Principal Planner - Policy

Principal Planner - Policy
£40,869 - £48,819 per annum

About us

Newham will offer you a unique working environment within a London borough that is at the centre of many of Europe’s most exciting regeneration projects - including the Royal Docks (soon to be the new location for the Mayor of London’s City Hall) and Stratford - building thousands of new homes and creating thousands of new jobs, creating opportunities and benefits for the Borough as a whole.

Over the last two years, the Council has adopted a number of key corporate strategies – these include a declaration of climate emergency, underpinned by the objective to make the London Borough of Newham carbon neutral by 2030 and carbon zero by 2050; a Covid Recovery Plan focusing on how the Council can help support residents and businesses to not just recover from Covid-19 but build a stronger Newham for the future; and Community Wealth Building: an inclusive economic approach that aims to address poverty in the borough as well ensure that investment coming into Newham benefits all residents.

Alongside these corporate priorities, the Planning Service is involved in the delivery of c.2800 new homes targeted per year, 31 Strategic Sites, an Enterprise Zone, emerging Opportunity Area Planning Framework, large scale and distinctive employment-generating schemes, and major infrastructure projects underway.

Newham offers many career-defining opportunities to work at pace, at scale, and on innovative responses to complex issues. We are evolving in how we deliver services to our residents and businesses, with investment in new ICT to enable our staff to work remotely and be closer to the communities we serve.

Newham has a flexible working policy and we are open to considering proposals as to the exact pattern of work, such that hours can be arranged around you and your family's needs, as well as our business needs.

About the Job

As development and investment in the London moves steadily eastwards, Newham’s important strategic role continues to grow.

The role is based in the Planning Policy Team, working alongside Development Management and the Investment Teams to shape development in the borough to ensure it meets our needs and aspirations.

Planning Policy is entering an exciting phase in Newham: having adopted our Local Plan in 2018, the Council is embarking on an early review, focussing on high quality homes to meet residents’ needs as well as embedding the Council’s Covid Recovery Plan and community wealth building principals and responding to the climate emergency. This new Plan will be developed with our community, using co-production and innovative engagement methods.

As well as developing a new Plan, the Policy Team work closely with Regeneration colleagues, the GLA and other partners to realise our vision through masterplanning and other delivery-focused projects. The team is also involved in the pre-application process for major and other complex sites. We are known as a team for our responsive, pragmatic and positive approaches to the policy context, receiving national recognition for our cutting edge cumulative impact policy.

The post requires an appreciation and critical understanding of planning legislation and national and regional policy; a robust understanding of the importance of stakeholder and public engagement; and the ability to manage a complex and varied array of tasks and responsibilities to drive forward key projects individually and as part of a team.

If you want to help shape this part of London, turning our vision into reality – and leaving a lasting legacy for all its communities – come and join the team!

The post is career graded, with appointment to a particular grade, and progression between grades dependent on experience and performance.

About You

You will be a knowledgeable and experienced Planner, confident in tackling new challenges and flexible in your approach to your work to allow you to adapt and meet the needs of the service. You should be able to lead, innovate and organise, while also inspiring and nurturing the talent and interest of other team members.

You will be politically astute with an appreciation of London and national politics and implications for planning and infrastructure delivery. You will be able to communicate complex and technical information accessibly to a range of audiences and build successful professional relationships both within the Council and with external stakeholders.

We are looking for people with experience in Planning Policy teams particularly in community engagement and the development of site allocations.

Please note that the qualifications section of the person specification will be used as a minimum short-listing criteria.

Applying for this role

Please submit your application via the online portal, including providing details of your education and qualifications and work history. All applications should be accompanied by a supporting statement which outlines how you meet the requirements of the person specification. Your application needs to demonstrate clearly and concisely how you meet each of the criteria. Please give specific examples wherever possible. CVs are not accepted.

Closing Date: 25th April 2021

Please View Principal Planner - POLICY Job Description

If you wish to informally discuss the role itself, please contact Ellie Kuper Thomas on ellie.kuperthomas@newham.gov.uk or 020 3373 0828.

Additional information

Newham has a flexible working policy and we are open to considering proposals as to the exact pattern of work, such that hours can be arranged around you and your family's needs, as well as our business needs.

The London Borough of Newham is a Disability Confident employer. Candidates who declare that they have a disability in accordance with the Equality Act 2010 and meet the essential criteria as specified in the Job Profile will be guaranteed an interview.

Priority consideration on all advertised roles will be given to London Borough of Newham Redeployees.

The London Borough of Newham is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable groups and expects staff and volunteers to share this commitment. 

Please be aware that a Disclosure and Barring Scheme (DBS) check will be required for any position with access to these groups under the provision of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.

In addition, the Authority reserves the right  to request employees undertake a basic disclosure check (Disclosure Scotland) where required for the role this includes  anyone who has access to (or information obtained directly from) a government database, or has a GCSX account. These posts will be required to have a Basic Disclosure Scotland check as per the requirements of BPSS (Baseline Personnel Security Standards).