Assistant Urban Designer

Applefields School; Harrogate; Hybrid; GBP 32,000 - 42,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Local government pension scheme

Salary sacrifice schemes

Employee discount benefits

Job summary

The Assistant Urban Design Officer role at North Yorkshire County Council supports high quality, sustainable design across the county and contributes to Local Plan guidance and masterplanning. You will assist with documentary design advice and policy preparation, shaping future development.

The post suits recent graduates, with a focus on urban design expertise, communication skills, and cross-functional collaboration, offering hybrid working across Harrogate and base offices.

Qualifications

• Degree and relevant professional qualification in urban design or similar.
• Knowledge of urban design principles, legislation and guidance.
• Good written and oral communication skills for diverse stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Assist in a range of urban design projects from early planning to completion.
• Support preparation and review of statutory development plans and design guidance.
• Assist with masterplans, design codes and guidance to support quality placemaking.

Skills

Urban design knowledge

Communication skills

Relationship building

Planning system knowledge

Education

Degree in urban design or related field

Job description

Hours: Part-time, and Full-time contracts available

Location: Harrogate, North Yorkshire

Hybrid -You can work from home and from one of our office bases in Selby,Richmond, Scarborough, Malton, Northallerton, Skipton and Harrogate, whilst youcover an allocated part of the region.

The post would suit a recent graduate or postgraduatelooking for a first Urban Design role.

Our team

The Council’s Planning Services play a fundamentalrole in managing the natural and built environment, ensuring that the futuredevelopment needs of the area can be accommodated to make it a better place inwhich to live and work. The Environment & Design workstream comprises amultidisciplinary team of specialist disciplines, who support the council’srole in place-shaping by working across the whole planning function. Thespecialisms include archaeology, ecology, landscape, historic environment, andurban design.

Role summary

The Assistant Urban Design Officer will help toinfluence the delivery of high quality and sustainable design of buildings,spaces and landscapes across the County to deliver the Council’s place-shapingagenda.

You will assist in the provision of specialisturban design advice and have a supporting role in helping to shape thepreparation of the council’s Local Plan and other plans and strategies as wellas providing advice and supporting the quality of developmentproposals.

You will also assist the Principal Urban Designerand Environment Design Manager in the preparation of masterplans, design codesand design guidance to support the council’s proactive role in facilitatingquality place-making – including taking into account the council ambitions totackle climate change and creating a healthier North Yorkshire.

Duties and responsibilities

• Assistingin a range of urban design related projects, from the earliest planning stagesthrough to completion.
• Support andassist in the preparation, implementation, and review of statutory developmentplans by providing research to supportthe formulation of policies and assessing the impact of site allocations.
• Assist inupdating design codes, masterplans and design guidance and other advisorymaterial for agents, developers, property owners, and the general public.
• Assisting inthe organisation of workshops, training and design review undertaken by the NYCDesign Hub
• Encourageand support high standards of design in new development.
• Assist inthe preparation of evidence for public examinations and local inquiries in sofar as it relates to design to support the Principal Urban Designer andEnvironment and Design Manager
• Respond topre-application enquiries, planning applications and enforcement cases where aproposal will have significant impact.
• Assist withthe preparation of design/development briefs and provide design advice inrespect of Council owned assets.
• Advise onmitigation associated with new development.
• Assist inthe provision of design related training and briefings to develop in servicecapacity; equipping others to become more self-reliant when considering theimpact of development and opportunities to negotiate better outcomes.
• Assist inthe preparation of illustrative and written material including urban designframeworks, 3D modelling, briefs, reports, and other relevant documentation tosupport high-quality sustainable development.
• Providedesign advice and support to other groups, organisations, and individuals inline with the Council’s commercial agenda.
• Interpretdata to assist decision making.
• Communicateeffectively with colleagues, clients, and stakeholders.
• Workcollaboratively and show self-motivationusing own initiative to ensure that expectations are met for the benefitof the Council, our customers and our colleagues.
• This post would suit a recent graduate/ postgraduateseeking their first work experience post qualification.
• Knowledge of urban design, including relevantlegislation and guidance.
• Knowledge of the town and country planning system(both plan making and development management)
• Good written and oral communication skills using avariety of methods which can be tailored to a broad range of stakeholders andcustomers, including presentation techniques and report writing
• Developing effective relationships to deliverService projects and priorities.

Experience / Qualifications:

• Degree and relevant professionalqualification in urban design or similar.
• The post would suit a recent graduate/ postgraduateseeking their first work experience post qualification.
• Knowledge of urban design, including relevantlegislation and guidance.Knowledge of the town and country planning system(both plan making and development management)
• Good written and oral communication skills using avariety of methods which can be tailored to a broad range of stakeholders andcustomers, including presentation techniques and report writing
• Developing effective relationships to deliverService projects and priorities.

What can we offer you?

In addition to your salary, we offer a range of great benefits to help you financially and make life a bit easier.

These include:

• a local government pension scheme with a generous employer contribution
• salary sacrifice schemes
• employee discount benefits including shopping, supermarkets, gym discounts and more!
• travel loans
• Health Assured – confidential help and support for your wellbeing

NYC are committed to directly recruiting staff and will not accept applications nor services from agency suppliers in respect of our vacancies. We are committed to meeting the needs of our diverse community and aim to have a workforce reflecting this diversity. We are also committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and adults. We expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

North Yorkshire Councils’ purpose is to deliver services and facilities to the diverse residents and visitors of North Yorkshire. To ensure we deliver inclusive services we strive to have a diverse workforce where everybody can be themselves by respecting differences and embedding equality of opportunity. We celebrate diversity and recognise each other’s contributions; we therefore welcome applications from individuals of all backgrounds.