Planning Obligations Officer

About the role:

Horsham District Council is looking for a Planning Obligations Officer to join our friendly Development and Building Control team at Horsham District Council.

As a Planning Obligations Officer, you’ll take the lead in managing and delivering key planning contributions that support local infrastructure. This includes the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL), Section 106 (S106) agreements, and the Building Safety Levy. In this important role, you’ll also help ensure these contributions are handled effectively, transparently and in line with regulations. This will involve developing and updating policies and procedures, as well as producing key reports such as the annual Infrastructure Funding Statement. Working closely with colleagues across the Council, West Sussex County Council, Town and Parish Councils, and other partners, you’ll play a key part in supporting the delivery of infrastructure projects and advising on how funding can be used.

Your role will also include:

• Managing and maintaining accurate data on CIL and S106 contributions and payments
• Working with stakeholders, elected members and community groups
• Reviewing potential breaches of CIL and S106 regulations and helping to ensure compliance
• Identifying and recording any wider planning control issues

You’ll be based in our modern offices in Horsham town centre, working as part of a supportive, knowledgeable and collaborative team. Once settled in there will be opportunities for some home working.

About you:

We’re looking for someone who brings both technical knowledge and a collaborative approach.

To succeed as a Planning Obligations Officer, you will have:

• A good understanding of the Community Infrastructure Levy, Section 106 agreements and relevant regulations
• Experience of working with CIL and/or S106 agreements in a planning or related environment
• Strong numerical and data management skills, with confidence in carrying out detailed calculations accurately
• Experience of using databases and IT systems to manage information
• The ability to work to deadlines and manage detailed work, even in a busy environment

You will be someone who enjoys working with others, communicates clearly, and takes pride in delivering good outcomes for the community.

For an informal discussion about the role, please contact Madeleine Hartley, Planning Compliance Team Leader, at 01403 215168.

About us:

We have a friendly and supportive working environment and being a smaller Council, you can really get to know everybody.

We encourage and support our employees to have a healthy work life balance by offering 28 days’ (207.2 hours) annual leave plus bank holidays (pro-rata), and flexible/hybrid working options. The policy team work flexibly generally spending half our time in the office, half working from home. We do not have set working from home days and flexibility is required to come in on any day of the week if required to support the work of the team.

We offer a generous benefits package including an online platform offering discounts from online retailers and access to a car lease scheme. Staff are also eligible to join the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS), where the Council contributes circa 20% of pensionable salary.

To support employees’ professional development the Council provides reimbursement for professional subscriptions and a number of training opportunities, including extensive in-house learning resources, short courses, Apprenticeships, and qualifications such as Institute of Leadership & Management (ILM), Master of Business Administration (MBA).

Visit our Jobs and careers page to find out more about Working for Horsham District Council and Our employment commitments.

To apply:

If you would like to apply for the role, we highly recommend you show clearly within the ‘Experience Section’ of the application form how you meet the essential criteria detailed within the Role Profile when applying. If you do not make this clear, it is unlikely you will be shortlisted for interview.

Internal applicants, if you would like to apply for the role, please submit an expression of interest to HR@horsham.gov.uk explaining clearly how you meet the criteria and what you feel you can bring to the role.