Senior / Principal Planner – Local Plan Promotion

SENIOR / PRINCIPAL PLANNER - LOCAL PLAN PROMOTION

This highly experienced team specialises in promoting land through the Local Plan process. We are currently promoting over 60,000 new homes and 30 million sq. ft. of employment floor space.

We specialise in developing strong relationships with significant landowners and stakeholders to maximise the development potential of sites. With our enviable track record of delivery, we are currently working on a number of exciting schemes promoting both Greenfield and Brownfield opportunities.

As a Senior / Principal Planner you would be expected to provide accurate and professional planning advice and services in relation to strategic planning policy matters. The Senior / Principal Planner is also expected to undertake some Business Development activities and play an active role in growing the portfolio of projects.

For the right candidate there are opportunities for excellent career development and to demonstrate leadership, decisiveness, pragmatism, communication, and management skills. The ideal candidate will be a Member of the Royal Town Planning Institute and have experience working within the Local Plan system; political and commercial awareness; confidence leading project teams; and business development skills. They will also be an effective and clear communicator with the ability to manage workload and budgets.

Key responsibilities:-

Promoting sites through the Local Plan system, including representations, Hearing Statements, and Advocacy Reports.
Undertaking engagement events, meetings, and public examinations.
Researching and designing planning policies to guide development.
Statistical analysis and research, including socio-economic data to promote sites.
Conducting research and undertaking planning appraisals to establish the development of potential of sites.
Writing high quality reports with recommendations.
Communicating with all stakeholders involved in the planning process.
Attending site visits and client meetings.

The right candidate will have:-

Planning experience, either within a consultancy or local authority environment.
Demonstrable experience of the planning process, particularly in Local Plans and Planning Policy
Experience of working with landowners/developers and other technical disciplines to identify and promote sites through the Local Plan process.
Strong analytical, numeracy and report writing skills, including Local Plan representations and Hearing Statements.
Good understanding of producing robust evidence to demonstrate sites are available, suitable, achievable and viable.
Experience in engagement with senior stakeholders and decision makers.
Confidence and the ability to lead project teams
The ability to work collaboratively.
Commercial awareness and business development skills and experience.
Good decision making skills and pragmatism.
A ‘can-do’ attitude and ability to be proactive, to use initiative and work autonomously, as well as part of a team.
Effective communication skills and the ability to provide clear and concise reasoned advice to clients.
The necessary skills and experience to manage workload, budgets and to coordinate projects (alongside colleagues and sub-consultants).
The ability to mentor and guide junior members of the team.

Other requirements include:-

Charted membership with the Royal Town Planning Institute.
An excellent working knowledge of Microsoft Office.
Full UK driving licence plus access to a car.

APPLICATION PROCESS

Please apply by email, sending a covering letter and CV to
rachel.illsley@spawforths.co.uk
dawn.jenkins@spawforths.co.uk
andrew.rose@spawforths.co.uk
Applicants will be invited to interview on an ongoing basis.
We run a two interview process at Spawforths. The first interview will be held on MS Teams or in person. If this goes well, we will invite you back for a second interview in person.
If you would like to discuss matters beforehand please feel free to contact Rachel, Dawn or Andy on 01924 873873.

16 | 05 | 2024