Salary £55,557 - £64,416 per annum

Permanent Contract

37 Hours per Week

The post of Local Plan Manager is being created as part of a major restructure of the Strategic Services Team to provide additional capacity and capability to prepare the Thurrock Local Plan and to drive forward the Councils ambitious place-making agenda.

The Council’s approach to growth is that it should be community-driven, infrastructure-led and make a key contribution to high quality place-making.

Reflecting these priorities, the post holder will be responsible for the development of planning policy and managing the preparation of the Thurrock Local Plan. As a key part of this role, the post holder will be required to co-ordinate the development of policy and to work closely with other Service areas to ensure that the Local Plan is more than just a “planners plan”.

You will be joining a team of 15 professional planners and urban designers charged with progressing the Local Plan through the Regulation 18 and Regulation 19 stages, and onto Examination and Adoption in 2024.

In order to be considered for this post applicants will need to:

• Demonstrate knowledge, experience and understanding of a wide range of planning policy areas;
• Show knowledge of the processes and practices involved in the preparation and adoption of effective Local Plans and other Development Plan Documents;
• Have direct and substantive experience in managing and progressing a Local Plan through to Examination and Adoption; and;
• Be able to convincingly present complex planning and development concepts clearly to a diverse audiences including members of the public, elected members, and colleagues across the council.

With such a big agenda, we are after the brightest and best talent; commercially minded and emotionally intelligent. The post holder will need to need to be engaging, confident and dynamic with a can-do approach as well as demonstrating the experience and the skills required to be able to influence and manage multi-disciplinary project teams.

To be successful in this role the post holder will be highly motivated and possess excellent communication skills. The suitable candidate will also hold a Town Planning Degree or qualification in a related discipline and be eligible for Membership of the RTPI or other relevant accredited body.

Please note that we are currently out to formal consultation to review existing allowances that some staff receive. Allowances offered may be subject to change depending on the outcome of formal consultation.

Closing Date: 12 September 2021

Our vision – An ambitious and collaborative community which is proud of its heritage and excited by its diverse opportunities and future.

Thurrock is an exciting place to live and work. We are an emerging cultural and arts centre, home to the production centre for the Royal Opera House and the National Skills Academy for Creative and Cultural Skills. We have retail and leisure that is among the best, including the Lakeside Shopping Centre. Located on the River Thames, the Borough is 70% Green Belt which includes attractive countryside and villages offering a wide range of recreation and leisure opportunities to meet the needs of all. Thurrock also enjoys excellent transport links that can get you into central London in 30 minutes and other parts of the UK quickly and easily.

We are an area of massive growth with over 1,000 acres of land ready for commercial development focused around the Lakeside Basin and the Boroughs 3 Ports and Thames Free Port. £6bn has already been invested by the private sector in Thurrock. We have seen 7,000 new jobs created, with a further 30,000 anticipated in the next 20 years, in the port and logistics, retail and creative industries. The proposed development of the £6bn Lower Thames Crossing will also have a major impact on the Borough and provides the opportunity to further enhance the Boroughs to attract major investment and business activity. In preparing the Local Plan, the Council will also need to plan for the delivery of over 32,000 new homes in a variety of locations ranging from the transformation and repurposing of existing town centres, through to the promotion and consideration of a number of large scale Strategic Urban Extensions and a new settlement.

Thurrock Council is committed to equal opportunities. As a Disability Confident Employer, disabled people will be offered an interview where they meet all essential criteria on the person specification. We champion flexible working and job share applications are welcome. We serve a diverse community where people are different yet equal. Diversity underpins everything we do.

To view the Job Profile and Person Specification please follow the link below:

https://www.thurrock.gov.uk/sites/default/files/assets/documents/localplanmanager-jppsjune2021.pdf