Principal Planner - Service Improvements and Projects

About the job

Salary: £47,181 – £50,269 a year plus £3,203 car benefit allowance plus £5,000 market supplement allowance
Hours per week: 37
Contract type: Permanent

We have an exciting yet vital opportunity within our Planning division, where you’ll support the work of Development Management with a focus on service improvement and deputise for the Team Manager (Strategic Applications) and Team Manager (Minor Applications) in leading a team in Development Management.

You will primarily be responsible for managing the throughput of planning applications and representing the Council at Appeals under the direction of the Head of Planning, ensuring effective service provision and compliance with Council policies and practices. This will include having delegated authority to determine minor applications and instigate enforcement action.

You will take the lead on service improvement projects and initiatives for the Development Management Service, that seeks to enhance efficiencies and cost savings and strives to introduce processes that build greater relationships, networking and closer working with internal and external stakeholders.

Please note this role does not attract sponsorship.

About you

To be successful in this role you will have in-depth experience of Development Management work within a statutory town planning framework including representing the Local Planning Authority at Public Inquiries.

Excellent communication and interpersonal skills are a must for this role as you will be required to communicate with staff at all levels, as well as influencing and negotiating with developers, stakeholders, senior managers and other agencies in order to meet the council’s objectives.

You’ll have the ability to write and present clear and complex reports and policy documents, policies, project plans, business cases dealing with complex planning issues and present them at public meetings.

It is important that you have demonstrable command of the principles and practices of Town Planning and of the Enforcement provisions of the Town and Country Planning Act.

About us

Our ambitiousLuton 2040 Vision– that no-one in Luton will have to live in poverty – is at the heart of everything we do. We recognise that our people are remarkable, talented, committed and passionate about serving our residents.

The people of Luton depend heavily on this council – and that means our workforce! Are you ready to realise the remarkable and help us deliver our vision?

We welcome applications from all sections of the community and are committed to developing a workforce that reflects the diversity of our borough

Application Process

Because of the nature of this job, it will be necessary for the appropriate level of criminal record disclosure to be undertaken. This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and therefore applicants are required to declare all unspent cautions and convictions; and also any adult cautions (simple or conditional), and spent convictions that are not protected as defined by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (as amended in 2020). A person’s criminal record will not in itself prevent a person from being appointed to this post. Applicants will not be refused posts because of offences which are not relevant to, and do not place them at or make them a risk in, the role for which they are applying. However in the event of the employment being taken up, any failure to disclose such offence, as detailed above, will result in dismissal or disciplinary action by the Authority.

On occasions, we may close a vacancy early due to a very high number of applications being received.

Benefits

We offer a range of excellent staff benefits which include:

- From 25 to 32 days’ annual leave: linked to length of service and grade
- Buying annual leave scheme: buy up to 20 days additional annual leave
- Career Pathways: step up in your career or move into a specialist area
- Pension scheme: with generous employer contributions of up to 20.2 per cent (at July 2023) and 3x salary death in service grant
- Generous relocation package: up to £8,000 (subject to eligibility)
- Employee Assistance Programme: a free, 24/7 confidential counselling and wellbeing support service available to all employees, their partner or spouse and dependent children over 16 still living at home
- Work/life balance: flexible working options including working from home where possible. We welcome requests for flexible working arrangements including part-time hours and alternative working patterns
- Training and support: unlimited access to development courses, mentoring and support and clear career pathways
- Staff offers: includes discounts on your MOT, gym and fitness, restaurants and salons
- Arriva Travel Club: great value savings on local bus travel

How to apply

We understand that job applications take time and effort, but a high-quality application shows that you are professional with a good attention to detail. The recruiting manager may receive a number of applications for each job advertised so you want yours to stand out!

Our ‘How to apply' page has more tips to help with your application: How to apply

Available documents

Attached documents are available under links. Clicking a document link will initialize its download.

• download: Luton_Values_Flyer.pdf
• download: Principal Planner service improvement and projects JD (002).pdf