Head of Building Control

About the Borough

Found in zone 6 with good transport links in and out of London, Kingston is a vibrant and diverse university town which creates the rich sense of community shared across the borough and its Residents. Kingston boasts an idyllic riverside location, good shopping and great restaurants, as well as a mix of modern and historic town centre. Kingston has lots of open parklands and cycle routes that help connect the district town centres into an enjoyable place to live and work.

We are passionate about working closely with our residents and vulnerable groups to help them maintain their independence and create a balance between support and independent living.

About the Service and Team

As Head of Building Control, you’ll lead a skilled team of Building Control Surveyors dedicated to ensuring Kingston’s buildings are safe, compliant, and high quality. You’ll manage and develop the service, promote best practice, and deliver a risk-based approach that meets the requirements of the Building Safety Regulator and Building Safety Act 2022. Working in an agile, collaborative council culture, you’ll inspire your team, drive continuous improvement, and maintain a safe built environment for our communities.

Building Control forms part of the Councils Planning and Regeneration function comprising, Development Management, Spatial Planning, Infrastructure Planning and Delivery, High Street Recovery and Employment and Skills. Planning and Regeneration is part of the Place Directorate and works alongside Housing, Highways and Regulatory Services, Property and Projects, Cambridge Road Estate Regeneration. We work cohesively across the breath of Place and across other service areas of the Council. Currently alongside the wider domestic and commercial building control applications, the team is working on three major council applications, the New Leisure Centre, Cambridge Road Estate Regeneration and Murray House, a 45 unit later living and supported accommodation scheme.

About the Role and Our Ideal Candidate

Help shape safe, sustainable, and inspiring places for the people of Kingston. From our historic riverside and lively market town to new homes and community spaces, you’ll lead a team making sure every project meets the highest standards of safety, quality, and care.

In addition, you will:

• Provide inspirational leadership to our Building Control team, fostering innovation, collaboration and continuous improvement.
• Ensure compliance with Building Regulations, the Building Safety Act 2022, and the requirements of the Building Safety Regulator.
• Oversee plan examinations, inspections, enforcement and dangerous structures work.
• Develop commercial opportunities and partnerships, positioning Kingston as the “go-to” authority for building control expertise.
• Represent the service at a senior corporate level, working closely with elected Members, residents, developers and partner organisations.

We’re looking for a collaborative leader who can bring technical expertise and a people-first approach, with:

• Professional membership (RICS, CABE, CIOB or equivalent) and degree-level qualification in a relevant field.
• Significant experience managing complex Building Control projects, from housing to high-rise and commercial schemes.
• In-depth knowledge of Building Regulations, the Building Safety Act 2022 and the construction industry.
• The ability to inspire teams, forge strong partnerships, and influence at a senior level.
  

This is a chance to shape Kingston’s future, strengthen its communities, and grow a forward-thinking, customer-focused Building Control service in one of London's most vibrant, dynamic and fastest growing boroughs.

We are in the process of updating our pay scales in line with the pay award for NJC, Chief Officers and Chief Executives for April 2025, therefore please take this into account when viewing the salary on this position. The new salary for this role will be £72,399 - £79,119 per annum and effective immediately.

Our Offer to You

As an organisation that values and nurtures talent, we’re committed to helping you fulfil your potential and will offer you a supportive, friendly and collaborative environment to grow and develop your career and skills. We’re constantly striving to improve our ways of working so putting your ideas across however big or small; will be fully encouraged and supported by your colleagues and our dynamic and experienced management team.

Employees have access to a wide range of benefits to enable staff to achieve a work life balance, some of which include:

• A generous annual leave entitlement of 25-32 days, plus bank holidays (pro-rata if part-time working hours apply) depending on service and grade - eligible staff also have the option to purchase an additional 5 days leave per annum (pro rata for part-time)
• Enhanced Maternity, Paternity, shared parental, adoption and dependents leave
• Three volunteering days per year in Kingston
• Hybrid working (dependent on the role)
• Flexible and agile working arrangements using Google Chromebooks
• Learning and development portal offering a range of courses
• Discounts on a range of local shops, restaurants, gyms and leisure centres
• Interest free season ticket loans
• Local Government Pension Scheme
• Bicycle loan facilities and cycle to work scheme
• Zip car scheme
• Confidential health & wellbeing and counselling support

Application Process

Apply online outlining what skills, abilities and experience you can bring which makes you an ideal candidate for this role. Please refer to the requirements outlined in the job profile when completing your application and check your CV details have been uploaded correctly in the relevant sections.

We understand and recognise the benefits of using Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the workplace and are embracing AI where appropriate, to boost our productivity and streamline how we deliver our Council services efficiently; to provide the best possible outcomes for our residents and communities.
However, we reserve the right to reject applications where it is apparent that AI-generated content has been used in isolation and without personalised responses. At Kingston we value authenticity and are looking for individuals who can clearly demonstrate their own skills, experience and motivation for the role that they are applying for and embrace and demonstrate our STAR values.
Here at Kingston we have core values of Transparency and this is to be demonstrated during the application process and completion of the supporting statement and will be further tested at interview and selection stage for those who progress forward.

The closing date is given as a guide. We reserve the right to close this vacancy once a sufficient number of applications has been received, it is strongly advised that you complete and submit your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

As part of our award winning Diversity Programme we anonymise all applications received to reduce conscious and unconscious bias enabling every application to be reviewed on the knowledge, skills and experience shown in your application. We encourage our interview panels to be as diverse as possible (age, cultural, neurodiverse etc.) to reduce bias where possible. We are fully committed to removing barriers and enhancing the diversity of our workforce.

Additional Information

We are in the process of updating our pay scales in line with the pay award for NJC, Chief Officers and Chief Executives for April 2025, therefore please take this into account when viewing the salary on this position. The new salary for this role will be £72,399 - £79,119 per annum and effective immediately.

We are proud to be a diverse and welcoming Borough and we strive to create a workforce which reflects the community we serve, and instil a sense of belonging in our staff. We celebrate and respect differences and appreciate the value of having a diverse workforce, therefore we welcome applications from under represented groups.

To support our workers and their families we offer a range of family friendly, inclusive employment policies, flexible working arrangements, staff engagement forums and inclusive staff networks who help drive our diversity agenda.

We are also proud to be a disability confident employer and guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum essential criteria for a role. As an accredited London Living Wage Employer all our employees are guaranteed the London Living Wage regardless of their length or type of contract.

The UK has a points-based immigration system affecting EU and Non-EU workers and sponsorship requirements. We advise checking the GOV.UK website for right to work guidance. Sponsorship availability varies and is subject to eligibility requirements and budget limitations. As a result, we cannot guarantee sponsorship for all roles and will evaluate sponsorship requests on a case-by-case basis.