Senior Planning Manager

Penguin Recruitment Ltd; England; On-site; GBP 80,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

A prominent UK strategic land investor seeks an experienced Senior Planning Manager to lead planning strategies for a diverse portfolio. The role involves engaging local authorities, managing consultant teams, and providing strategic advice on land acquisitions. Candidates should have at least 5 years of experience in strategic land planning and strong stakeholder management skills. Offers competitive remuneration and flexible working arrangements.

Benefits

Competitive remuneration

Flexible working arrangements

Career growth opportunities

Qualifications

• 5+ years experience in strategic land planning or land-promotion roles in the UK.
• Proven track-record of delivering planning consents on residential or mixed-use development sites.
• Strong stakeholder-management skills - confident presenting to Councils and landowners.

Responsibilities

• Lead planning promotion activities across a portfolio of strategic land sites.
• Manage consultant teams to ensure projects progress in line with programme and budget.
• Provide strategic advice on land acquisitions including planning due-diligence.

Skills

Planning consent delivery

Stakeholder management

Project management

Commercial awareness

Viability assessment

Education

Membership of relevant professional body (e.g., MRTPI)

Job description

Overview

Senior Planning Manager – Strategic Land Development
Location: Cheshire (flexible / hybrid) | Market-leading strategic land investor

We’re delighted to work exclusively with a prominent UK strategic-land investor and promoter (name withheld for confidentiality) that operates with an agile, financially strong model, acquiring land and securing permissions ahead of development. They’re now seeking an experienced Senior Planning Manager to join their growing team and lead the planning strategy for a diverse portfolio of sites.

Why this is a compelling opportunity

• You’ll work for an organisation that owns and promotes land through the planning system – offering a rare chance to shape schemes from early-stage land acquisition through to consent.
• The company is backed by significant cash reserves, enabling quick decision-making and less reliance on external funding.
• You’ll be part of a dynamic environment where your input and commercial awareness will have real impact on site-promotion outcomes and land-value realisation.

Key responsibilities

• Lead planning promotion activities across a portfolio of strategic land sites: from site appraisal, local‑plan engagement, through to submission of planning applications, S106 negotiation and securing of consent.
• Manage consultant teams (planning, technical, legal) and internal stakeholders to ensure projects progress in line with programme, budget and commercial targets.
• Provide strategic advice on land acquisitions: undertaking planning due-diligence, viability assessment, and negotiation of planning risk with the land team.
• Serve as the primary planning interface with Local Authorities, landowners, agents and other external stakeholders: presenting at committees, managing consultees and influencing strategy.
• Monitor and interpret emerging policy, Local Plan reviews, five-year land supply issues, and other planning system shifts to inform corporate land-strategy.

Candidate profile

• Membership of a relevant professional body (e.g., Royal Town Planning Institute/MRTPI or equivalent) is strongly preferred.
• A proven track-record (typically 5+ years) in strategic land planning or land-promotion roles in the UK, with experience of delivering planning consents on residential or mixed-use development sites.
• Commercially aware: able to appraise schemes, understand viability constraints, manage budgets and fees, and weigh planning risk versus reward.
• Strong stakeholder-management skills – confident presenting to Councils, land-owners and other senior parties; adept at forging relationships and influencing outcomes.
• Excellent project-management ability with multiple concurrent work-streams, strong deadlines and high-stakes decision-making.

What’s on offer

• A senior role with autonomy, working at the heart of the business’s land strategy.
• A platform for career growth: the company values internal progression and offers development opportunities.
• Competitive remuneration (to be discussed) plus benefits aligned with a senior strategic role.
• Flexible working arrangements and a supportive, entrepreneurial culture.

If you’re a planning professional ready to take the next step – to move beyond the purely application-management side of planning and into strategic land promotion where your decisions drive land-value and delivery – we’d love to hear from you.