Head of Place Management

Job title: Head of Place Management
Salary: £85,000
Reference : OSDC02
Grade: 12
Contract type: Permanent
Contract details: Full time
Directorate: Built Environment
Interview date: Early Sept
Location:19-23 Wells Street, London W1T 3PQ
Application closing date: 24th August

The Oxford Street Development Corporation

The Oxford Street Development Corporation (OSDC) has been established by the Mayor of London to lead the regeneration and transformation of Oxford Street, one of the capital’s most important economic, cultural and visitor destinations. OSDC has been created to provide focused leadership, coordination and delivery of the Mayor’s vision for a cleaner, greener, safer and more accessible Oxford Street, including the pedestrianisation of key sections of the street.
Oxford Street has been formally designated as a Mayoral Development Area, with OSDC established in early 2026 to oversee its long-term regeneration. The Mayor has confirmed the decision to pedestrianise Oxford Street between Orchard Street and Great Portland Street, with implementation progressing at pace and the first sections becoming traffic-free during 2026.

Responsibility for the highway has transferred to Transport for London, while OSDC is working closely with a range of public sector partners, including Westminster City Council, the London Borough of Camden, and the Metropolitan Police Service, to ensure that pedestrianisation is delivered safely and successfully, and that the street operates effectively during and after transition.

Whilst OSDC does not have statutory duties in terms of cleansing and security, we do have a clear remit to support the economic success of the area. We know that safety and security is often the number one priority for local businesses. The New West End Company (the local Business Improvement District) invest heavily on safety and security services, providing additional services to those provided by Westminster City Council and the Met Police.
Should you be successful in this role, you would be joining a rapidly growing organisation, set up on 1st January 2026, and fully dedicated to shaping and delivering this exciting new chapter for Oxford Street.

About the role

This role offers an opportunity to work at pace in a high-profile and fast-moving environment, requiring initiative, self-motivation and the confidence to work independently while navigating complexity and ambiguity.

Working under the Director of Built Environment, you will play a key role in relation to security, cleansing and maintenance in preparedness for Oxford Street (West) becoming traffic-free, and thereafter as part of longer-term place management and stewardship.

You will bring strong place management, public realm and stakeholder engagement expertise to a complex and politically sensitive context, ensuring that adaptations and activations to the streetscape are well-managed day and night.
Collaborating across OSDC, TfL and a wide range of partners, you will help drive programme momentum, manage key stakeholder relationships, and support robust decision-making to enable successful delivery.

Skills, knowledge and experience

• Strong experience in place management and public realm operations within a major city centre, high-footfall environment or BID/local authority context.
• Proven leadership of security, cleansing, maintenance or street management operations, including oversight of outsourced service providers.
• Demonstrable experience managing operational change linked to pedestrianisation, streetscape redesign, or major public realm transformation.
• Experience analysing footfall, dwell time and behavioural patterns, translating insights into operational adjustments including cleansing frequency, waste management, asset maintenance, and security deployment.
• Strong background in managing complex public realm issues, including anti-social behaviour, rough sleeping, crowd management and night-time economy considerations.
• Experience coordinating multi-agency partnerships, including police, transport authorities, local authorities, business groups and community stakeholders.
• Experience leading procurement processes, including tendering, consultant appointments, contract mobilisation and performance management.

Behavioural Competencies

• Develops rapport and works effectively with a diverse range of people; and shares knowledge and skills to deliver shared goals.
• Presents information and arguments clearly and convincingly so that others see us as credible and articulate and engage with us.
• Understands the bigger picture to uncover potential challenges and opportunities for the long term and turns these into a compelling vision for action.
• Forms sound, evidence-based judgements, making choices, assessing risks to delivery, and taking accountability for results.
• Analyses and interprets situations from a variety of viewpoints, and finds creative, workable and timely solutions.

The GLA Competency Framework Guidelines further detailing each competency and the different level indicators can be found here: GLA Competency Framework

How to apply

If you would like to apply for the role you will need to submit the following to:  info@oxfordstreet.org.uk

• Up to date CV
• Personal statement with a maximum of 1500 words. Please ensure you address how you demonstrate the essential criteria outlined above in the advert.
• Diversity Monitoring Form. If you do not wish to declare any particular characteristics you can choose ‘prefer not to say’.
• Please find the full Job description here

 

Word or PDF format preferred and do not include any photographs or images. Please ensure your CV and Personal Statement are saved with the job reference number as part of the naming convention (E.g., “CV – applicant name – 012345

If you have questions about the role

If you wish to talk to someone about the role, the hiring consultant Dr Julie Grail would be happy to speak to you. juliegrail@thebidsbusiness.com

Assessment process

Once you have submitted an application, your details will be reviewed by a panel.

If shortlisted, you’ll be invited to an interview/assessment.

The interview/assessment date is: Early Sept

Equality, diversity and inclusion

London’s diversity is its biggest asset, and we strive to ensure our workforce reflects London’s diversity at all levels. We welcome applications from everyone regardless of age, gender, gender identity, gender expression, ethnicity, sexual orientation, faith or disability.
We particularly encourage applications from Black, Asian and Minority ethnic candidates and disabled candidates who are currently underrepresented in our workforce.

We are committed to being an inclusive employer and we are happy to consider flexible working arrangements. We would welcome applications from candidates who are seeking part time work as this role is open to job share.

Please note we are a Disability Confident Employer so for candidates who wish to be considered under the scheme and meet the essential criteria, they will automatically be invited to interview. Please note, should you require any adjustments through the process, we will accommodate as much as possible. Please contact the recruitment team for further information if required.

Benefits

OSDC staff are hybrid working up to 3 days a week in our offices and remotely depending on their role. As part of this, you will need to split your time between home working and coming into the office. In addition to a good salary package, you will be paid every four weeks, providing frequent salary payments. We also offer an attractive range of benefits including 30 days’ annual leave, interest free season ticket loan, interest free bicycle loan and a career average pension scheme.