Huntingdonshire District Council (HDC) is passionate about providing high-quality services to our communities, residents and businesses. This means we must employ and retain the most talented and dedicated people.
Situated within the heart of the Cambridge-Peterborough Growth Area, Huntingdonshire is a beautiful district that boasts thriving market towns and many attractive villages, each with its own identity. We are an innovative and forward-thinking local authority whose residents are at the heart of our decision-making.
At HDC we want to employ staff who embody our icare values (Inspiring, Collaborative, Accountable, Respectful, Enterprising), all of which support our ultimate purpose of putting our customers first.
Job details
Do you get a weirdly satisfying feeling when everything’s in the right place? Good at spotting what’s missing before anyone else does? Like helping people understand complex processes clearly and calmly? You might be exactly who we’re looking for. Help shape places. Protect communities. Start (or grow) your career in planning.
As a Planning Technical Support Officer, you’ll be the gateway to the planning system. Your work is what helps planning applications move forward in the right way - legally, sustainably and fairly.
You’ll:
1. register and check planning applications and appeals, making sure they meet national and local rules (including biodiversity net gain)
2. explain clearly to applicants and agents what’s needed - and help them fix things when something’s missing
3. support planning officers behind the scenes while also responding to real questions from the public
4. publish planning documents accurately and responsibly, keeping data safe and GDPR compliant.
It’s a busy, people-facing role where attention to detail really matters - and where your work directly affects how places grow and change.
Why this job matters
Planning isn’t just paperwork. What you do helps:
5. protect local environments and heritage
6. support sustainable development
7. make sure communities grow in the right way.
Your decisions help keep the system fair, transparent and trusted.
About you
You don’t need to be a planning expert already. You might be:
8. an organised administrator
9. someone with customer service experience
10. a recent graduate or career starter
11. looking to move into public service or planning.
What matters most is that you:
12. care about getting things right
13. communicate clearly and professionally
14. stay calm when things are busy or complex
15. like learning new systems and processes.
Experience with planning systems, GIS or document management tools is helpful - but if you’re curious, reliable and keen to develop, we’ll support you to learn.
What you’ll gain
16. a strong foundation for a career in planning or local government
17. real responsibility and visible impact from day one
18. supportive colleagues and opportunities to build specialist knowledge
19. experience working with legislation, digital systems and public-facing services.
Ready to apply?
If you enjoy problem-solving, working with people and want a role where your work genuinely makes a difference, we’d love to hear from you - even if you don’t tick every box.