About The Role
Essex Housing Independent Board Member
Fixed Term, Part Time
Allowance of £6,000 per annum + expenses
Location: Chelmsford
Working Style: Anywhere worker
Closing Date: 3rd August 2025
Please note interviews for this post will be held on 13th August 2025.
This is a fixed term post for three years, with an allowance of £6,000 per annum, plus expenses.
As an Independent Board Member, you will play a pivotal role in shaping and delivering the housing strategies of Essex County Council and its partners. Through Essex Housing Development LLP, you’ll help address the growing need for specialist, affordable, and market housing across the county.
By offering strategic insight, constructive challenge, and innovative thinking, you will support Essex Housing’s performance and ensure effective, forward-looking decision-making at board level.
Working in close partnership with the existing Board and serving as a trusted advisor, this role will play a critical part in shaping the strategic direction of Essex Housing. It will provide independent counsel to the Chair and Board during a period of profound transformation in local government across Essex.
Over the next three years, the establishment of a new strategic mayoral authority and the creation of unitary authorities will fundamentally reshape the local governance landscape. These changes will replace all existing local authorities in Essex, including Essex County Council—Essex Housing’s current parent organisation. In this evolving context, the role will be instrumental in ensuring Essex Housing remains agile, forward-looking, and aligned with the region’s emerging governance structures.
This role requires you to influence strategic housing delivery by building strong relationships with senior leaders across Essex County Council, central government, and key partners.
Role responsibilities will include:
- Provide expert advice on housing development while upholding high standards for Essex Housing.
- Support the Chair in setting the Board’s strategic direction in line with statutory objectives.
- Offer constructive challenge on current and proposed housing projects.
- Help ensure confidence in Essex Housing’s stability and viability among key stakeholders.
- Provide industry insight and expertise specific to residential development and commercial property transactions and innovative approaches to achieving financial sustainability and viability, e.g. land acquisition and raising capital
- Attend the Essex Housing Board, which will meet circa monthly and other events as required
- To further the aims of Essex Housing, making sure that it keeps within its objectives
- Work with the Chairman and other Board Members to direct and control the affairs of Essex Housing
- To take part in formulating and reviewing the mission, strategic aims and values of Essex Housing, making sure they remain valid and relevant.
- Working with other Board members to ensure that policies and practices of Essex Housing are in keeping with its aims.
- To monitor the performance of Essex Housing, ensuring it is solvent, effectively run and holding the executive to account.
Knowledge, Skills And Experience
With extensive subject matter expertise in residential development, at a senior level, you will have experience of operating at director level or similar for a reputable residential developer or housing organisation, contributing to their strategic aims.
You will be able to demonstrate an ability to work with site appraisals, viability assessments and business cases, considering advice from surveyors, project managers and financial and legal experts. You will also bring skills in understanding and responding to different perspectives and working in a complex environment.
Above all, you will have excellent communication skills, confident in building strong working relationships with relevant stakeholders, politicians, other board members and the development team to oversee, challenge and drive forward the Essex Housing development programme.
Why Essex?
As one of the largest and most dynamic UK local authorities, Essex offers a stimulating public service environment. Covering over 1,420 square miles and serving 1.8 million residents, we’re committed to transformational change and delivering better quality at lower cost. Recognised in the top three of the latest IMPOWER index for productivity, we ensure everyone matters in Everyone's Essex. With flexible working options and a focus on innovation, whether you are looking to develop your career or contribute to the local community, Essex is the ideal place for you.
In February 2025, Greater Essex was accepted onto the Government’s devolution priority programme, which will see local authorities in Essex work towards establishing a Mayoral Combined County Authority by May 2026. You can read more about devolution and local government reorganisation (LGR)) on our careers site
Essex County Council is proud to be a Disability Confident Leader. We’re committed to interview all disabled applicants who choose to apply under our Job Interview Scheme if they meet the minimum requirements of the job. Please speak to our Recruiters if you require any reasonable adjustments during the process. We’re also committed to interview all veterans and care leavers, who meet the minimum requirements of the role for which they are applying.
Once you’ve secured your role within Essex County Council you will receive many great employee benefits, including support for unpaid carers and flexible working arrangements to accommodate their needs.
At Essex County Council, we value integrity and ethical behaviour. We kindly ask that you embrace our code of conduct and the Nolan principles, including throughout the recruitment process. Your commitment to these standards helps us maintain a positive and respectful workplace for everyone.
Please note that the job role requires you to be mobile throughout an operational area. Therefore, the post holder will need to have a driving licence and access to a vehicle, or the ability to meet the mobility requirements of the role through other means.
Essex County Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults, and expects all employees and volunteers to share this commitment.
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If you have queries on this role or require anything further, please email
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