Planning Officer

What will you be doing?

• Support senior planning officers and managers in delivering Planning Service objectives.
• Provide excellent customer service and respond to planning-related enquiries.
• Contribute to service improvements, process reviews and system enhancements.
• Maintain up-to-date knowledge of planning legislation, policies and best practice.
• Produce accurate, high-quality work within agreed timescales.
• Attend evening and weekend meetings, committees and public consultation events.
• Assist in developing planning policies, design guidance and Local Plan documents.
• Undertake research and gather evidence to support policy development and place-shaping initiatives.
• Engage with communities, stakeholders and partners through consultations and public events.
• Analyse planning data, monitor trends and maintain planning databases and monitoring systems.
• Provide planning policy advice on applications, corporate projects and infrastructure planning.
• Prepare reports, statements and evidence for planning appeals, examinations and legal proceedings.
• Support the procurement and management of specialist planning consultants.
• Help develop and utilise planning technology, including Geographic Information Systems (GIS).
• Validate planning applications and process planning submissions.
• Manage a caseload of planning applications and planning enforcement investigations.
• Conduct site visits, consultations and assessments, making recommendations in line with planning policy.
• Prepare and present reports for Planning Committee meetings.
• Negotiate improvements to development proposals.
• Advise applicants, developers, residents and stakeholders on planning matters.
• Work collaboratively with internal departments and external organisations to achieve positive planning outcomes.
• Represent the Council at hearings, inquiries and court proceedings where required.
• Assist with complaints handling and support investigations undertaken by the Local Government Ombudsman.

About you

• A relevant degree or equivalent qualification to allow future access to Chartered membership of the Royal Town Planning Institute (or equivalent).   
• Demonstration of a Personal Development Plan that explains a commitment via Licentiate, Associate or the Experienced Practitioner route, to achieving Chartered Membership of the Royal Town Planning Institute (or equivalent). 
• Conversant with policy documents, plans, maps and architectural drawings. 
• Understanding of the English Planning System. 
• Experience of using computer databases, and Microsoft packages such as PowerPoint, Excel, Word and Outlook 
• Good communication skills 
• Report writing skills 
• Able to deliver excellent customer service under pressure
• Good organisational skills 
• Able to travel independently to multiple sites across the Council’s administrative area to undertake site visits on a frequent basis (3-5 times a week), or further away to attend meetings and events on behalf of the Council. For example, the ability to drive with access to own transport.   
• Good time management skills 
• The ability to carry out site visits or investigations on a variety of outdoor door locations including domestic properties, overgrown site with uneven ground conditions, and building sites 

Our benefits

Here at North Northamptonshire Council, we’re transforming for the better, using all our creativity and imagination to create the best life for our local people.

You’ll find that we have a wide range of careers that may be more surprising than you think!

Why choose us?

We offer a vibrant working environment with:

• a competitive salary
• a pension scheme, where we pay a significant contribution on top of your contribution. It provides life cover and ill-health protection.
• lots of opportunities to develop your skills, knowledge and potential in a large unitary council
• generous leave entitlement (28 days, rising to 33 days) and bank holidays, plus the option to buy up to an extra 10 days
• hybrid and flexible working arrangements, where practicable for service needs to help you with a healthy work-life balance.

We provide a range of great benefits such as an Employee Assistance Programme, an Employee Benefits Scheme, wellbeing support, travel rates at HMRC rates, as well as supporting a range of active Employee Network Groups.

About us

Our Values and Behaviours

Our values define who we are and how we operate, by forming the foundation for how we interact with our customers, colleagues and provide our services. They are also at the forefront of our decision making and delivery and are:

Customer-focused
Respectful
Efficient
Supportive
Trustworthy

Our key commitments help ensure that the priorities we make, now and in the future, maintain the necessary breadth of focus in those areas that we believe matter most.

Disability Confident Employer

We are proud to be a recognised Disability Confident Employer and is committed to providing an inclusive recruitment process and will offer an interview to disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role.  

Our Employment and Disability Service provides bespoke support to individuals facing barriers to employment, helping them work towards their goals to start, stay and succeed in employment. For further information please click here The Employment and Disability Service (EADS) | North Northamptonshire Council

Armed Forces Community 

The council obtained the Gold status award for the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme (ERS).

Further information can be found at Jobs and careers | North Northamptonshire Council (northnorthants.gov.uk)