Planning Officers

Malvern Hills and Wychavon District Councils; Redditch; On-site; GBP 30,000 - 43,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Pension scheme

Generous annual leave

Training & development

Onsite nursery

Discounted gym

Health & wellbeing support

Cycle to Work

Employee discounts

Job summary

Malvern Hills District Council and Wychavon District Council are seeking experienced Planning Officers to join a shared planning service. The role involves managing a caseload of planning applications, attending Planning Committee meetings and site visits, and working across two councils to deliver high-quality planning services.

You will need a planning qualification (MRTPI preferred) and strong knowledge of planning law.

Qualifications

• Experience handling minor and other category planning applications and householder applications.
• Comprehensive knowledge of planning law and practice.
• Qualified in town planning or substantial planning experience; MRTPI membership or clear progression toward it; commitment to CPD.

Responsibilities

• Attend regular Planning Committee meetings and undertake site visits.
• Manage a varied caseload of planning applications.
• Contribute to a joint shared planning service for Malvern Hills and Wychavon District Councils.
• Travel around the district as required; base at Malvern Council House or Pershore Civic Centre.

Skills

Planning policy understanding

Caseload management

Presentation & communication

Planning law knowledge

Computer literacy

Interpersonal skills

Education

Town planning qualification

MRTPI membership or CPD plan

Job description

The two councils have a shared Chief Executive and a joint senior management team. Whilst they retain their own political structures and distinct identities, the joint management structure allows us to maximise the opportunity to deliver a wide range of good value services to our customers and communities, and operate and develop shared services, collaborative working and partnership arrangements with each other, with other councils and with key stakeholders.

We are looking for a candidate who has:

• Experience of dealing with minor and other category planning applications as well as householder applications
• Comprehensive and up to date knowledge of planning law and practice.
• A recognised qualification in town planning or substantial experience gained within the Town Planning field.
• Full Royal Town Planning Institute (MRTPI) membership, or a willingness to work towards full membership, and be able to demonstrate a commitment to continual professional development (CPD).
• Good computer literacy.
• The ability to manage a caseload of applications.
• Excellent presentation and communication skills.

You will be required to attend regular Planning Committee meetings and undertake site visits. Therefore, the postholder must have the ability to travel around the district without the reliance of public transport. The roles will be based at either the Council House, Malvern, or the Civic Centre, Pershore. If you have a preference in your base location, please detail this in your application to be considered. Please note, whilst we will try our best to accommodate this, it will be decided upon service requirement.

Wychavon and Malvern Hills District Councils have an ambitious growth strategy and will be building over 20,000 homes and 300 hectares of employment land over the next 15 years. The strategy includes the delivery of the major new settlements at Worcestershire Parkway for 10,000 homes, combined with ambitious strategies to regenerate our existing centres such as Evesham and Droitwich this is your chance to help shape the future of some of the fastest growing Districts in the West Midlands. We have recently expanded our Planning team and are continuing to invest in the future of the service. Following a number of successful internal promotions and career progression opportunities within the team, we are now looking to appoint two Planning Officers to help support the next stage of our growth. These roles offer the opportunity to work on a varied caseload of planning applications within a supportive and ambitious service that values professional development and progression. This is a great opportunity for an experienced planning professional to develop your career and broaden your experience within an award-winning, supportive and ambitious shared planning service that was named RTPI West Midlands Local Planning Authority of the Year 2025.

Our staff are at the heart of what we do and are key to ensuring we deliver Our Council Plan (attached) to make a positive difference to our communities, our economy and our environment. We are always looking to recruit, develop and retain the very best talent we can find.

So, as well as a rewarding career, we offer a range of attractive benefits, such as:

• Excellent pension scheme with employer contributions
• Generous annual leave entitlement with options to purchase additional annual leave
• Committed training programme and development opportunities
• Onsite nursery with 20% staff discount (Pershore office)
• Discounted Gym and swim membership
• Health and Wellbeing support and a Free Employee Assistance scheme including access to counselling services
• Cycle to Work scheme
• Employee Discounts with a range of companies including EE and the Kaarp discount scheme

We are an employer that values face to face communication, collaboration and connection, therefore all our roles have an office-based requirement with some agile working as part of the role. Please note: Malvern Hills District Council does not currently offer sponsorship for candidates without the Right to Work in the UK., Malvern Hills and Wychavon District Councils are rewarding places to work, with high levels of resident satisfaction and motivated staff who enjoy working for us. Located in south Worcestershire, both districts boast beautiful natural environments, a rich heritage and plenty to do and see. The districts are ranked the top two best rural places to live in the West Midlands and are amongst the top 30 in the country. We pride ourselves on being progressive organisations spending time, energy and investment on what we know matters to our residents and communities - things like supporting our town centres and rural communities, creating jobs, keeping the streets clean, reducing our carbon footprint, helping people feel safe and preventing homelessness.

We are an employer that values face to face Communication, Collaboration and Connection, therefore all our roles have an office based requirement with some agile working as part of the role. So, as well as a rewarding career, we offer a range of attractive benefits, such as:

• Excellent pension scheme
• Generous annual leave entitlement with options to purchase additional annual leave
• Committed training programme and development opportunities
• Onsite nursery with 20% staff discount (Based at Pershore office)
• Discounted Gym and swim membership
• Health and Wellbeing support and a Free Employee Assistance scheme including access to counselling services
• Cycle to Work scheme
• Employee Discounts with a range of companies including EE and the Kaarp discount scheme.

Working with you Our staff are at the heart of what we do, and as a result we are always looking to recruit and develop the very best talent we can find. That's why, as well as providing a satisfying job, we offer a range of attractive benefits, generous holiday entitlements, a pension scheme, plenty of opportunities for personal development, and discounted gym membership.