This is an exciting time to join Wakefield Council’s Planning Services Development Management team. Our emerging Local Plan (scheduled for adoption in 2022) sets ambitious housing and job growth targets and to meet this challenge and to ensure that high quality, strategic regeneration initiatives are delivered, two key posts have become available within the Council’s Development Management Team: 

• Principal Planning Officer (Deputy Team Leader); and
• Principal Planning Officer (Major Projects)

The positions offer line management opportunities and the successful candidates must be able to demonstrate leadership qualities and the ability to contribute positively to the continued development of the service. 

You will have responsibility for:

• Providing pre-application advice to prospective applicants for major and complex development schemes; developing Planning Performance Agreements; and acting as a lead officer for major development proposals.
• Project managing significant and complex strategic and major planning applications across the district.
• Seeking to add value to proposals and applications through advice, process management, negotiation and timely decision making.
• Preparing and presenting reports to the Planning & Highways Committee, and representing the Council as an expert witness at Informal Hearings and Public Inquiries.
• Developing service improvement initiatives.
• Supporting the Development Management Team Leaders and Service Manager; supervising, motivating and mentoring staff within the teams; and helping to maintain and improve service performance.
• Reviewing the case work of officers and authorising decisions on planning applications under the Council’s officer scheme of delegation. 

We are looking for talented people to join our ambitious, creative and highly collaborative team. We want to hear from you if you: 

• Have extensive experience of working within Development Management and have managed and negotiated large-scale major development proposals with substantial infrastructure requirements.
• Have a relevant professional qualification (MRTPI is desirable). 
• Have experience of supervising, managing and mentoring staff.
• Have in-depth and extensive knowledge of planning legislation and the latest national planning policy, guidance, urban design, placing making and planning procedures.
• Have knowledge and experience of preparing and presenting evidence at Public Inquiry, Hearing and/or Examination.
• Are experienced at working in a sensitive political environment.

   

For an informal discussion or further information about these posts, please contact Ruth Thackray (Team Leader) on 01924 306397 or rthackray@wakefield.gov.uk, or Ian Pollard (Service Manager) on 01924 306396 or ianpollard@wakefield.gov.uk