision and development.

· Lead, motivate, and develop a high-performing, values-driven team and contractor network.

· Ensure good practice management of consultants, contractors and volunteers.

· Role model Habitat GB’s values, including commitment to equity, diversity, inclusion and safeguarding.

Person profile:

· Extensive experience in UK construction project management, particularly refurbishment and conversion projects, with responsibility spanning early feasibility through to delivery.

· Strong technical understanding of:

• UK Building Regulations and fire safety requirements

• Permitted Development rights and planning constraints

• Health & Safety management, including CDM 2015

· Strong client‑side commercial judgement, with proven ability to develop feasibility cost models, set and manage construction budgets, and maintain effective cost control across projects.

· Demonstrated experience appointing and managing contractors, consultants and procurement processes to deliver best‑value outcomes.

· Strong leadership and people management experience, including the ability to lead teams, contractors and consultants with credibility and clarity.

· Relevant construction or built‑environment qualification, or equivalent senior professional experience (e.g. MCIOB, MRICS or similar).

· Valid CSCS card.

· Recognised Health & Safety qualification (e.g. IOSH or SMSTS).

· Full UK driving licence.

Skills and competencies:

· Technically confident and commercially astute, with the ability to exercise sound professional judgement and make high-quality decisions in complex or ambiguous situations.

· Comfortable operating across strategic leadership and hands-on problem solving, particularly within refurbishment and conversion projects.

· Highly organised, with the ability to prioritise effectively across multiple concurrent workstreams, sites and geographies.

· Confident and collaborative communicator, able to work productively with internal teams, partners, volunteers, contractors and external stakeholders.

· Willing and able to travel extensively across Great Britain in support of project development and delivery.

To apply for the role, please send us your CV and a supporting statement (max two sides of A4) telling us about the skills and experience you would bring to the role and your motivation for applying, using the link on our website. Closing date is Monday 25th May 2026.

*** Application extension: we are welcoming applications until 24th May ***

We are looking for an enthusiastic individual with experience working in a policy role focused on food or related issues (climate, nutrition, health or education). You will have knowledge of the political landscape in the UK and experience working with or in government departments, academia and NGOs on a range of policy issues.

It is an exciting time in food policy, and in this role you’ll have opportunities to work across our national policy portfolio, whether its exploring the link between climate change and food prices, developing our proposition for a Good Food Bill, improving the Healthy Start scheme, or strengthening public sector procurement.

The postholder will manage a variety of high impact activities and outputs that are used to drive forward change across our national policy areas and will work will colleagues across the organisation working in national policy, local policy, communications, events and food business transformation to do this.

Due to the evolving policy landscape, there will be a chance to tailor the role to the interests and experience of the successful candidate.

Across these workstreams, you’ll get a chance to:

• contribute to the refinement of policy asks and comms messaging,
• undertake desk research to inform policy,
• coordinate activities with different stakeholders and partners working across different policy areas
• support Ambassadors on advocacy related to dietary inequalities
• support communications and campaign work related to this work

Job Description:

Management and Strategy

• Support the policy portfolio of campaigns and projects across our national policy areas, including on food prices and food inflation, our Good Food Bill campaign, Healthy Start and early years.
• Work closely with the Policy and Advocacy Manager to develop and implement project plans and deliverables across these areas
• Maintain a careful record of our policy impact according to our agreed metrics within our Monitoring Evaluation and Learning framework.
• Policy and research
• Synthesize evidence for and play a significant part in the development of position statements/briefings/reports, working closely with the wider policy team and our designer.
• Support the Public Affairs lead to develop policy products for use in parliamentary engagement.
• Working closely with our Research Lead, identify evidence gaps and policy research questions which are relevant to our policy work to support new positions and generate new ideas for research or evidence collection which help achieve our policy goals.
• Work where needed with external contractors in the delivery of specific pieces of work, setting clear expectations and holding them accountable for delivery.
• Stakeholder engagement
• Develop and maintain a strong civil society network of stakeholders, working to broaden the support base for specific policies.
• Participate in coalitions of organisations who are campaigning together on specific areas of policy change.
• Develop and maintain relationships with junior civil servants in key departments across all policy areas.
• Work with the Citizens Engagement Manager to identify opportunities to bring Adult and Young Food Ambassadors into policy activities and research.
• Represent the Food Foundation and present our work in external events and meetings with relevant audiences and the media.
• Budgets and fundraising
• Administer grants which support our projects and ensure that funders are kept well informed, receive timely reports and that budgets are kept on track.
• Maintain good relationships with funders according to their requirements and provide input to proposals and funding bids.

Communications and campaigns

• Develop a comprehensive approach to dissemination of our policy outputs so they reach our intended audiences.
• Act as a local/regional media spokesperson, brief journalists, and respond to media queries.
• Contribute policy and evidence expertise to support campaign delivery.
• Contribute policy expertise to press releases, newsletters, web copy, podcasts and blogs.
• Support the maintenance of website pages related to project areas.
• Draft social media posts and newsletters.

Personal Profile

Technical skills:

• Knowledge and understanding of the food system, food and nutrition and/or health policy and policy levers for change.
• Strong knowledge of the mechanics of the UK policy-making landscape, including the workings of Westminster and Whitehall.
• Proven experience in synthesising evidence and using evidence to make a case for change.
• Proven experience in writing reports and briefings for different audiences, with the ability to explain complex and highly nuanced subject matter in plain English.
• Previous experience working in a policy role, refining policy asks and communicating these with different stakeholders
• Excellent analytic skills and close attention to detail.

Personal skills:

• Proven experience in budget management, project management and reporting to funders.
• Proven experience in managing multiple projects concurrently to tight deadlines and prioritising workload.
• Strong interpersonal skills and experience working collaboratively as a member of an interdisciplinary team.
• Strong presentation skills and confidence in speaking to external audiences.
• Excellent communication skills, both written and oral.
• Ability to problem-solve and manage risk.
• Ability to work independently and manage own time effectively.
• Ability to build strong relationships with all members of the team.
• Open to giving and receiving challenging viewpoints.
• Resilience and tenacity whilst recognising the need for self-awareness and the impact of actions on others and the organisation.
• Willingness to travel for project meetings and dissemination events.
• A confident networker who enjoys building connections and relationships with new people.

This job description is intended as an outline indicator of general areas of activity only. The Food Foundation is a small charity and as such all staff are expected to vary their duties as necessary to meet the needs of the organisation.

Please see the full job pack on our website