Senior Planning Consultant

LB Barking & Dagenham / Senior Planning Consultant / £55k plus Local Authority Package / Part-time hours

Your new company
Hays are proud to have partnered with the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham to source a Senior Planning Consultant to join the in house team in a fairly unique role. This role will be part time, either two or three days a week and the hours can be adjusted to suit. Due to the Councils recent restructure of the Planning department this is a unique and interesting role. The purpose of the Inclusive Growth team is to shape, drive and support efforts to deliver economic development and physical regeneration that benefits local people, with no-one left behind. This means capitalising on Barking and Dagenham's position as London's Growth Opportunity to drive greater economic prosperity and improvements in the physical, social and human infrastructure of the borough, while ensuring that local residents benefit from these advances and that the place itself is cherished and enhanced for the long-term.
Specifically, the Inclusive Growth team will be responsible for leading on key strategies and commissioning plans relating to economic development, regeneration, housing, energy and sustainability, and employment and skills (and will own the delivery of the relevant themes and targets in the Borough Manifesto). These long-term borough-wide goals, plus the associated key actions and indicators in the Corporate Plan, provide the core framework for the Inclusive Growth team.

Your new role
The purpose of this post is to discharge the Council's statutory Local Planning Authority responsibilities, in support of the Council's Planning Committee and both the Head of Place-Shaping and Infrastructure Strategy and the Director of Inclusive Growth. In Barking and Dagenham, planning services are delivered by Be First (the Council's wholly-owned regeneration company). This includes development management and planning policy. However, in relation to these matters, Be First provides advice, but the Council makes decisions. This post also has a role in holding Be First to account for the provision of the Council's planning services and supporting the Planning Committee to discharge its responsibilities.

What you'll need to succeed
You will need to have a recognised Town Planning qualification and ideally Chartered Membership of the RTPI. Substantial experience at a senior level in a local authority delivering a high level of service as well as dealing with elected Members on controversial planning issues is essential. As you will be monitoring the performance of Be First an excellent knowledge of the planning system and the key issues facing the local government sector is also essential. You will also need strong strategic policy decision making skills, sound political awareness, and a thorough knowledge of local authority planning committees.

What you'll get in return
This role is fairly unique and will enable you to work at a Senior level within the Councils planning function while also being involved strategically in delivering growth and development of the Borough. Although the position is part time the hours can be changed to suit circumstances, within reason. This may suit someone looking to cut back on hours, return to work with some flexibility or continue with private work. At this time the role will be offered on a salaried basis of about £55k pro-rata'd down to the part time hours of roughly 15 to 25 hours. You do also benefit from the fantastic Local Authority Pension, Holiday and range of benefits.

What you need to do now
If you're interested in this role, click 'apply now' to forward an up-to-date copy of your CV, or call us now.
If this job isn't quite right for you but you are looking for a new position, please contact us for a confidential discussion on your career.

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