Senior Planning Officer

Bimplus; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 40,000 - 48,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Public sector pension

Holiday entitlement

Job summary

London Borough of Ealing is seeking an experienced Career Grade Senior Planning Officer to lead the Council's response to the Heathrow DCO programme. The role involves coordinating technical input across council services and managing engagement with Heathrow Airport Limited, statutory consultees, and other stakeholders.

You will help ensure robust submissions and negotiations within fixed statutory timescales.

Qualifications

• Degree accredited by RTPI or RICS in Town and Country Planning or equivalent.
• Experience in Development Management including assessing planning applications.
• Ability to explain complex planning issues to stakeholders.
• Passion for creating sustainable and vibrant spaces benefiting the wider community.

Responsibilities

• Lead the Council's engagement on the Heathrow DCO programme and coordinate technical input across services.
• Manage engagement with Heathrow Airport Limited, statutory consultees and key stakeholders.
• Provide specialist planning expertise and prepare evidence, submissions and negotiations within statutory timescales.
• Coordinate complex technical responses, manage programme deadlines and support negotiations.
• Identify opportunities for funding and infrastructure improvements related to the DCO programme.

Skills

Stakeholder management

Development Management experience

Writing appeal statements

Team collaboration

Education

RTPI/RICS accredited degree in Town & Country Planning

Job description

Your new company

Hays are pleased to have partnered with the London Borough of Ealing to recruit a Career Grade Senior Planning Officer to join the team. The London Borough of Ealing celebrated ranking Platinum by the Planning Magazine for the decision-making service, putting them in the top 12 Authorities across the country in 2024. The council's platinum rating means it performed on average between 33-35% above the national quality threshold, meaning it was rated as the top London borough and placing it amongst the top performers in the country. The Planning team is a very stable department with the entire service being permanently employed by the Council, meaning the team acts well together to deliver a quality level of service to applicants.

Your new role

We are seeking an experienced and highly motivated planning professional to lead the Council's response to the Heathrow Development Consent Order programme - one of the most significant infrastructure planning projects affecting the borough.

This is a high-profile opportunity to play a central role in shaping the Council's engagement with a nationally significant infrastructure project. The postholder will provide specialist planning expertise, coordinate technical input across council services, and manage engagement with Heathrow Airport Limited, statutory consultees and other key stakeholders.

The successful candidate will help ensure that the Council is well positioned throughout the DCO examination and implementation process, including the preparation of evidence, submissions and negotiations within fixed statutory timescales.

The role will be critical in protecting the Council's interests and securing the best possible outcomes for local communities, including in relation to environmental impacts, transport, regeneration, housing, employment, place-shaping, infrastructure improvements and mitigation measures.

Working across Development Management, Planning Policy and wider council services, the postholder will coordinate complex technical responses, manage programme deadlines, support negotiations and help identify opportunities for funding, infrastructure improvements and community mitigation associated with the Heathrow DCO programme.

This is a role for someone who can operate confidently in a complex, fast-moving and politically sensitive environment. The successful candidate will need strong planning judgement, excellent stakeholder management skills and the ability to work collaboratively across disciplines while maintaining focus on statutory deadlines and strategic outcomes.

For the right candidate, this is an opportunity to make a tangible contribution to the Council's response to a nationally significant infrastructure project and to help influence outcomes that will affect residents, businesses and places across the borough.

What you'll need to succeed

You will be qualified with a degree accredited by the RTPI or RICS in Town and Country Planning or equivalent. You will need to have experience in Development Management, including assessing planning applications across both residential and commercial areas. You must be confident writing appeal statements and providing practical advice on development proposals, being able to explain complex planning issues to a range of stakeholders. You will need to demonstrate a passion for creating sustainable and vibrant spaces that benefit the wider community.

What you'll get in return

The service offers flexible hybrid working with one core day in the office and flexible working around that. The salary banding has recently been benchmarked and now ranges from £40000 to £48000 plus public sector pension and holiday days. The Principals and Team Leaders in the service were all promoted internally, so career progression is high on the agenda within the Borough, and they pride themselves on developing staff.

What you need to do now