Principal | Associate Planner

Penguin Recruitment Ltd; Manchester; On-site; GBP 55,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading multi-disciplinary consultancy is seeking a Principal or Associate Spatial Planner with expertise in spatial planning to join their award-winning planning team. This role focuses on leading impactful projects across Northern England, shaping regional growth strategies, and engaging with clients from various sectors. The successful candidate will bring a strong background in planning policy and regeneration efforts, and contribute to transformative urban projects.

Benefits

Comprehensive benefits package

Access to award-winning training

Long-term career progression

Qualifications

• Extensive experience in spatial or strategic planning.
• Delivery of planning and regeneration work across North West and Yorkshire.
• Deep understanding of planning policy, funding mechanisms, and delivery strategies.

Responsibilities

• Lead preparation of local plans, regional strategies, and funding bids.
• Provide high-level advice on planning policy and place-based frameworks.
• Engage in business development and support ongoing team growth.

Skills

Planning policy

Regeneration strategies

Project leadership

Client communication

Education

RTPI Chartered Town Planner

Job description

Principal / Associate Spatial Planner – Northern England Focus
Location: Manchester, Leeds or surrounding areas
Salary: £55,000 – £75,000 (DOE) + comprehensive benefits package

Penguin Recruitment is delighted to be supporting one of the world’s leading multi-disciplinary consultancy firms in the search for a Principal or Associate Spatial Planner. With a long-standing reputation for delivering major infrastructure and development projects, this consultancy offers the chance to work on high-impact schemes across the UK and internationally.

About the Opportunity:
You’ll be joining a nationally recognised Planning team that operates in close collaboration with experts in transport, engineering, design, and environmental services. The team is deeply involved in national and regional infrastructure initiatives and provides spatial planning expertise to central government, local authorities, development corporations, and the private sector.

This is a rare opportunity to contribute to transformative projects, particularly across the North of England. You will play a key role in shaping regional growth strategies, urban regeneration projects, and infrastructure-led placemaking efforts-working at the forefront of planning policy, spatial visioning, and delivery frameworks.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead or contribute to the preparation of local plans, regional spatial strategies, infrastructure delivery studies and funding bids.

• Provide high-level advice on planning policy, regeneration strategies, and place-based planning frameworks.

• Develop strong working relationships with clients across central government, local authorities, and the private sector.

• Engage in business development, tendering, and thought leadership to support ongoing team growth.

• Contribute to complex, multi-disciplinary projects involving DCOs, TWAOs, CPOs and other planning mechanisms.

What We’re Looking For:

• RTPI Chartered Town Planner with extensive experience in spatial or strategic planning.

• A strong track record of delivering planning and regeneration work across the North West and Yorkshire regions.

• Deep understanding of planning policy, funding mechanisms, and delivery strategies within city regions.

• Excellent client-facing, communication, and project leadership skills.

• Experience with infrastructure-led regeneration, urban extensions, town centres or transport-oriented development is highly desirable.

Why Join?
This is an opportunity to work with one of the most respected planning teams in the UK, backed by a global consultancy environment with access to award-winning training, long-term career progression and some of the most ambitious infrastructure projects in the country.

Interested?
Please contact Josh Jones at Penguin Recruitment on 01792 362 010 or email [e-mail] for a confidential conversation and to receive more details.