Principal Town Planner - Policy

AECOM; Plymouth; Hybrid; GBP 30,000 - 50,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading global infrastructure consultancy is seeking a Principal Planner to join their dynamic team. The position involves managing a town planning team, leading planning policy projects, and ensuring high-quality deliverables. The ideal candidate has significant experience in planning policy, strong interpersonal skills, and a commitment to delivery. This role offers a hybrid working model and is available on a full-time or part-time basis, allowing for flexibility to fit individual circumstances.

Benefits

Hybrid working model

Career progression opportunities

Flexible working options

Qualifications

• Significant experience in planning policy and strategy.
• Client-focused with strong relationship building skills.
• Ability to produce high-quality technical reports.

Responsibilities

• Manage the town planning team effectively.
• Lead key planning policy projects.
• Ensure projects are completed on time and budget.
• Contribute to business development and client relationships.

Skills

Planning policy experience

Interpersonal skills

Project management

Communication skills

Education

Degree in Town Planning

Membership of the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI)

Job description

Overview

Due to a significant increase in planning policy project wins and new opportunities, we are looking to bring in a Principal Planner to work with senior colleagues to manage our growing workload. We are looking for an outstanding consultant with proven experience in planning policy and strategy and project management. This is an exciting opportunity for a strategic thinker with strong interpersonal skills and a commitment to delivering high-quality work and driving business growth. You will be based in our flagship London Aldgate Tower office, though other locations may be considered, including Basingstoke, Bristol, Birmingham, Cambridge, Chesterfield, Leeds, Manchester, Nottingham, and Plymouth. We operate a hybrid working model, giving you the flexibility to balance time between our office and working from home, depending on your needs and the requirements of the role. This position is available on either a full-time or part-time basis, allowing us to tailor the role to suit your individual circumstances.

About our team: AECOM is a top ten UK planning consultancy by size, employing more than 70 Chartered or Licentiate Planners. The AECOM Planning Practice projects include some of the largest, most complex and high profile development and regeneration projects in the UK for both public and private sector clients. We are a dynamic planning team and work closely with colleagues in other related disciplines, including masterplanning, landscape, environment, sustainability, transport and economics.

Joining AECOM will provide you with opportunities for career progression within a positive culture where learning and development is actively supported and promoted. Come grow with us.

Responsibilities

• Team Leadership and Development — Participate in the successful operation and management of the town planning team.
• Planning Strategy and Expertise — Lead and assist on key planning policy projects, including supporting local authority policy and strategy development, coordination and delivery of local plan evidence studies, strategic growth studies, infrastructure strategies and other policy and strategy commissions.
• Offer strategic planning advice to other client and internal teams.
• Provide effective representation for the organisation, developing and managing relationships with clients, local authorities and other stakeholders through project work and through attendance at conferences and other networking events.
• Sharing technical knowledge and excellence.

• Project Management — Ensure projects are delivered successfully on budget and within programme timelines. Coordinate multi-disciplinary teams for seamless project execution.

• Quality Assurance and Compliance — Oversee the deliverables produced by the planning policy team. Implement and uphold quality assurance and health and safety principles.

• Business Development — Contribute to the business development strategy, nurturing client relationships. Lead and assist in the preparation of commercial tenders to secure new opportunities.

Qualifications

• Experience — Significant relevant experience of leading and contributing to planning policy and strategy development in a consultancy or public sector role.

• Client & Stakeholder Relations — Client focus, with good interpersonal skills and a collaborative working approach. Existing relationships with clients and local authorities. A business development mindset, with demonstrable experience of work winning and developing relationships with existing and new clients.

• Skills — Ability to produce high quality technical reports and excellent communication skills. Ability to work on your own initiative and under pressure.

• Quality & Commitment — High level of commitment to quality.

• Education & Professional Memberships — Degree in Town Planning or a related discipline, and membership of the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) or equivalent professional body.

Additional Information

Interested in the role or curious about life at AECOM? Follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube to explore our AECOM voices, employee stories, latest projects, and much more. For further information about the role, reach out to the recruiter on LinkedIn (annemarieflynn).

About AECOM: AECOM is the world’s trusted infrastructure consulting firm, delivering professional services throughout the project lifecycle – from advisory, planning, design and engineering to program and construction management. On projects spanning transportation, buildings, water, new energy and the environment, our public- and private-sector clients trust us to solve their most complex challenges. Our teams are driven by a common purpose to deliver a better world through our unrivaled technical and digital expertise, a culture of equity, diversity and inclusion, and a commitment to environmental, social and governance priorities. AECOM is a Fortune 500 firm and its Professional Services business had revenue of $14.4 billion in fiscal year 2023. See how we are delivering sustainable legacies for generations to come at aecom.com and @AECOM.

Freedom to Grow in a World of Opportunity: You will have the flexibility you need to do your best work with hybrid work options. Whether you’re working from an AECOM office, remote location or at a client site, you will be working in a dynamic environment where your integrity, entrepreneurial spirit and pioneering mindset are championed.

You will help us foster a safe and respectful workplace, where we invite everyone to bring their whole selves to work using their unique talents, backgrounds and expertise to create transformational outcomes for our clients.

AECOM provides a wide array of compensation, benefits and well-being programs to meet the diverse needs of our employees and their families. We’re the world’s trusted global infrastructure firm, and we’re in this together – your growth and success are ours too.

Join us, and you’ll get all the benefits of being a part of a global, publicly traded firm – access to industry-leading technology and thinking and transformational work with big impact and work flexibility. As an Equal Opportunity Employer, we believe in each person’s potential, and we’ll help you reach yours. We are a Disability Confident Employer and will offer an interview to applicants who have a disability or long-term condition, who meet the minimum/essential criteria for the role. Please let us know using this email address [e-mail] if you would like to apply through the Disability Confident Interview Scheme. All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.

ReqID: J10135113

Business Line: Environment
Business Group: DCS
Strategic Business Unit: Europe & India
Career Area: Planning
Work Location Model: Hybrid