Lead Officer - Planning Enforcement (Majors)

About the Borough

Found in zone 6 with good transport links in and out of London, Kingston is a vibrant and diverse university town which creates the rich sense of community shared across the borough and its Residents. Kingston boasts an idyllic riverside location, good shopping and great restaurants, as well as a mix of modern and historic town centre. Kingston has lots of open parklands and cycle routes that help connect the district town centres into an enjoyable place to live and work.

We are passionate about working closely with our residents and vulnerable groups to help them maintain their independence and create a balance between support and independent living.

About the Service and Team

Shape Strategic Growth. Lead Complex Development. Deliver Excellence for Kingston.

We’re looking for an outstanding planning professional to lead Kingston’s major applications service — a pivotal role at the centre of one of London’s most ambitious and diverse planning contexts. If you’re motivated by complex growth challenges, high‑profile regeneration, strategic partnerships and the opportunity to influence Kingston’s future places, this is the role for you.

Why Kingston?
Kingston faces significant growth pressures, ambitious regeneration opportunities and evolving London Plan requirements. From major brownfield redevelopment and town centre intensification to sensitive heritage settings and climate‑positive design expectations, Kingston’s planning landscape is as challenging as it is rewarding. You’ll be at the forefront of delivering the borough’s most strategically important developments.

About the Role and Our Ideal Candidate

What you’ll do:

• Lead and coordinate all aspects of the planning process for major, strategic and complex planning applications, ensuring high‑quality, timely and defensible decisions.
• Provide authoritative technical advice on planning legislation, the London Plan, Kingston’s Local Plan and all material considerations.
• Project‑manage Planning Performance Agreements (PPAs), negotiating robust and deliverable programmes with applicants and consultees.
• Oversee committee reports, Member briefings, design review submissions and key outputs, ensuring clarity, transparency and high standards.
• Represent the Council at Planning Committee, briefings and major stakeholder meetings.
• Act as expert witness at hearings and public inquiries for major applications.
• Lead negotiations on planning obligations, affordable housing, viability, infrastructure requirements and delivery mechanisms.
• Champion design quality, inclusive placemaking, climate resilience and sustainable development outcomes.
• Build strong working relationships with developers, the GLA, TfL, statutory bodies, community stakeholders and internal services.
• Provide visible leadership, coaching and quality assurance to Principal, Senior and Planning Officers.
• Support service modernisation, digital transformation, performance improvements and innovation.
• Contribute to corporate initiatives linked to regeneration, sustainability, infrastructure planning and inclusive growth.
• Deputise for the Corporate Head of Planning when required.

What we’re looking for:

• Degree in Town Planning or a closely related built‑environment discipline.
• Chartered Membership of the RTPI (or eligible for chartered status).
• Extensive experience managing major and complex planning applications in a London or high‑density urban authority.
• Proven ability to lead multidisciplinary teams, influence senior stakeholders and deliver high‑quality, sustainable development outcomes.
• Strong understanding of urban design, climate action, infrastructure planning and best practice in major development management.
• Confidence and clarity in Member engagement, committee presentation and political environments.
• Significant experience negotiating S106 agreements, viability and infrastructure contributions.
• Excellent communication, project management and problem‑solving skills.

Our values matter.
As a Lead Officer, you’ll model Kingston’s STAR values — being:

• Supportive – promoting collaboration, innovation and continuous improvement
• Transparent – fostering open, clear and constructive communication
• Appreciative – recognising success and supporting staff wellbeing
• Respectful – valuing inclusion, equity and positive relationships

Join us and lead Kingston’s major planning work — influencing strategic development, strengthening community outcomes and helping shape one of London’s most dynamic boroughs.

Our Offer to You

As an organisation that values and nurtures talent, we’re committed to helping you fulfil your potential and will offer you a supportive, friendly and collaborative environment to grow and develop your career and skills. We’re constantly striving to improve our ways of working so putting your ideas across however big or small; will be fully encouraged and supported by your colleagues and our dynamic and experienced management team.

Employees have access to a wide range of benefits to enable staff to achieve a work life balance, some of which include:

• A generous annual leave entitlement of 25-32 days, plus bank holidays (pro-rata if part-time working hours apply) depending on service and grade.
• Enhanced Maternity, Paternity, shared parental, adoption and dependents leave
• Three volunteering days per year in Kingston
• Hybrid working (dependent on the role)
• Flexible and agile working arrangements using Google Chromebooks
• Learning and development portal offering a range of courses
• Discounts on a range of local shops, restaurants, gyms and leisure centres
• Interest free season ticket loans
• Local Government Pension Scheme
• Bicycle loan facilities and cycle to work scheme
• Electric vehicle leasing scheme
• Confidential health & wellbeing and counselling support

Application Process

For more information and to apply, please visit www.kingstonjobs.co.uk

Penna are managing this recruitment campaign on our behalf as our trusted Recruitment Partners.

Apply online outlining what skills, abilities and experience you can bring which makes you an ideal candidate for this role. Please refer to the requirements outlined in the job profile when completing your application.

We understand and recognise the benefits of using Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the workplace and are embracing AI where appropriate, to boost our productivity and streamline how we deliver our Council services efficiently; to provide the best possible outcomes for our residents and communities.
However, we reserve the right to reject applications where it is apparent that AI-generated content has been used in isolation and without personalised responses. At Kingston we value authenticity and are looking for individuals who can clearly demonstrate their own skills, experience and motivation for the role that they are applying for and embrace and demonstrate our STAR values.
Here at Kingston we have core values of Transparency and this is to be demonstrated during the application process and completion of the supporting statement and will be further tested at interview and selection stage for those who progress forward.

Additional Information

We are proud to be a diverse and welcoming Borough and we strive to create a workforce which reflects the community we serve, and instil a sense of belonging in our staff. We celebrate and respect differences and appreciate the value of having a diverse workforce, therefore we welcome applications from under represented groups.

To support our workers and their families we offer a range of family friendly, inclusive employment policies, flexible working arrangements, staff engagement forums and inclusive staff networks who help drive our diversity agenda.

We are also proud to be a disability confident employer and guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum essential criteria for a role. As an accredited London Living Wage Employer all our employees are guaranteed the London Living Wage regardless of their length or type of contract.

The UK has a points-based immigration system affecting EU and Non-EU workers and sponsorship requirements. We advise checking the GOV.UK website for right to work guidance. Sponsorship availability varies and is subject to eligibility requirements and budget limitations. As a result, we cannot guarantee sponsorship for all roles and will evaluate sponsorship requests on a case-by-case basis.