Principal Planning Officer RBKC613154

Job Summary: 

Salary range: £49,854 - £56,565 per annum 

Work location: London

Hours per week: 36

Contract type: Permanent

Closing date: 3rd December 2023

Interview date: Week Commencing 11th December 2023

About Us: 

Take your planning and leadership experience further by making one of London’s most vibrant and densely populated boroughs an even better place to live, work and visit.

Kensington and Chelsea is a unique place, home to places of great cultural importance and diverse communities. We have unmatched built heritage sitting alongside iconic retail centres, a vibrant specialist employment market, an international medical quarter and world class cultural attractions. We also have many challenges facing us. We’re not only home to the wealthy but also to some of the most deprived wards in London. So, we’re committed to delivering good growth in the Borough, with homes for all, and have started our own ambitious house building programme. We’re developing new ways of engaging with all our residents and providing high-quality accessible infrastructure for now and future generations. This all contributes to making the borough an unparalleled place to work and offers huge potential for professional development.

We’re looking for experienced and confident planners to help us make this happen and join our dynamic and enthusiastic team, located off Kensington High Street in the heart of the borough.

We have a hybrid model of working with 50% of your time based on the office. 

The Role: 

As a Principal Planning Officer, you will be responsible for major planning applications and the more complex minor applications, both at pre-application and application stage. Whilst it may be the smallest of the London boroughs, its unique built environment, the variety of land uses, and its diverse population mean your case load will be an exciting mix of applications.

You will also handle and oversee fast track applications, in our new fast-track team to be created in January 2024. You will deputise for the Development Management Team Leader in managing the team which will include reviewing recommendations, allocating work and mentoring junior officers, helping to grow and develop the team. You will also manage Planning Performance Agreements and prepare appeal statements and appear at public inquiries and hearings, as well as attending committees and advising other Council departments on planning matters. You will mentor and support other officers dealing with complex schemes.

You will also have an opportunity to help shape our planning service, implement changes, and be committed to continuous improvements to service delivery.

With a strong and supportive team behind you, you’ll play a key part in the growth and success of the Development Management service. You will be joining a high performing, forward thinking, and ambitious planning department that is committed to providing a high quality, effective and responsive service.

Please refer to the Job Description for more information.

About You:

 With a Planning degree or equivalent, you’ll also need to be eligible for licentiate membership of the Royal Town Planning Institute (or equivalent), and evidence of a commitment to continuous professional development.

You’ll bring considerable planning experience, with exceptional negotiation skills and proven project management skills. You must be capable of dealing with large and complex proposals at all stages, including pre-application and appeals.

With this, you should have an excellent working knowledge of current planning legislation and practice. And, with the ability to construct concise reports that present clear and persuasive arguments, you should be able to give both formal and informal presentations. You will be able to deal with a wide range of people including very engaged and informed residents, Councillors, and fellow professionals. We are looking for a customer focused approach and willingness to work proactively and collaboratively, with a commitment to high quality outcomes.

Ideally, you’ll also have a working knowledge of London planning issues and historic buildings and conservation areas, with some experience of arranging small scale contracts for consultancy advice.

Putting communities first and working together, with respect and integrity are our values and we want people who share these to come and work with us. Your experience and expertise are important; however, your values and behaviours are also important, and we are looking for candidates who are enthusiastic, hardworking, and have a positive can-do attitude.

In return, you can look forward to a package that includes a competitive salary, a high-quality pension scheme and generous annual leave plus bank holidays. We are committed to growing and developing our team and will invest time in your professional development.

Please apply online explaining how you meet the requirements set out in the person specification and job description. CV’s will not be considered for this role. 

Application process

Please do not upload any documents, including CVs/Covering Letters or supporting statements, as these documents will not be reviewed and could result in your application not being shortlisted.

You should describe how you meet the person specification requirements for the position you are applying for in Section G of the application form.

Additional information

We are committed to promoting equality and respecting diversity and welcome applications from all sections of the community.

We are a Disability Confident Employer – committed to ensuring that our recruitment and selection process is inclusive and accessible.

We engage our staff with a variety of learning types including face-to-face and virtual learning because we want to ensure our staff understand our values and behaviours, grow their skills and develop their careers.

This post is covered by the Fluency Duty, as outlined in the Code of Practice on the English language requirements for public sector workers.

We do not accept speculative CVs from any source.

Please note, we will primarily contact candidates by e-mail throughout the recruitment process, please monitor your email junk / spam folder as our system generated emails may be allocated to these folders by your email settings.

If you experience difficulties with the recruitment application process, please contact the recruitment team by email: recruitment@rbkc.gov.uk