Senior Planning Policy Officer

West Northants Council; Towcester; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A local government authority in Towcester is seeking a proactive professional to join its Planning Service team. The successful candidate will deliver high-quality planning services, providing expert guidance and engaging with various stakeholders. Responsibilities include handling customer enquiries, analyzing planning data, and supporting policy development. Ideal candidates will be dedicated, innovative, and committed to excellent customer service.

Qualifications

• Proactive and dedicated attitude.
• Strong customer service skills.
• Ability to engage with diverse stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Handle customer enquiries and complaints.
• Maintain and analyze planning data.
• Develop and implement planning documents.
• Research national and regional planning frameworks.
• Support the Council's place-shaping vision.

Job description

Overview

We are seeking a proactive and dedicated professional to join our Planning Service team and help deliver high-quality planning services that make a real difference. In this dynamic role you will be at the forefront of providing excellent customer service, engaging with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders—including members of the public, Councillors, and MPs—ensuring every interaction reflects our commitment to responsiveness, professionalism, and care.

Responsibilities

• Supporting the smooth and timely handling of customer enquiries, feedback, and complaints.
• Assisting with the maintenance and analysis of planning data to help meet and exceed performance targets.
• Contributing to the development and implementation of Local and Neighbourhood Plans, Supplementary Planning Documents, and broader planning policy.
• Providing up-to-date research and advice on national and regional planning frameworks, ensuring the Council remains aligned with statutory requirements and best practice.
• Playing a central role in delivering the Council's place-shaping vision—facilitating the right developments in the right places at the right time.

What you will be doing

In this role you will help deliver high-level, expert planning policy guidance and insight to the Council, driving decisions in alignment with Town and Country Planning legislation and beyond. You will support the effective delivery of our planning functions, working positively and flexibly to help achieve the Council's strategic objectives, and you will be at the forefront of providing excellent customer service to a wide range of stakeholders.

Benefits

Our benefits include a full list of employee benefits on our careers site. You should work for us to explore the full range of opportunities available.

Culture and values

At West Northants Council, it's about our people. People who thrive with ambition, bubble with new ideas, demand better ways of working, care about every detail, and never shy away from a challenge. Our culture is a gateway for new experiences—a place to forge new opportunities. THRIVE stands for Trust, High Performance, Respect, Innovate and Empower, and underpins everything we do and how we deliver services. Hear more from our Chief Executive about what it's like to work at West Northants Council.

DEI and inclusion We are committed to ensuring diversity, equality, equity, and inclusion is woven into the fabric of WNC and everything we do, to enable all colleagues to develop and maximize their full potential. We are a disability confident employer, a member of the Armed Forces Covenant, and a Care Leaver Covenant partner. The following film was created by us to communicate our intentions - watch WNC colleagues explain what DEI means to us.