About the Role
and our Ideal Candidate
As the council’s most senior planning officer, you will be a collaborative and effective leader with a proactive approach to development. With strong stakeholder management skills, you will build effective and professional working relationships with both developers and investors, whilst engaging with elected members and senior officers across the council. As a team player and a seasoned planning officer in local government, you will provide expert advice to senior stakeholders at Sutton whilst ensuring community is at the heart of development within the borough.
You’ll be proactive in your approach to development. You’ll be comfortable working closely and professionally with developers and investors; build strong relationships with elected members and senior officers; and you’ll put the concerns of the community at the heart of development decisions - including the provision of infrastructure. Sutton has long had high standards for the development we expect, and you’ll ensure these are achieved whilst providing an efficient, highly regarded planning service.
This is a role for a collaborator, who is an effective leader of your staff, and a team player across the Council. You’ll be experienced at working in a local authority, and confident in providing robust, sound and impartial advice to elected members and senior officers.
Our retained consultants at Osborne Thomas are supporting us with the appointment to the post, and look forward to discussing this role in greater depth with you.
About Us
Sutton has a reputation for excellent schools, Green Flag award-winning green and leafy open spaces, and an industrial heritage along the River Wandle. Sutton is home to the London Cancer Hub, Europe’s leading cancer research and treatment district, with further plans for a multi-phase life science district. Over the past few years, the council has built a significant number of homes for the borough’s residents and invested in significant high street regeneration.
It is an exciting time to be joining Sutton, with £4bn of planned investment and another £3bn in the pipeline. This is a hugely varied role and your opportunity to shape the place Sutton becomes.
Our Offer To You
As an organisation that values and nurtures talent, we’re committed to helping you fulfil your potential and will offer you a supportive, friendly and collaborative environment to grow and develop your career and skills. We’re constantly striving to improve our ways of working so putting your ideas across however big or small; will be fully encouraged and supported by your colleagues and our dynamic and experienced management team.
Employees have access to a wide range of benefits to enable staff to achieve a work life balance, some of which include:
1. A generous annual leave entitlement of 32 days plus bank holidays (pro-rata if part-time working hours apply)
2. Enhanced Maternity, paternity, shared parental, adoption and dependents leave
3. Two volunteering days per year
4. Flexible Working - Smarter Working Scheme (dependent on the role)
5. Adjustable and agile working arrangements using Google Chromebooks
6. Learning and development portal offering a range of courses
7. Discounts on a range of local shops, restaurants, gyms and leisure centres
8. Interest free season ticket loans
9. Local Government Pension Scheme
10. Bicycle loan facilities and cycle to work scheme
11. Zip car scheme
12. Confidential health & wellbeing and counselling support