Project Officer Economic Development, Skills & Employment

About the role

Economic Growth & Sustainability is part of the Council’s Place & Economy Directorate and spans different activities from inward investment and business support to external funding and programme management, to digital and electric vehicle infrastructure, to climate change and sustainable living.

External funding is a crucial element of the team’s work. It is responsible for identifying opportunities, developing business cases, bids, and submissions to secure funding to support economic growth and regeneration, and putting in place robust processes and systems to ensure that resources are targeted to deliver improved outcomes. This involves a mixture of bidding in competition with other areas and securing funding which has been provisionally allocated to the area but requires the submission of an Investment Plan or similar case to confirm and drawdown the allocation.

In recent years, the team has managed one of the largest Community Renewal Fund programmes in England and the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) with over £10m secured for local projects supporting businesses, communities, and skills. in competition with other areas. Pivotal to this was being able to demonstrate stakeholder engagement to inform the interventions that would be prioritised for support through this funding, and political support from the areas’ MPs. Details of activities that are being delivered through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund are available at

Shared Prosperity Fund | North Northamptonshire Council (northnorthants.gov.uk).

Whilst the UKSPF programme is coming to an end in March 2026, the team is working on new funding programmes and opportunities including the Pride in Place initiative, which will see targeted funding and support helping to regenerate three local communities in Corby, Kettering, and Wellingborough.

Business support activities include site visits and business owner meetings to support and discuss issues impacting local enterprises. The team uses a triage system to signpost businesses to sources of specialist help. This is aided through the North Northants Business Forum which brings together the main public sector organisations, business networks and partners representing local businesses in the area.

The Council is a member of the Northamptonshire Chamber of Commerce and sponsors the local Business of the Year category. It also attends local business events and meetings to explain the services offered by the Council, gather intelligence, take ‘soundings,’ and provide advice and support.

With North Northants a target for housing growth, it is vital that new businesses are attracted to support the growing population and reduce out-commuting. Inward investment is an important activity for the team. Some of the recent enquiries which the team has dealt with include investments by Iron Mountain (Information Management Services), Ball Corporation (Manufacturing), Navarra (Manufacturing), and Nike (Sports).

The team manages the Superfast Northamptonshire initiative which is bringing new investment in digital connectivity to Northamptonshire. Attention has shifted to Phase 4 of the initiative which will be delivered through Project Gigabit led nationally by the Government Agency Building Digital UK (BDUK). This will focus on premises which have not benefitted from gigabit connectivity through previous phases, or are outside of commercial coverage, or planned coverage with delivery through Cityfibre. The team also manages the North Northamptonshire Electric Vehicle Initiative (NNEVI) with the NNEVI Strategy adopted in 2024. A key objective of the strategy is the expansion of the EV charging network in the area to cover all the towns and serve the wider rural area. The team has secured almost £2.9m from Government to invest alongside the private sector to build, operate and maintain this network.

The team also has a key role in leading the Council’s strategic approach to climate change, which includes the Carbon Management Plan and Climate Change Strategy, which was adopted earlier this year, and in shaping North Northamptonshire’s transition to a greener, more resilient future.

Currently, work is underway to advance the development of a Local Area Energy Plan for North Northants. This team supports the delivery of strategic projects that enable environmental resilience, adoption of low-carbon technologies, and sustainable development across the area. It works across departments — such as Planning, Highways, and Assets — and with external partners to embed sustainability into policy and initiatives. This includes promoting carbon reduction practices, supporting sustainable employment and skills programmes, and ensuring that inward investment aligns with environmental priorities.

The team also contributes to policy development, public engagement, and the integration of sustainability metrics into project performance frameworks, helping the Council meet its long-term climate and economic objectives.

Other initiatives led by the team include the management of the Northamptonshire e-scooter trial with Voi Technology (which covers the towns of Corby, Kettering, Burton Latimer, Wellingborough, Higham Ferrers and Rushden – as well as Northampton). This provides an important, green and low cost transport mode for accessing employment and training.

The focus of this role within the Economic Growth & Sustainability team is economic development and specifically skills and employment. This will include work with the Department of Work & Pensions, Job Centre Plus and other specialist partners and employers to provide support for local people seeking employment or a new job through Job Fairs. In addition to finding employment, these events help enable people to get advice on training, starting their own business, volunteering, or career progression with other wraparound support such as money advice and wellbeing.

The Council’s Economic Growth Strategy, adopted earlier in the year, provides the strategic framework for these and other activities.

If you have any questions, or would like more information about the role, please contact Greg Ward greg.ward@northnorthants.gov.uk.

What will you be doing?

The purpose of this job is to support growth of the local economy and promote North Northamptonshire as a great place to do business, visit and live. The Postholder will undertake a range of projects and initiatives that will principally focus on improving Employment and Skills outcomes.

Main accountabilities

Act as a Council key contact for employers within North Northamptonshire.

Deliver, assist and co-ordinate projects and programmes, particularly relating to Employment and Skills, to support the delivery of the Corporate Plan, Economic Growth Strategy for North Northamptonshire and other key plans and strategies, including attendance at and organising partner meetings, business events and exhibitions.

Develop and maintain strong relationships with external partners in particular education, skills and training providers to help ensure a co-ordinated and effective approach to business support across North Northamptonshire.

Support the development and delivery of Employment and Skills initiatives relating to the promotion of North Northamptonshire for Inward Investment opportunities as well as local direct investment.

Work with employers and partner organisations to deliver and support recruitment, careers and skills initiatives.

Contribute to KPI monitoring and the production of analysis, reports, strategies and presentations on the local economy.

Help maintain a CRM system to help track and support local business enquiries and interactions with the Council.

Monitor and report local, regional and national trends that may impact North Northamptonshire’s economy.

About you

Educated to degree level or equivalent in a relevant subject, or equivalent by experience.

Business, planning, geography or related

Evidence of continued professional development.

In a related field of activity

Membership of a professional body

Institute of Economic Development or similar

Knowledge and Experience

Economic development

Experience and knowledge of economic development project delivery focussed on employment and skills, within a local or central government or related context, with demonstrable and proven record of achievement in the same.

Businesses

Knowledge of businesses, how they operate and what challenges they face.

Business support

Knowledge and understanding of Business Support and its relevance in helping businesses overcome issues, promote growth and ensure business retention.

Local economy

Clear understanding of local, regional and national economic development issues and how they impact the area and business.

Local authority

Experience of working for a local authority

Skills

Working relationships

Ability to develop and maintain strong working relationships with a wide range of partners, including internal and external stakeholders.

Communication skills

Excellent written and oral communications skills

Technical skills

Ability to use CRM systems to document business engagement activity and key account management

Programme or project management skills

Skills delivering projects or programmes

Problem solving

Ability to identify problems, assess options, and develop solutions

Analytical skills

Ability to analyse and present complex information clearly

Numeracy and IT Skills

Strong numeracy and IT skills including competency in MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams and Outlook.

Equal opportunities

Ability to demonstrate awareness/understanding of equal opportunities and other people’s behaviour, physical, social and welfare needs

Our Benefits

Here at North Northamptonshire Council, we’re transforming for the better, using all our creativity and imagination to create the best life for our local people.

You’ll find that we have a wide range of careers that may be more surprising than you think!

Why choose us?

We offer a vibrant working environment with:

• a competitive salary
• a pension scheme, where we pay a significant contribution on top of your contribution. It provides life cover and ill-health protection.
• lots of opportunities to develop your skills, knowledge and potential in a large unitary council
• generous leave entitlement (28 days, rising to 33 days) and bank holidays, plus the option to buy up to an extra 10 days
• hybrid and flexible working arrangements, where practicable for service needs to help you with a healthy work-life balance.

We provide a range of great benefits such as an Employee Assistance Programme, an Employee Benefits Scheme, wellbeing support, travel rates at HMRC rates, as well as supporting a range of active Employee Network Groups.

About us

Our Values and Behaviours

Our values define who we are and how we operate, by forming the foundation for how we interact with our customers, colleagues and provide our services. They are also at the forefront of our decision making and delivery and are:

Customer-focused
Respectful
Efficient
Supportive
Trustworthy

Our Key Commitments

Our key commitments help ensure that the priorities we make, now and in the future, maintain the necessary breadth of focus in those areas that we believe matter most.

We are proud to be a recognised Disability Confident Employer and is committed to providing an inclusive recruitment process and will offer an interview to disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role.

North Northamptonshire Council re-signed the Armed Forces Covenant in June 2024 which highlights the Council’s pledge to support the Armed Forces community. The council obtained the silver status award for the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme (ERS) and we are now currently working towards achieving Gold status.

Further information can be found at Jobs and careers | North Northamptonshire Council (northnorthants.gov.uk)