Principal Planning Officer – Regeneration Partner & Local Authority

Prosper Recruitment is working in partnership with a Tier 1 Contractor who are North East Lincolnshire Council’s long-term Regeneration Partner delivering a number of services on their behalf, including the planning service. This role is to support the planning service, to ensure that it delivers a first-class service to its customers and fully contributes to delivering sustainable development and growth in North East Lincolnshire. The post holder will be part of the Spatial Planning team, which deals with the preparation of development plans, supporting evidence base documents, and associated planning policy documents. The team is preparing a review of the Local Plan on behalf of North East Lincolnshire Council. Responsibilities: Prepare and contribute to work on statutory and non-statutory planning policy documents, including: The formulation of planning policies and their justification through robust evidence Preparing for and undertaking consultation and engagement activities, including attendance at public meetings Liaison with council officers regarding delivering the council’s new Local Plan Preparation of evidence for, and attendance at, public examinations, inquiries and appeals as required Work closely with other teams to support regeneration and economic growth projects Liaise with private sector developers regarding development and investment opportunities Manage their workload to deadlines, and contribute as a team member to support others to meet theirs Prepare responses to consultations including those issued by Government and local authorities Work across a broad range of environmental and socio-economic disciplines Collect, analyse and interpret evidence including statistical data Work closely with other officers to prepare evidence documents including Authority Monitoring Reports and statements of housing land supply Undertake such other duties which reasonably be expected at this level. Being responsible for preparing and contributing to work on statutory and non-statutory planning policy documents Fully supporting the wider partnership aims, ambitions and goals Assisting in the development of any schemes, projects or strategy directly associated with regeneration and economic growth The Principal Planning Officer will be responsible for contributing to the preparation and delivery of statutory planning policies which requires creativity, knowledge, skill and an awareness of cross-cutting service delivery issues. The post holder will be able to work across a variety of technical and specialist areas. The work includes responding to, and resolving, sensitive problems and issues. The planning delivery function is often one of compromise. The post holder will contribute towards ensuring that the needs of North East Lincolnshire’s communities are met, by contributing to judgements to be made about balancing the aspirations of developers with the needs of the public and environmental sustainability. These judgements can have a profound long-term impact in terms of investment decisions, legal implications and environmental consequences. The post holder will assist developers in examining and responding to a wide range of planning, investment and economic regeneration issues, and engender confidence in the delivery of long term aspirations by key agencies, investors and the community. The post holder must be an effective team player and be able to develop key relationships with stakeholders. The post holder must adopt a collaborative approach, but have the ability to challenge and influence effectively. The post holder must be able to present, provide and deliver imaginative changes over long term time horizons, within the context of existing and future aspirations and constraints. The post holder will be required to interpret and adapt to changing procedures and requirements, using creative and innovative skills to meet procedural requirements in a manner that meets critical deadlines and supports the business priorities. Qualifications or Required Experience: The post holder will: Hold a degree or diploma in town and country planning and be working towards, or willing to work towards, chartered membership of the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) Have proven written and verbal communication skills Be numerate and have proven analytical skills Have a sound knowledge of research techniques Have a knowledge of data analysis techniques which can be applied across a broad and complex range of environmental and socio-economic disciplines Have extensive ICT skills including experience in spreadsheet and database creation and maintenance, and experience in using Geographical Information Systems (GIS) software to present and analyse data. Have experience of the preparation of evidence for and appearing as a witness at development plan examinations Extensive knowledge of town and country planning legislation, the development process, and statistical methodology Ability to plan, prioritise and organise work to meet deadlines