Partnerships Lead

We are looking for a dynamic, highly collaborative Grade 7 Partnerships Lead to join the award-winning One Public Estate (OPE) programme in a newly created role.

The OPE team is a friendly, supportive, and diverse group operating in a fast-paced environment. This position offers significant autonomy, stretch, and a unique opportunity to build high-profile cross-sector relationships. If you have excellent stakeholder management and negotiation skills, a background in property or asset management, and a passion for working across central and local government boundaries, we would love to hear from you.

About One Public Estate (OPE)

OPE is a unique and impactful partnership between the Office of Government Property (OGP) in the Cabinet Office, Local Government Association (LGA) and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. Established in 2013, we work with 98% of local authorities in England and have supported over 850 transformational property-led projects.

Our mission is to help central and local government partners unlock public land and property to drive regional economic growth, deliver integrated citizen services, and release land for housing (supporting the target of 1.5 million homes in this Parliament).

We are currently embarking on an exciting transition to an evolved, place-based operating model, centred on testing innovative Local Asset Management Plans (LAMPs). Following the launch of our Pathfinder initiative to seek an MCA partner, this role will lead on the ground work to test and embed this new model.

As the Partnerships Lead, you will support the Grade 6 Policy & Partnerships Manager in leading the design, development, and testing of the LAMP framework. You will act as the principal bridge between the OPE programme, Mayoral Combined Authorities (MCAs), and central government departments, embedding collaborative estate planning across strategic authorities.

This role is central to bringing diverse public sector partners together and influencing joined-up decision-making. You will play a pivotal role in driving wider system change by ensuring central government departments actively engage with and champion Pathfinder activities. By aligning central departmental priorities with regional opportunities, you will unlock collective property assets to support the long-term strategic aims, needs, and ambitions of local places. This will need keen communication and influencing skills.

Operating with a high degree of autonomy, your specific responsibilities will include:

• Pathfinder Co-Design: Partner directly with the selected MCA Pathfinder to co-design, develop, and tailor the LAMP model to their specific geography and in support of local strategies, such as Local Growth Plans and Spatial Development Strategies.
• Cross-Public Sector Collaboration: Actively engage, influence, and coordinate with central government departments and MCAs to drive forward LAMP and Pathfinder activities, ensuring estate strategies align with local place objectives.
• Implementation & Evaluation: Oversee the practical rollout and evaluation of the LAMP Pathfinder, ensuring learning is captured systematically. This may include external consultation and review.
• Strategic Asset Planning: Drive cross-public sector asset planning through LAMPs to identify strategic opportunities for service co-location, surplus land disposal, and local housing growth.
• Network Scoping & Scaling: Scope the LAMP concept across a broader network of MCA stakeholders, assessing the long-term appetite, ambition, and capability to scale the model nationally.
• Spending Review Contribution: Contribute directly to the upcoming Spending Review (SR27) business case, ensuring real-world data and insights from the Pathfinder MCA are incorporated to secure future funding.

Essential Experience

• Public Sector Collaboration: Proven experience working effectively across central government departments and local government structures.
• Influencing & Joined-Up Decision-Making: Exceptional relationship-building, communication, and negotiation skills, with a proven track record of bringing disparate partners together to secure commitment and drive collaborative outcomes.
• Property & Asset Management: Strong knowledge and practical experience working within a property, estates, or strategic asset management environment.
• Autonomy & Problem Solving: Demonstrated ability to work with a high level of autonomy, taking ownership of new initiatives and solving complex problems in ambiguous environments.

Desirable Criteria

• Expertise in formal project and programme management techniques and frameworks.
• Experience working within multi-agency, collaborative, or blended cross-organisational delivery programmes.
• Professional chartership/membership in RICS, RTPI or MCIPS/FCIPS

Additional information:

Cabinet Office policy is that a minimum 60% of your working time should be spent at your principal workplace. For some roles, due to their nature and the business need, this may be up to 100%. Requirements to attend other locations for official business will also count towards this level of attendance.