Principal Planning Consultant

Capita; Virginia Water; Remote; GBP 40,000 - 48,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading consulting firm is seeking a Principal Planning Consultant to manage major planning applications and provide expert advice to Local Authorities. The ideal candidate will have at least 7 years of public sector experience and a membership in the Royal Town Planning Institute. This permanent role offers a salary starting at £40,000 per annum and many benefits, including flexible working arrangements.

Benefits

Starting salary of £40,000

23 days holiday (rising to 27)

Paid volunteering day

Annual bonus or car allowance

Comprehensive benefits package

Qualifications

• Minimum of 7 years of relevant experience.
• Experience as a Principal Planning Officer or Consultant.
• Full, clean UK Driving License required.

Responsibilities

• Process major planning applications promptly.
• Support junior staff and ensure team growth.
• Prepare and present evidence for appeals.

Skills

Planning Performance Agreements

Public sector expertise

Current planning legislation knowledge

Expert witness experience

Education

Member of the Royal Town Planning Institute

Job description

Overview

We’re looking for a skilled and experienced Principal Planning Consultant to join our market-leading Planning Resilience team at Capita. As the Principal Planner, you’ll lead on major planning applications, provide expert advice, and help drive service improvements for our Local Authority clients. With access to a wide range of projects and a supportive team of over 200 planning professionals, this is a chance to make a real impact—on your career and the communities we serve. This role is open to applicants across the UK and Northern Ireland.

Job title

Principal Planning Consultant

What you’ll be doing

• Process major planning applications in a timely manner, producing robust reports and recommendations to achieve desired and deliverable outcomes.
• Undertake pre-application discussions on major proposals, some under Planning Performance Agreements.
• Prepare and present evidence on appeals for external clients.
• Contribute to the delivery and improvement of business management systems, procedures and processes.
• Provide support and guidance to peers and more junior staff and ensure contemporary planning issues and legislation are cascaded and understood.
• Support the growth of the team by making a positive contribution to business development, securing repeat work and applying a commercial lens to all work undertaken.
• Provide consistently high quality professional advice on planning matters to clients, members of the public, councillors and others as necessary.
• Negotiate with applicants and a wide range of stakeholders to obtain high quality outcomes within given time constraints set out in contractual arrangements with clients.
• Provide concise, accurate, justified and timely reports and recommendations on major planning applications and pre-application discussions applying current legislation and policy changes as appropriate.
• Keep up to date with current and emerging policy development at a local, regional and national level so that clients are in a strong position to benefit from existing policies and potential changes.
• Be involved in service improvements and our business operations to ensure resilience, competitive edge, efficiency and effectiveness going forward.

What we’re looking for

Essential:

• Member of the Royal Town Planning Institute.
• Minimum of 7 years of relevant experience, including proven expertise as an expert witness at Planning Inquiries.
• Demonstrable experience working as a Principal Planning Officer or Consultant in the public sector is essential; experience across both public and private sectors would be advantageous.
• Proven ability to lead on Planning Performance Agreements (PPAs).
• A high level of knowledge, understanding and application of current and emerging planning legislation.
• Full, clean UK Driving License with the willingness to travel to meet our client requirements.

What’s in it for you?

• Starting salary: £40,000 per annum, negotiable depending on experience
• 23 days’ holiday (rising to 27) with the opportunity to buy extra leave
• The opportunity to take a paid day out of the office, volunteering for our charity partners or a cause of your choice
• A discretionary annual bonus / car allowance or company car – if applicable
• Auto-enrolment to our company pension, life assurance, a cycle2work scheme, 15 weeks’ fully paid maternity, adoption and shared parental leave, paternity pay of two weeks… and plenty more
• Voluntary benefits designed to suit your lifestyle – from discounts on retail and socialising, to health & wellbeing, travel and technology
• Access to our Employee Network Groups, which represent every strand of diversity and allow colleagues to connect and learn from each other on an open, inclusive platform

About Capita Local Public Service

Capita Public deliver services and solutions that keep the UK government including local councils running and improving services to the public. Capita Local Public Services (LPS) is a £170m business with 3,000 staff working in a matrix operating model to deliver services to over 50 clients, encompassing both Local Government and Community Health (NHS). Capita has a long and rich history working with Local Government and the NHS and both markets are central to our growth strategy for the next 5 years.

Unlock Your Potential with Capita

At Capita, your career can take you wherever your ambition leads. You are part of a diverse network of talented, forward-thinking professionals working across a wide range of disciplines and sectors. We’re committed to your growth — offering exciting opportunities to expand your skills, explore new paths, and advance your career.

Join us and discover a career with purpose. #CareersWithPurpose

Customer first, always • Fearless innovation • Achieve together • Everyone is valued

What we hope you’ll do next

Choose “Apply now” to fill out our short application, so that we can find out more about you.

Equal Opportunities

At Capita, we’re committed to providing an inclusive, barrier-free recruitment process and working environment for everyone. We are an equal opportunity and Disability Confident employer; we want to hear from you if you’d like to discuss any adjustments you might need during your recruitment process. Please email [e-mail] or call 07784 237318 and we’ll get back to you to discuss. For more information about equal opportunities and the types of adjustments we can offer, please visit the Capita Careers website. If you have a question that does not relate to adjustments during your recruitment process, please email our Talent Acquisition team - [e-mail]

Location

Home-Based - GBR United Kingdom

Time Type

Full time

Contract Type

Permanent