Planning Consultant

Job Title:

Planning Consultant

Location:

Birmingham (Agile Working)

Employment Type:

Full-time

An award-winning, market-leading specialist consultancy is seeking a Planning Consultant to join its expanding Professional Services Team during a period of sustained growth across its products and services.

Based in central Birmingham, the role operates under an Agile Working Policy, offering flexibility while requiring attendance at a state-of-the-art Birmingham office as business needs dictate.

You will be responsible for providing expert planning advice, guidance, and informed recommendations to a wide range of customers, including planning professionals, developers, local planning authorities, applicants, and members of the public, often via a national online planning platform.

• Providing online and remote planning advice on general and scheme-specific planning matters
• Preparing for customer meetings through research of local planning policy and planning history
• Producing concise written summaries following customer meetings, subject to quality assurance
• Preparing detailed Planning Consultancy reports following pre-application consultations, including:
  • Planning policy analysis
  • Planning history and constraints
  • Advice and recommendations
• Completing delegated and committee planning application reports in line with agreed KPIs, including:
  • Household residential extensions
  • Lawful Development Certificates
  • Prior Notifications
  • Advertisement Consents
  • Changes of Use
• Communicating and negotiating effectively with applicants and agents on applications, queries, and post-refusal advice
• Updating back-office systems with application progress, site visits, and evaluations
• Maintaining customer enquiry databases in line with performance targets
• Attending monthly team meetings and weekly one-to-one case conferences
• Meeting daily, weekly, and monthly KPI and production targets
• Ensuring a 'right first time' approach through high-quality, efficient output
• Updating project documentation, including daily production and quality logs
• Undertaking additional duties appropriate to the scope and grade of the role

• A relevant BA degree or equivalent RTPI-accredited planning qualification
• Excellent written communication skills with the ability to produce clear, concise planning reports
• Strong organisational skills and a focus on productivity, efficiency, and quality

• At least 6 months' experience working with planning applications
• Experience with in a Local Planning Authority or private sector consultancy

• Competitive salary
• 25 days annual leave plus bank holidays, with the option to purchase additional leave
• Pension scheme, life assurance, and employee assistance programme
• Enhanced family-friendly policies
• Flexible Agile Working approach
• Strong training, development, and progression opportunities
• Supportive and inclusive working culture