Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea - Director of Social Investment & Property

Salary: £134,616

Location: Kensington and Chelsea, London Hybrid: 3 - 4 days per week in borough

This is a rare opportunity to lead one of the most distinctive and influential property portfolios in local government, in a borough where place, history and public assets genuinely matter. At Kensington and Chelsea, We’re All In, committed to stewarding our assets with fairness, transparency and long-term responsibility.

As Director of Social Investment and Property, you will sit at the heart of how the Council leads its land and buildings for the long term: financially, socially and reputationally. You will shape decisions that are highly visible, often sensitive, and deeply connected to community confidence, public value and the future of the borough. This role reflects our collective ethos: We’re All In for delivering value that strengthens both our communities and our organisation.

The portfolio is broad and fascinating. It spans operational and civic buildings, a valuable and diverse commercial estate, community and voluntary sector assets, and a number of complex, high-profile sites requiring judgement, technical assurance and calm leadership. We’re All In for ensuring our estate works for residents, supporting services, generating impact, and contributing to a sustainable financial future.

A core part of this role is the leadership and assurance of the Council’s capital programme. You will oversee the delivery of major capital projects across the estate, while also providing professional leadership and scrutiny of the Council’s overall capital delivery framework. This includes ensuring that programmes are well-governed, realistically phased, and aligned to both service need and financial strategy. We’re All In for safe, compliant and responsibly delivered capital programmes that residents can trust.

The Social Investment and Property function underpins the ambitions of the entire organisation. From schools and children’s services, to vehicle depots, offices and temporary accommodation, the quality, safety and suitability of the Council’s assets directly affect service delivery and resident experience. This role therefore sits at the centre of the Council’s ability to operate effectively and sustainably. Which is why We’re All In for collaboration, working with colleagues, partners, and the voluntary and community sector so they can get the best from every asset we hold.

Some assets are income-generating. Others exist to support social and cultural outcomes. Many do both, and your role is to bring coherence, clarity and purpose to how those assets are managed and deployed. We’re All In for striking the right balance between community benefit and commercial value.

This is not a conventional property director role. It calls for a leader who enjoys complexity and understands that the best decisions are rarely one-dimensional. It calls for someone who shares our belief that We’re All In, for our residents, for our responsibilities, and for the future of the borough.

You will be trusted to balance commercial realism with social responsibility, and to give clear, confident advice to Members who are engaged, commercially literate and ambitious for the borough, while remaining rooted in the Council’s values and responsibilities to residents.

This includes working within the context of the Grenfell tragedy and its lasting impact on the borough, ensuring that safety, accountability and trust are embedded in how the Council manages its assets and engages with residents.

You will inherit a directorate that is well-structured, motivated and moving in the right direction following a period of stabilisation and improvement.

The challenge now is different: to provide confident, steady leadership; to embed strong asset management and non-negotiable standards around safety and compliance; and to take the portfolio forward with consistency, transparency and intent. We’re All In for raising standards, strengthening trust and ensuring our buildings are safe, well-managed and fit for the future.

Over the next few years, you will help unlock the full contribution of the Council’s assets to its financial sustainability, bring greater clarity and fairness to how community and voluntary sector assets are used and supported, and lead some of the borough’s most complex and sensitive property projects with credibility and care.

If you are excited by complexity, public service and the chance to lead with both authority and humanity, this is an opportunity to make a lasting impact at the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. And if you share our belief that we are at our best when We’re All In, working together for our residents and our borough, we would be delighted to hear from you.

For further information, please download a candidate briefing pack by clicking the link below:

Candidate Briefing Pack - Director of Social Investment & Property

For a confidential conversation, please contact:

Ali Tasker on 07514 724114 or email: ali.tasker@penna.com

Bruna Varante on 07858 306725 or email: bruna.varante@penna.com

Closing date: Sunday, 3rd May 11:59pm however due to the bank holiday, the application link shall remain open until Monday 4th May 11:59pm

How to Apply

1. Upload your CV under “Please select one of the options below.”
2. Complete the short mandatory fields on the next page.
3. Use ‘Add Attachments’ to upload your Supporting Statement and any other documents.
4. Please ensure that the file name of your CV and supporting statement includes your full name.
5. Ensure both CV and Supporting Statement are uploaded before submitting your application.
6. If you have a long term health condition or disability and would like your application to be considered in accordance with a Disability Confident Scheme, please email: execapplications@penna.com to inform the Penna team.