Senior Planner

Borough of Lambeth; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 47,000 - 52,000; Full time

Job summary

A local government council in Greater London is seeking a Senior Planner to join their Development Management team on a 12-month Fixed Term Contract. The role involves negotiating development outcomes, assisting with planning applications, and integrating both existing and future planning systems. Candidates should have a degree in Town Planning, extensive planning application experience, and a passion for service improvement. The position offers competitive compensation and promotes a flexible, inclusive work environment.

Benefits

Competitive salary

Hybrid working arrangements

Commitment to diversity and inclusion

Qualifications

• Significant experience in dealing with planning application caseloads including major/complex applications.
• Experience providing advice to Councillors and public on planning matters.
• Track record in service improvement and business processes refinement.

Responsibilities

• Negotiate development outcomes in a positive manner.
• Present applications to the Planning Applications Committee.
• Support pre-applications and planning applications.
• Collaborate effectively with the Digital Innovation team.

Skills

Knowledge of planning legislation

Effective communication

Experience in development management

Ability to work collaboratively

User centred design

Education

RTPI-recognised degree in Town Planning or equivalent

Tools

Uniform/Idox

Plan X

Job description

Senior Planner: REF: 2617
PO2 Career Graded to PO3 £47,925 rising in annual increments £51,228 pa inc LW
The post’s salary attracts a market supplement of 7% per month
12 Months Secondment Opportunity / Fixed Term Contract and Full Time

About Us:

It is an exciting time to join Lambeth Council,we have bold ambitions for the future of Lambeth’s communities and residents through our Lambeth 2030 Plan ‘Our Future, Our Lambeth. To deliver on these ambitions, we have embarked our transformational One Lambeth Programme ensuring we are ‘connected by purpose,’ in everything we do to deliver excellence. We are proud to have recently developed a refreshed set of One Lambeth Values and Behaviours that were developed for staff by staff;Equity, Ambition, Kindness, and Accountability. For more information, please have a look at our dedicated One Lambeth Values and Behaviours page.

About the Borough:

Located in the heart of South London, Lambeth Borough is a vibrant community of over 317,600 residents. Stretching from the dynamic neighbourhood of Streatham in the South to the iconic landmarks of Waterloo in the North, we are proud to be the 9th largest borough in London. Our diversity is our strength, with more than 130 languages spoken, making Lambeth the home of the Windrush generation, London's largest LGBTQ+ community, and a thriving Portuguese-speaking community.

With exceptional schools, lush green spaces including Brockwell Park, cultural gems like the Black Cultural Archives, and world-renowned institutions such as St Thomas's Hospital, Lambeth offers an enriching and dynamic environment.

About the Team:

The role sits in our Development Management team and provides a perfect opportunity for successful candidates to thrive and progress in their planning career developing important skills on exciting and challenging planning applications.

There are three Area Teams within Development Management, each covering a number of diverse wards across the Borough and wide range of application types and scale. The Team also works closely with the Digital Innovation Team who are integral to the digital development and architecture of the future Planning system heading up Plan X, Back Office Planning System, the Digital Site Notices and other related key innovative digital projects.

This position offers an opportunity to join our dynamic management team and be at the forefront of developing new and innovative working practices. We are looking for an enthusiastic and forward-thinking Senior Planning Officer to be part of our team.

We are forward thinking in approach towards equality, inclusivity, and diversity and pride ourselves on flexible and hybrid working arrangements.

About the Role:

We have a 12-month Fixed Term Contract, Senior Planning Officer opportunity within our Development Management service. The successful candidate needs to negotiate the best possible development outcomes in a positive, and solutions led manner and help deliver a high-performing service.

The postholder will work in a matrix way, being an integral part of the Development Management Team through dealing effectively with pre-applications, planning applications and appeals and supporting. This role will involve dual processing applications through both the existing system (Uniform/Idox) and the future Planning system (Plan X, Back Office Planning System (BOPS)), testing the tools including providing data and feedback to further develop their user centred design, as directed, and working collaboratively with the to the Digital Innovation team.

The successful candidate will be expected to present applications to the Planning Applications Committee, and to ensure reports and other documents prepared are of a high standard.

Candidates will be expected to demonstrate a significant level of experience and knowledge of Development Management, ideally in a busy metropolitan area; and that they are an effective communicator who can engage well with colleagues, developers, investors, partners and residents and build good relationships with Members of the Planning Applications Committee.

To be considered for interview, your CV and supporting statement will clearly evidence:

• Thorough knowledge of all relevant planning legislation, policies and procedures.
• An RTPI-recognised degree level qualification in Town Planning or equivalent
• Eligible for Membership of the Royal Town Planning Institute.
• Experience of development management work with responsibility for dealing with a planning application caseload that includes major and/or complex applications.
• Experience of providing advice to Councillors, senior officers, developers and the public on all aspects of planning applications and related matters.
• Experience of providing supervision and/or guidance to more junior staff to ensure that applications are reported in line with target dates and in accordance with agreed procedures.
• Able to demonstrate a track record of, and a genuine enthusiasm for, service improvement, user centred design, research and analysis to improve outcomes, and business processes improvement.
• Focuses on people
• Works Collaboratively
• Demonstrates One Lambeth Values

For detailed qualifications and requirements, please review the job description and person specification in hyperlink below:

Job Description & Person Specification

You will be required to undertake a Cifas check. Further information about Cifas can be found here

Contact Information:

For an informal discussion about the role, please contact Kiri Shuttleworth at [e-mail]

Recruitment Timelines:

Closing date: 11:59pm Sunday 01 February 2026.

Please cleck here to view: Lambeth Staff Benefits

At Lambeth, we are dedicated to providing quality services and equal opportunities for all. We are committed to safer recruitment and are proud to be a Stonewall diversity champion, a Living Wage Employer, and to guarantee interviews for all disabled candidates who meet the minimum criteria of the role. For a full list of our accreditations, please click here.

We actively support applications from Lambeth Care Leavers