Principal Town Planner - Development Management

We value diverse perspectives and experiences and are striving to create a workplace culture that is inclusive, is accepting of all and is free from discrimination and bias.

The City of Coventry is an exciting place to be. One of the fastest growing cities in Europe with a young, dynamic population, investment and change is all around. Our Planning Service leads the transformation of the city – there’s no better place to work as a town planner.

We’re recruiting to our Development Management team which supports the growth of the city and manages development from inception to delivery. We’re a friendly and forward thinking team with a can-do approach and are always striving to improve our service.  We recognise the importance of developing a strong, robust and resilient team through learning and development.

Alongside Development Management is the Planning Policy and Environment team which encompasses a number of individual but related specialisms all focussed on delivering a city for those wishing to live and work here.  Those specialisms include Strategic Planning, Ecology, Trees and Landscape, Urban Design, Conservation, Archaeology and Environmental Protection.

It’s great to know that you are interested in working with us at Coventry City Council. As a prospective employee, it is important that everyone who works for us is committed to our One Coventry values and shares our commitment to becoming a more diverse and inclusive organisation. 

Our Values are:

We are looking to recruit an experienced Principal Town Planner to work in the Development Management team on a permanent basis. 

As a Principal Town Planner you will provide an efficient and effective customer focussed professional planning service to support the sustainable growth and regeneration of the City.

The main duties and responsibilities of the role include (but are not limited to): 

• Processing all types of applications (major, minor or other) in accordance with the requirements of planning legislation, Government and Council planning policies and to meet the key objectives of the Council. 
• To deal with pre-application enquiries and other communications regarding the professional activity of the service in line with protocol and in a constructive, helpful and timely manner. 
• To attend and present at relevant committee and member meetings such as Planning Committee and provide technical support to the Chair of Committee, Cabinet Member and Senior Officers. 
• Provide a Development Management advice service to the Public, Elected Members, other Council Directorates, stakeholders. 

Want to have a work-life balance? We recognise that work is only one part of our lives and making time for the other things in our life is important - be that our families, our friends or ourselves. In this role you will be partly working from home and will be expected to travel to Coventry up to 2 days a week. 

Please note that this salary benefits from an additional temporary annual £3000 market supplement (pro rata) to be reviewed annually

To be considered for the role you be a member of the RTPI; and hold a valid full UK driving licence to travel around the city to undertake site visits. 

As a successful applicant you will also have experience of working in a relevant planning environment and a political environment with an awareness and appreciation of the non-technical issues that influence decision making. 

You will have knowledge around local, regional and national planning and enforcement trends and issues. As well as the ability to interpret national policy, legislation and guidance and translate into local implementation and appropriate local responses. 

We are looking for a Planner who can work efficiently and effectively in a fast-paced team.

When applying for the role you will be asked to write a personal statement, setting out how you believe you meet the requirements of the job/person specification. 

As a Council we recognise that our workforce is not representative of the communities that we serve, particularly at senior leadership level; therefore we welcome applications from candidates who are from minority-ethnic backgrounds, have a disability or who identify as being from the LGBTQ+ community.

For full details on the application process please read the attached document labelled 'Coventry City Council Application Process'

Interview date(s): Week commencing 02/10/2023

Coventry has a proud, innovative and creative spirit that throughout its history has seen communities come together to tackle problems and bring about real social change.

We are cutting-edge, challenging, youthful, vibrant and diverse.

At Coventry we are committed to excellence in everything we do. With around 4800 staff from a range of different backgrounds, our aim is to recruit and develop talented people who will focus on our customers, take responsibility, work together and find better ways of doing things.

To deliver the best services to our residents, we need the best people working for us to make a difference to our communities.

If you join us, we will provide a fantastic rewards and benefits package - to find out more please visit https://www.coventry.gov.uk/council-vacancies