YNYCA - Head of Environment and Place

Welcome, and thank you for your interest in the York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority (“the Combined Authority”) and this exciting opportunity.

As the first Director of Economy for the Combined Authority, I’m proud to lead a directorate within an organisation that is driving positive, lasting change for our residents and business communities. This is a pivotal moment for York and North Yorkshire. This role is central to shaping the Combined Authority and ensuring we deliver long-term economic prosperity for the region. It’s an opportunity for ambitious, experienced leaders who share our vision to create a bright future and leave a legacy.

We are in a strong position to build on devolved funding from central government. Two years on from our establishment, we’re ready to grow and strengthen our structure. This is your chance to join us and help shape the next chapter.

This is where you come in. I’m looking to build a team of talented, inspirational leaders with the vision and ambition to drive progress. Working closely with our Mayor, David Skaith, and other influential local and national partners, you will help deliver meaningful change and ensure the region makes the most of everything devolution offers. We need leaders who value people and will champion a positive, collaborative culture.

As Head of Environment and Place, you will report to me as Director of Economy and lead the Combined Authority’s approach to housing, regeneration, and environment within the Economy Directorate. You’ll oversee delivery of devolved funding and Mayoral investment programmes and develop strategies that support our Economic Framework and the Mayor’s vision. This role calls for a strategic, empowering leader who thrives on collaboration and building high-performing teams.

We work with a wide range of partners including local authorities, emergency services, central government, businesses, and residents, to design and deliver policies and programmes that put communities at the heart of everything we do. At the same time, we’ll use our devolved powers to secure millions of pounds of investment for York and North Yorkshire.

In short, this is a unique opportunity to play a strategic role in shaping the future of our region and building public confidence in devolution. Joining us at this early stage means you can make your mark and help write the next chapter in York and North Yorkshire’s success story.

If you’re passionate about our region and economy, and ready to lead at this critical time, we’d love to hear from you. After an initial conversation with one of our Resourcing Solutions team, I’d be delighted to discuss our plans further.

Andy Kerr

Director of Economy

York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority

Head of Environment and Place

Salary: £71,425 - £80,216 per annum, plus relocation support

Location: York / Hybrid

We’re looking for a strategic leader to shape and deliver housing, regeneration, and environmental sustainability across the region. This pivotal role will drive the Combined Authority’s economic vision, overseeing an integrated environment and place function, and managing a pipeline of investible projects that boost growth.

Key Responsibilities:

Lead development of housing, regeneration, and environmental strategies aligned with the Mayoral vision.
Oversee delivery of devolved funding programmes and ensure compliance.
Represent the Combined Authority with government, partners, and stakeholders.
Provide expert advice to the Mayor and senior leadership.
Inspire and manage a high-performing team, ensuring effective resource and budget management.

About You:

You’ll be a strategic thinker and influential leader with deep knowledge of housing, regeneration, and environmental sustainability. You’ll have the ability to navigate complex governance environments and deliver large-scale programmes that make a real difference. Additionally, you will have experience and knowledge in the following:

Place-based approaches to economic growth.
The housing agenda including development, housebuilding, retrofit, and viability challenges.
Affordable housing issues and planning system strategies.
Regeneration, master planning, and viability appraisals, in addition to environmental issues including natural capital, net zero, and carbon reduction.
Knowledge of devolution, local government, and public sector financial, legal, and political context.
Significant leadership experience in housing, regeneration, or environmental sustainability.
Proven track record of strategic planning, policy development, and programme delivery.
Experience engaging with government departments and private sector developers.
Budget management and organisational culture change within large organisations.

For further details, please find the job description here: Job Description - Head of Environment and Place [doc 257kb]

Key Dates

Closing: Monday 16^th February 2026 at midnight
Shortlisting: Tuesday 17^th February 2026
Stage One Assessment Event: Week commencing 23^rd February 2026
Final Stage Assessment Event: Week commencing 9^th March 2026

For an informal confidential discussion about this opportunity, please contact Katherine Brioude - Katherine.Brioude@northyorks.gov.uk

The Combined Authority was launched as a new organisation in early 2024. It is a public sector employer with access to powers and funding to unlock transport and housing improvements, boost skills provision and help the economy transition to net zero for York and North Yorkshire. Making the most of the combined strengths of the city region and rural powerhouse, the Combined Authority is a long-term commitment to shaping a brighter future for generations to come. As one of only two combined authorities to incorporate partners in the form of Police, Fire and Crime and the North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service, plans are in place to harness huge economic opportunity for the region and to raise the living standards for communities to enable the region to make a full contribution to the UK economy. There is a focus on delivery to put the York and North Yorkshire area on the map for regional and national success.

By working for us you will play a part in making positive changes, unlocking investment, supporting business and communities to thrive and creating new and better opportunities for people that live and work here.

Roles within the Combined Authority operate on a hybrid basis. While flexible working is supported, postholders will be expected to attend in-person meetings and partnership activities at our offices in Harrogate, Northallerton, and York, as required by the role and service.

The benefits of working for the Combined Authority include:

Generous leave entitlement, starting at 28 days plus 8 bank holidays (pro-rota for part time staff)
Flexible working practices including working from other locations and from home
Local government pension scheme
Commitment to staff development and continuous learning

York & North Yorkshire Combined Authority

Living and working in York

We are proud of York’s status as one of the safest and best cities to live in the UK, engaging our 202,000 residents and 7 million visitors to live healthier, happier independent lives.

We are a vibrant, digital city at the heart of Yorkshire - the best of tradition and the modern. With excellent connectivity by road and rail, the neighbouring towns and cities of Leeds, Hull and Harrogate are in easy reach. National Parks and areas of areas outstanding natural beauty are on our doorstep, with their quaint villages and market towns, whilst the Yorkshire coast provides a retreat ideal for sunny days.

We are known for our considerable assets – we have our internationally important heritage, with strong creative industries and a significant cultural offering. We have strengths as a science city, and our digital infrastructure recognises us as the UK’s first Gigabit City. We have a young and highly skilled workforce, and lay claim to world-leading universities and some of the highest performing schools and colleges in the country.

We are ambitious and aim to be a prosperous city for all - where local businesses can thrive and residents have good quality jobs, housing, opportunities and access to quality public services. We celebrate and champion the diversity of our population and encourage everyone to play an active role in the city, so that our vibrant economy and rich communities can make York the acclaimed city it is. We are one of the safest cities in the country and offer some of best available education.

A city of Sanctuary and Human Rights, our community is truly multicultural and diverse. We are the first city in the North of England to set the aspiration to make our city an anti- racist and inclusive one. We are committed to tackling discrimination in all aspects of services that the Council delivers, including public health, in order to have an impact and bring about positive change to our residents.

Our thriving retail and visitor economy welcomes millions of visitors every year. We have been recognised as the ‘foodie centre of the universe’ and our Christmas market is the best in the UK. Our many awards include Sunday Times best place to live, Conde Nast city of best architecture and in 2018 YouGov found that we are the nation’s favourite city. We are friendly, community-spirited, festive and summer-friendly – what’s not to like?

Find out more about working and living in the City of York here It's All York

Living and working in North Yorkshire

North Yorkshire is a thriving county that adapts to a changing world and remains a special place to live and work.

North Yorkshire's natural beauty is captured in its three areas of Outstanding Natural Parks, National Nature Reserves, stunning coastlines, scenic rural villages, vibrant cities and market towns. North Yorkshire really is a beautiful, thriving and special place to live and work, rich in heritage and culture.

North Yorkshire features significantly in the ten best places to live in the UK in Halifax Quality of Life Survey. The Quality of Life index aims to quantify where living standards are highest in the UK by ranking local performance across a range of indicators. Local areas featured in the top ten included Richmond, Selby and Malton.

Figures released by the Office for National Statistics bulletin positions North Yorkshire as the safest place in England with extremely low crime rates.

In addition, the county benefits from excellent road and rail links, with easy access via the east coast mainline, the A1(M) and A19. Leeds, York, Newcastle, Durham and Teesside are all easily commutable, and London and Edinburgh are just two hours away by train.

From its lively cities to pretty villages, rolling countryside and grand coastline, North Yorkshire has so much to offer including great employment opportunities for your family members, along with a higher proportion of schools which are good or outstanding compared to national figures.

You can find out more about what North Yorkshire has to offer on the No place like North Yorkshire website North Yorkshire - start planning your visit - VisitNorthYorkshire.com

To apply please submit one Word document that details a comprehensive CV, including current salary, and a supporting statement outlining your suitability for the role. Please clearly state which role you are applying for in the email header.

Applications should be emailed to Executive.ResourcingSolutions@northyorks.gov.uk. Please do not send PDFs.

It is important that your written application fully addresses the experience criteria as detailed in the person specification.

You should include contact details for at least two referees, one of whom must be your current / most recent employer/engager. If you specifically do not wish referees to be approached without your permission, please indicate this.

We will remove your personal details from your application on receipt to enable anonymised shortlisting, therefore it is important that your application is made using one Word document. Please do not send PDF versions and please make it clear which role you are applying for.

Please ensure that you have included both your work and home telephone contact numbers and e-mail addresses where applicable.

We believe in the importance of inclusion, which is why we are always working towards being a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive employer.

These are politically restricted posts and may require police security vetting.

We will not accept applications nor services from agency suppliers.

York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority

City Region and Rural Powerhouse

Explore Career Opportunities

About the role

Salary: £71,425 - £80,216 per annum, plus relocation support

Location: York / Hybrid

What will you gain by joining the York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority

About York and North Yorkshire

Living and working in York

Living and working in North Yorkshire

Key Documents

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