Associate Planner

Penguin Recruitment Ltd; West of England; Hybrid; GBP 50,000 - 60,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

32 days annual leave

Birthday leave and wellbeing day

Private healthcare

Medicash cashback

Gym membership contribution 50%

Cycle to work scheme

Life assurance

Enhanced maternity/paternity leave

Professional membership support

CPD and training programme

Career progression opportunities

Job summary

Penguin Recruitment Ltd in Bristol seeks an experienced Senior Planner / Associate to join its growing planning team. The role offers hybrid working, managing diverse planning projects and delivering high-quality advice to clients while supporting senior leaders and business development.

The successful candidate will be a Chartered RTPI member with strong planning consultancy experience and a track record of developing client relationships.

Qualifications

• Chartered RTPI membership and a strong planning background.
• Experience delivering planning projects for clients in a consultancy setting.
• Proven ability to lead teams, mentor junior staff and contribute to business growth.
• Excellent knowledge of the UK planning system and planning policy.

Responsibilities

• Manage a range of planning projects and provide high-quality advice to clients.
• Support senior leadership and contribute to growth of the planning team.
• Take ownership of projects, develop client relationships and assist in business development.
• Supervise and mentor junior team members and contribute to CPD.

Skills

Chartered RTPI membership

Planning consultancy experience

Leadership and mentoring

Job description

Senior Planner / Associate – Bristol

Salary: £50,000/£60,000 + Performance Bonus

Hybrid Working

A leading multi-disciplinary property consultancy is looking to appoint an experienced and commercially minded Senior Planner / Associate to join its growing team in Bristol.

This is an excellent opportunity for a Chartered Town Planner looking to take the next step in their career, with the opportunity to work on nationally significant projects, develop key client relationships and play an active role in the strategic growth of the business.

Benefits

• Competitive salary and performance-related bonus
• Flexible and hybrid working
• 32 days’ annual leave, excluding bank holidays
• Birthday leave and a dedicated wellbeing day
• Private healthcare
• Medicash cashback scheme
• 50% gym membership contribution
• Cycle to work scheme
• Life assurance
• Enhanced maternity and paternity leave
• Professional membership support
• Structured CPD and training programme
• Excellent career progression and leadership opportunities
• Access to multidisciplinary expertise across the wider business

The Role

You will be responsible for managing a range of planning projects, providing high-quality professional advice to clients while supporting senior leadership and contributing to the continued growth of the planning team.

The role offers a high degree of autonomy, with opportunities to take ownership of projects, develop client relationships and contribute to business development and work-winning activities.

Key Responsibilities

• Managing and delivering planning projects in line with agreed client requirements and deadlines.
• Acting as the planning practitioner on a range of projects.
• Managing project programmes, reviews, invoicing, work in progress and debtors.
• Preparing and reviewing high-quality planning reports and professional documentation.
• Ensuring project outputs meet required quality assurance standards.
• Preparing project plans and fee agreements.
• Providing planning advice and representing clients at public meetings where required.
• Developing and maintaining strong client relationships.
• Supporting Partners with client management and business development.
• Contributing to work-winning, marketing and wider business development activities.
• Supervising and mentoring junior members of the planning team.
• Supporting staff development, including CPD, training and performance management.
• Maintaining strong technical knowledge across town planning.
• Contributing to your own professional development through CPD, training and industry knowledge.

About You

The successful candidate will be a Chartered Member of the RTPI with a strong background in planning consultancy and a genuine ambition to progress into senior leadership.

You will ideally have:

• Chartered RTPI membership.
• Strong experience within a planning consultancy environment.
• Excellent knowledge of the UK planning system and relevant planning policy.
• Proven experience managing planning projects.
• Strong client management and relationship-building skills.
• Commercial awareness and an entrepreneurial approach.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Strong professional report-writing abilities.
• Experience mentoring or managing junior planning professionals.
• A strategic and solutions-focused approach to problem solving.
• The ambition and motivation to contribute to business growth.
• A collaborative approach to leadership and team development.

Career Progression

This position offers the opportunity to take on greater leadership responsibility, influence strategic decision-making and work on nationally significant projects, while developing your career within a highly collaborative multidisciplinary consultancy.