Principal Planner - REAP | Build a New Planning Practice

Urban Legal; Sydney; On-site; AUD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary package

Real flexibility

Opportunity to build the planning team

Direct access to decision-makers

Professional development

Career progression

Autonomy

Culture of innovation

Job summary

Urban Advisers, in partnership with Urban Legal, seeks a Principal Planner – Planning & Environmental Assessment to become a key technical leader in NSW.

You will lead complex planning projects, manage REAP accreditation, engage with DPHI and councils, and mentor junior planners as the practice grows. This is a genuine opportunity to shape a new planning consultancy with modern systems and strong client-facing responsibilities.

Qualifications

• Current REAP accreditation is mandatory.
• A relevant tertiary planning qualification.
• Substantial NSW planning and environmental assessment experience.
• Demonstrated experience leading complex development and State significant development projects.
• Excellent knowledge of the NSW planning system.
• Ability to produce and review planning work to an exceptionally high standard.
• Credibility dealing directly with clients, DPHI, councils and other government agencies.
• Strong commercial and strategic judgement; independence to lead complex projects.

Responsibilities

• Lead planning and approvals strategies for complex projects.
• Lead and review EISs, SEEs, planning reports and environmental assessment documentation.
• Perform REAP review and quality assurance functions.
• Lead State significant development and other complex statutory planning processes.
• Advise clients on planning strategy, risk and pathways to approval.
• Lead engagement and negotiations with DPHI, councils and government agencies.
• Coordinate multidisciplinary consultant teams.
• Identify problems early and drive practical solutions.
• Take ownership of projects from strategy through approval; mentor planners.

Skills

REAP accreditation

Client engagement

Strategic judgement

Leadership

Education

Tertiary planning qualification

Job description

Principal Planner - REAP | Build a New Planning Practice

We’re building a planning practice. We want someone exceptional to help build it.

This position is being advertised by Urban Legal on behalf of Urban Advisers, our new related planning, engineering and project-delivery consultancy. The successful candidate will join Urban Advisers and will become one of the foundational members of its planning practice.

Urban Advisers brings together planning, project management, engineering and construction expertise to help clients get complex projects delivered. While it works closely with Urban Legal, it is a separate consultancy with its own team, services and ambitions.

Urban Advisers is led by Alyce Kliese, founder and Managing Partner of Urban Legal and a dual-qualified planning and environment lawyer and civil engineer, together with Mark Cremona, a civil engineer with more than 25 years’ experience delivering complex infrastructure and development projects. Alyce and Mark are actively involved in running Urban Advisers, supporting its people and delivering outcomes for clients.

We are now looking for a Principal Planner – Planning & Environmental Assessment to become a key technical leader in our planning practice.

This isn't a role where you'll inherit a desk, a utilisation target and a stack of reports to churn through.

We want a genuinely top-tier NSW planner who knows their craft, can sit across the table from a client or government agency with credibility, and wants the opportunity to help shape what an excellent planning consultancy looks like.

Current REAP accreditation is mandatory.

The role

You will lead complex planning and environmental assessment projects across NSW, with a particular focus on major development, State significant projects and complex approval pathways.

You’ll work directly with clients, government agencies, technical specialists and the Urban Advisers leadership team.

You will:

• lead planning and approvals strategies for complex projects;
• lead and critically review EISs, SEEs, planning reports and environmental assessment documentation;
• perform REAP review and quality assurance functions;
• lead State significant development and other complex statutory planning processes;
• advise clients on planning strategy, risk and pathways to approval;
• lead engagement and negotiations with DPHI, councils and government agencies;
• coordinate multidisciplinary consultant teams;
• dentify problems early and drive practical solutions;
• take genuine ownership of projects from strategy through approval;
• mentor and develop planners as we grow the team; and
• help build the systems, standards, reputation and client base of the Urban Advisers planning practice.

Who we're looking for

Technical capability matters enormously to us.

You will need:

• current Registered Environmental Assessment Practitioner (REAP) accreditation – this is essential;
• a relevant tertiary planning qualification;
• substantial NSW planning and environmental assessment experience;
• demonstrated experience leading complex development and State significant development projects;
• excellent knowledge of the NSW planning system;
• the ability to produce and review planning work to an exceptionally high standard;
• credibility dealing directly with clients, DPHI, councils and other government agencies;
• strong commercial and strategic judgement; and
• the confidence to independently lead complex projects.

But we’re also looking for something beyond the CV.

We want someone who takes ownership.

Someone who doesn't consider the job finished because the report has been lodged or the email has been sent.

Someone who asks what are we actually trying to achieve here?, sees problems coming, picks up the phone, gets the right people around the table and drives things forward.

What you get

We expect a lot from this person. You should expect a lot from us too.

• A very competitive salary package – we're looking for a genuinely top-tier person and we're prepared to pay accordingly.
• Real flexibility – not “flexible working” that actually means being in the office four prescribed days a week. We care about clients, your team and the quality of your work. We don’t care about presenteeism.
• A genuine opportunity to build something – you'll have a meaningful say in how we build the planning practice, who we recruit, the work we pursue and the culture we create.
• Direct access to the decision-makers – we're deliberately building a business without unnecessary layers of management.
• Cross-disciplinary professional development – learn alongside experienced planners, engineers, project managers and lawyers, including structured technical training and exposure to issues beyond your immediate discipline.
• Investment in your development – professional memberships, relevant conferences, technical training and continuing professional development that actually advances your career.
• Excellent work – complex, interesting projects where your judgement matters and you can see the impact of your advice.
• Autonomy – we'll hire you because you're excellent at what you do and give you room to do it.
• A voice in the business – good ideas don't need to travel through five layers of approval before anyone listens to them.
• The opportunity to build a team around you – as the planning practice grows, you'll play a meaningful role in recruiting, mentoring and developing the people who join it.
• Career progression without waiting for someone to leave – we're growing. Your opportunity won't depend on a position above you becoming vacant.
• Modern systems and genuine support – we want our technical people spending their time on high-value work, not fighting broken processes or unnecessary administration.
• Recognition for contribution – if you help grow the practice, build client relationships and create value for the business, we want that contribution to be recognised.
• A culture you get to help create – rather than joining a business and being told “this is how we’ve always done it”, you'll be there while we’re deciding how we want things to be done.

Most importantly, we want this to be somewhere exceptional people can do exceptional work without having to put up with the BS that too often comes with professional services.

Why Urban Advisers?

Because you won’t be joining a planning machine.

You’ll be helping build the planning practice.

You’ll have a genuine opportunity to influence:

• the projects we pursue;
• the clients we work with;
• how we deliver planning advice;
• the people we recruit;
• the systems and standards we establish; and
• what the planning team ultimately becomes.

You’ll also work alongside people with experience across planning, engineering, construction, project delivery and law - because we think the best planning advice comes from understanding the whole project, not just the planning report.

We have ambitious plans for Urban Advisers and we want this person to be an important part of them.