Principal Planner

Golearnleicestershire; East Midlands; Hybrid; GBP 42,000 - 46,000; Full time

Job summary

Nottingham City Council is seeking a Principal Planning Officer to lead a varied and high-profile caseload, guiding development proposals from pre-application discussions through negotiation to decision. You will work with developers, landowners and communities to secure sustainable outcomes and robust recommendations.

The role offers hybrid working, opportunities to mentor junior officers, and the chance to shape Nottingham's urban regeneration, housing growth and heritage projects while

Qualifications

• Degree in Town Planning or related discipline accredited by RTPI; postgraduate planning qualification.
• Substantial development management experience with major/complex proposals.
• Thorough knowledge of planning legislation and policy.
• Strong analytical and professional judgement.
• Excellent communication, stakeholder-management and negotiation skills.

Responsibilities

• Manage a varied caseload of major and high-profile development proposals from pre-application to decision.
• Prepare robust reports, negotiate improvements and represent the Council at appeals or inquiries.
• Mentor less experienced planning officers to ensure high-quality decisions.

Skills

Town Planning degree

Planning legislation knowledge

Analytical skills

Communication

Negotiation

Education

RTPI-accredited planning degree + postgraduate planning qualification

Job description

Contract Type: Permanent

Working Hours: 37 hours per week

Worker Type: Hybrid Worker

Salary: Starting salary is £42,123, rising to £45,529 per annum (pro-rata for part-time) A £5,000 per annum market supplement is also currently payable for this post.

Location: Loxley House, Station Street, Nottingham, NG2 3NG

We've got an exciting opportunity available for talented individuals to join our workforce. Perhaps this is the opportunity you've been looking for? Read on to find out more.

Working for Nottingham City Council has great benefits. As well as competitive pay, great leave entitlement and access to a generous pension scheme, we strive to create an innovative, inclusive and progressive work culture where everyone is supported to do and be their very best.

In return, we are looking for people like you: people who are innovative, driven and committed to serving and improving Nottingham. If you are passionate about making a difference to the lives of those who live and work in our city, we want to hear from you.

* You can read more about the different benefits offered to colleagues working for Nottingham City Council here.

About the Role

Nottingham is a Core City with ambitious plans for growth, regeneration and investment. To help deliver that ambition, we need a Development Management service that is recognised as one of the most modern, effective and forward-looking in the country.

We are looking for a Principal Planning Officer to join our Planning team and take the lead on a varied caseload of major, complex and high-profile development proposals. You will manage applications from initial pre-application discussions through negotiation, assessment and decision-making, helping to secure high-quality and sustainable development across the city.

The role will involve working closely with developers, agents, landowners, councillors, local communities, internal specialists and external agencies. You will prepare and present clear, robust reports, negotiate improvements to development proposals and, where required, represent the Council at appeals, public inquiries and court proceedings. You will also help mentor and develop less experienced planning officers, sharing your knowledge and supporting consistent, high-quality decision-making across the team.

This is a strong opportunity for an experienced planner who wants to work on challenging and important proposals in a dense and varied urban environment. Nottingham offers everything from major regeneration and city-centre development to heritage assets, housing growth, neighbourhood investment and complex urban design issues. You will have room to exercise professional judgement, influence outcomes and make a visible contribution to the future of the city.

We are also investing in better systems, data and technology so that planners can spend less time on administration and more time applying their professional expertise. You can find out more about careers and development within our wider service on our Building Control careers page.

About You

The ideal candidate will have:

• A degree in Town Planning or a related discipline accredited by the Royal Town Planning Institute, together with an appropriate postgraduate planning qualification.
• Substantial development management experience, including responsibility for major, complex or high-profile planning applications.
• Thorough knowledge of planning legislation, national and local planning policy, statutory processes and current development management practice.
• Strong analytical and professional judgement, with the ability to assess complex proposals and technical information and produce clear, robust recommendations.
• Excellent communication, stakeholder-management and negotiation skills, including the ability to explain complex planning matters and work confidently with developers, communities, councillors and senior stakeholders.

The role requires someone who can manage a substantial workload, work effectively under pressure and take ownership of progressing complex cases. You should be pragmatic and solutions-focused, while maintaining professional standards and ensuring that decisions are legally and procedurally robust.

You can find the job description for this post here.

At Nottingham City Council we believe that work is what you do, not where you do it. We offer different working arrangements, depending on the role, including hybrid working. Further information on Worker Types and what these mean in terms of how and where you work can be found on the additional information for applicants page.

For informal enquiries please contact Matt Ralfe, Head of Development Management, by telephone on 07904892214 or by email at [e-mail]

Closing Date: 30th November 2026

Please note there may be occasions where we close the advert before the closing date and we encourage you to apply as soon as possible.

Interviews will be held: w/c 7th December 2026

If you have any technical issues when completing your application, please contact our Employee Service Centre: https://emss.org.uk/support

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