Senior Planning Officer – Strategic Planning (2 posts)

£33,782.00- £37,890.00 (Grade 9)

Full-Time: 37 Hours

Contract: Permanent

Location: Swansea Office (with element of remote working)

Summary:

A number of exciting job opportunities have arisen within Swansea Council’s ambitious and high performing Planning Authority, where successful candidates will join teams working at the vanguard of placemaking in Wales.

New positions have been created across the Department for outstanding candidates to join Placemaking & Heritage and Strategic Planning teams, and be involved in shaping and delivering a wide range of exciting development projects coming forward across the city. 

Swansea sits at the heart of Wales’ South West region, and boasts an outstanding quality of life for residents and visitors. The County benefits from internationally recognised natural assets, including an award winning coastline and an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.  It is also characterised by a rich, historic urban fabric and a City Centre that is currently undergoing large-scale, transformational regeneration. This varied character illustrates the diversity of planning work to be undertaken by successful candidates, who will be join friendly and welcoming teams of planners, placemaking and heritage officers, who collectively play a key role in delivering Swansea’s next chapter of development and enhancement.

Swansea is identified in Future Wales as a significant growth area over the next 20 years, and the Council’s adopted Local Development Plan (LDP) sets out an ambitious placemaking framework to deliver that growth. Many of the proposals set out in the LDP are advancing to the planning application stage and successful candidates will have the opportunity to be involved with shaping a wide range of development schemes to meet the placemaking requirements set out in existing and emerging policy and guidance. Development projects coming forward include: large scale neighbourhood extensions on greenfield and brownfield sites; mixed use commercial-led city centre development; green infrastructure led public realm projects, repurposing and repair of key listed buildings; and the Council’s own home building programme that aims to deliver a thousand homes over the coming decade.

Candidates will need to demonstrate they have the drive, passion and capabilities to take up the role, to maintain Swansea’s excellent record in customer service and performance, and our status as being at the forefront of Wales’s placemaking agenda.

Details and key responsibilities:

Key duties for the postholders within the Strategic Planning Team (2 posts) include:

-Work positively with developers, including the housing sector, to facilitate the delivery of appropriate, sustainable development schemes

-Produce new and updated planning frameworks, including preparing policies for the Council’s development plan and supporting planning guidance

-Undertake assessments and appraisals of development proposals, including on viability matters, using relevant software where necessary

-Lead and co-ordinate as necessary project teams comprising personnel from across Council departments, plus any relevant external stakeholders, with the aim of facilitating the delivery of appropriate development

-Monitor and evaluate the delivery of planning projects, to ensure that the natural and built environment in Swansea is enhanced

-Advise Council Members, applicants, agents, the general public, and any other interested parties, on relevant aspects of the planning process

Other Information:

Candidates must be a member, or working towards membership, of the Royal Town Planning Institute or equivalent professional body, and have suitable experience in a planning environment within public or private sectors.

Further information and full job descriptions for the posts are available on the Council’s website.

Closing date: 30 April 2021