Job Description

Head of Inclusive Economy Strategy and Programmes (Maternity Cover)

65,109 - 80,241 per annum. Fixed term 1 year until July 2026

About us

Newham is a place that is full of potential and brimming with energy and talent. Proud to be one of the youngest and most diverse boroughs anywhere in the UK, 72% of our residents are from ethnically diverse communities, speaking over 220 languages and our population of 351,000 is growing at a rate of 14%, the third highest rate of growth in London. There is an enormous amount of growth happening across the borough, with major regeneration programmes in Stratford, the Royal Docks, Custom House and Canning Town. It has London's only Enterprise Zone, and a burgeoning tech and creative sector in Stratford with the V&A East, Sadlers Wells and BBC music all opening by 2026. Newham is brilliantly connected, with London's highest concentration of Elizabeth line stations, London City Airport and the ExCel centre bringing over 4 million visitors a year. It has a vibrant business and SME community, with the highest rate of business starts of any London borough.


With two data centres planned, and our flagship Newham Data programme, which has already trained over 1500 residents, the council is ensuring that growth in data and AI will benefit our communities. In partnership with UEL, we have established the UK Centre for AI in the Public Sector - cementing Newham's position as a national leader in inclusive, future-focused digital infrastructure and talent development.


However the borough also faces long-standing socio-economic challenges; 72% of Newham residents live in the three most deprived three deciles in England, and Newham has the second highest number of children in relative low income families. Compounded by the crises in cost of living and housing, and the effects of Covid-19 which disproportionately impacted the borough, those who were already vulnerable are finding themselves pushed into even deeper poverty.


Newham Council is committed to addressing the inequalities faced by our residents, to ensure everyone can benefit from growth opportunities. Newham's Community Wealth Building approach, underpinned by the principles of economic, social and environmental justice, seeks to achieve long-term prosperity, wellbeing and fairness for all. The Newham Growth Plan (currently in development, to be reviewed by Newham Cabinet in July 2025) sets out the strategic vision and action plan for how the Council will work with local stakeholders to attract growth and investment into the borough, and support Newham's existing thriving, resilient and diverse economy. It aims to enable secure livelihoods for all Newham residents, while optimising new opportunities in emerging sectors and mitigating negative impacts of climate change through a just transition.

About the role

As the Head of Inclusive Economy Strategy and Programmes, you will lead a team to develop and deliver progressive and ambitious programmes to support residents and businesses, build partnerships and attract enterprise and inward investment. As one of the council's ambassadors for inclusive economic growth, you will build partnerships - within the council, with residents and community organisations, commercial partners, and government departments - to identify, enable and promote new growth potential in emerging sectors, and optimise the talent, assets and opportunities already present in the borough.


Working closely with the Director of Community Wealth Building, you will lead the iterative development and implementation of the Newham Growth Plan and associated Action Plan, with a focus on building a resilient foundational economy and supporting our places and high streets to thrive, as well as on supporting growth in the emerging focus areas of Construction & Green Skills, the Data & Digital economy, and the Creative & Cultural economy. With a small team of dedicated and experienced economic regeneration officers, and support from officers working on affiliated programmes across the council, you will be responsible for refining and managing the overall Action Plan, and measuring success against identified metrics. The plan is intended to be agile and responsive, so it is expected that the Actions may be updated and further refined with feedback and data sourced from residents, businesses and communities.


Ensuring alignment with local, regional and national strategies, and working with neighbouring borough partners, as well as our own Our Newham jobs brokerage and skills and learning services, you will seek to ensure good quality, sustainable career and training opportunities for residents, and that residents and businesses can access the skills, training and opportunities they need to participate in economic, social and cultural activity. This includes overseeing S106 agreements around training and local jobs, building resilient local supply chains, ensuring social value in contractual agreements, and promoting fair work and the London Living Wage to local businesses. You will also oversee the development and implementation of an ambitious multi-million pound, 5-year data economy and infrastructure programme, which seeks to establish the borough as a national destination for AI and data enterprise and innovation.


It's likely the role will include recruitment to expand the core team and breadth of delivery in line with the Newham Growth Plan.

About you

You will be ambitious for the people of Newham and proud to work with and to represent its diverse communities with energy, commitment and creativity. An experienced professional with strong and proven strategic and programme and stakeholder management skills, you will be able to mobilise the programme teams, lead on the planning and delivery of programmes and the oversight of programme reporting and governance. You will have experience leading large-scale programmes that involve multiple stakeholders and partners to deliver its objectives. Experience in delivering projects focused around economic development, regeneration, investment, digital inclusion, education and skills development will be beneficial. Experience working in digital/data, culture or construction sectors will be an advantage; if you have not worked in these sectors directly, you will need to demonstrate an interest and appetite to learn about how these sectors are shaping the future of work and how we can ensure Newham residents are set up to benefit from these changes.

Benefits

Flexible working arrangements including offices in Stratford, Dockside and working from home. Generous pension allowance (with employer contributions of up to 8%). Access to Newham Rewards employee benefits scheme. Employee Assistance Programme. Eye test and Flu vouchers.

Please attach your CV and supporting statement, explaining in no more than x2 A4 sides your interest in the role, and why and how you meet the criteria.

We practice anonymised recruitment. Please ensure that you remove all personal information from any documents that you upload.

The deadline for this application is Thursday 22

nd

May at 11.59pm. Interviews will take place on 28

th

or 29

th

May.

Please view JD here


If you have any questions, please contact Megan Charnley at megan.charnley@newham.gov.uk.


IMPORTANT: If you are an LBN member of staff and applying for this role as a secondment you should note that secondments are subject to the agreement of your current employing service. Please ensure that you inform your line manager of your intention to apply for the post in the first instance.

Additional Information

We are committed to creating an inclusive, anti-racist environment for all. When you apply for a job at Newham, your application is considered on its merits regardless of your age, disability, ethnicity, faith, gender identity or sexual orientation. If you share our vision and values, and you bring the experience and skills we need, that's all that matters to us.


The London Borough of Newham has important responsibilities for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. If you are appointed to a job that involves working with these groups, you may be subject to a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check.

Please attach your supporting statement, explaining in no more than x2 A4 sides why and how you meet the criteria for this role.

We practice anonymised recruitment. Please ensure that you remove all personal information from any documents that you upload.

The personal information we have collected from you will be shared with Cifas who will use it to prevent fraud, other unlawful or dishonest conduct, malpractice, and other seriously improper conduct. If any of these are detected you could be refused certain services or employment. Your personal information will also be used to verify your identity. Further details of how your information will be used by us and Cifas, and your data protection rights, can be found by https://www.cifas.org.uk/fpn .



*About Us

The London Borough of Newham is located only 5 miles east of London. It is well positioned with access to all major networks in London and the south east. It is well connected by public transport with, bus, tube and DLR. When the Crossrail service opens it will call at Custom House close to our council offices and also Stratford station and from there to central London. The London City Airport which serves major European cities is located at Royal Albert Dock. Newham has the youngest overall population in the country. It was one of the six host boroughs for the 2012 Summer Olympics and contains most of the Olympic Park including the London Stadium. It has a thriving arts quarter with the Theatre Royal Stratford East offering excellent entertainment for all the family. There is the University of East London which has two campuses in Newham, one in Stratford and another next to the regenerated Royal Albert Dock. It also has a large Westfield shopping Centre in Stratford which has all the major retailers there.*