Principal Town Planner

Capita; Dartford; Hybrid; GBP 40,000 - 55,000; Full time

Job summary

A major consulting firm is seeking a Principal Planning Consultant to lead major planning applications, provide expert advice, and drive service improvements for Local Authority clients. The role offers a salary of £40,000 - £55,000 per annum, along with benefits such as holiday, volunteering opportunities, and professional development support.

Benefits

Discretionary annual bonus

Company pension

Paid volunteering day

Health & wellbeing benefits

Qualifications

• Minimum of 7 years of relevant experience in planning.
• Proven expertise at Planning Inquiries.
• Experience as a Principal Planning Officer in the public sector.

Responsibilities

• Process major planning applications and produce reports.
• Support junior staff and ensure knowledge dissemination.
• Provide high-quality professional advice on planning matters.

Skills

Expert witness experience

Planning Performance Agreements (PPAs)

Negotiation skills

Project management

Current and emerging planning legislation knowledge

Education

Membership of the Royal Town Planning Institute

Job description

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 Description

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 in order to obtain high-quality outcomes within given time constraints set out in our 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?

• Salary: £40,000 - £55,000 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.

At Capita, we’re committed to providing an inclusive, barrier-free recruitment process and working environment for everyone. We want everyone to have the best chance of succeeding as they move through their application and start their career with us. 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.