The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) are the public sector’s property valuation experts and advisers with a vision to be a world-leading provider of public sector valuations. As one of the largest employers of surveyors in the country, our work is vital to the collection of over £60 billion of revenue which goes back into communities, touching every citizen and every business across England and Wales.
We champion the values of professionalism, integrity, respect and innovation. We are committed to providing a collaborative and supportive working environment that encourages every colleague to contribute, grow and excel together. With opportunities to drive your own development and growth, we empower our colleagues to succeed by ensuring support at every step of their career journey.
Local Authority Relationship Manager – Role Overview
The Local Authority Engagement Team (LAET) are an important part of the Customer and Local Authority Experience area in the Valuation Office Agency’s (VOA) Operational Excellence Directorate (OED).
The team develop, manage and maintain relationships at all levels with all the local authorities (LAs) in England and Wales, (about 340). These stakeholder relationships help the team support and improve the LA experience of working with the VOA and enable the team to have clear communication channels for the agency and provide a key point of consistent contact. The team also plan and deliver customer improvement projects for Las, analysing and acting on engagement insight to drive customer improvement for LA stakeholders.
The role holder will develop knowledge of a wide range of VOA/LA issues and be versatile and flexible in developing and maintaining strong working relationships with LA contacts and with internal colleagues, to drive best practice and deliver successful engagement and outcomes that supports the Agency’s strategic objectives. The role holder will have the opportunity to work closely and collaboratively with operational and specialist teams from right across the Agency.
Local Authority Relationship Manager – Key responsibilities
* Developing and maintaining effective relationships with LAs at all levels, using negotiation, influencing and diplomacy skills to cultivate delivery partnerships that drive best practice, comply with statutory duties, and promote our services, setting out the case for change and building support for our transformational plans.
* Promoting two-way dialogue and information sharing, acting as a point of contact between the agency and LAs.
* Developing and delivering LA focussed customer improvement projects, involving LAs in helping to shape our products and services, and where appropriate, engaging LA representatives with key VOA decisions and process changes. Use organisation and project skills to drive delivery at pace and evidence impact, whilst balancing several different workstreams with conflicting deadlines.
* Arranging, speaking, presenting, and contributing positively to regular LA and representative body meetings and forums, with VOA colleagues and on behalf of the Agency at LA related events both online and in person.
* Arranging, facilitating, and presenting at the team’s own LA forums and other proactive engagement activities, collecting impacting MI and seeking continual improvement and efficacy.
* Collecting and providing insight across the LA and related sectors to provide horizon scanning, risk, and opportunity information back to the agency and inform the team’s proactive engagement strategies.
* Promote an awareness and understanding of LA issues within the Agency, representing and championing their needs, and escalating any emerging risks, issues, or trends as appropriate.
* Engaging collaboratively with teams across the Agency, including operational teams, communications, customer experience, policy and strategy; information and analysis; information, law and disclosure to provide advice and to support the development of policies and procedures and to improve our service to and from LAs. In some cases, providing insight.
* Identifying themes and supporting the handling of LA complaints or complex operational queries.
* Producing a range of tailored communication, in a variety of formats to ensure LAs are aware and engaged with key VOA priorities. This includes developing and delivering presentations, newsletter content, information toolkits, emails, web and guidance content, webinar and knowledge sharing events, producing internal reports, reporting MI and summarising complex technical information into simple and concise content. Using knowledge of risk and being sensitive to difficult conversations to ensure effective and appropriate communication which maintains relationships.
* Possibility of line management.
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