You can also see our full list of employee benefits on our careers site here: Why you should work for us | West Northamptonshire Council.
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Our Graduate Planning Officers provide advice to the public, developers, agents, Members, other departments of the Council on all Development Management matters; from the provision of appropriate pre-application advice and the effective and efficient processing of minor planning applications to applications for planning permission and all other related consents.
As Graduate Planning Officer, you'll be supported to develop your skills in determining planning applications and pre-application discussions.
You will gain an understanding of how to assess the planning merits of each application and apply planning policy and guidance to the proposed form of development. You'll work alongside other Planning Officers dealing with planning applications and other training opportunities to expand your knowledge. Working with Team Leaders and colleagues across the service will enable you to gain a good understanding of the relevant laws, guidance, policies and practice which underpin Development Management.
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Day to day, you'll support with pre-application enquiries, give technical advice, support with Planning Performance Agreements, extensions of time, appeals, deal with enforcement cases and a range of other processes carried out within the team. In this varied role, Graduate Planning Officers attend site visits, meetings with external organisations, Planning Committee and working parties as required. When required, you'll support our Planning Policy team by providing input into the formulation of planning policies and support the Major Projects Team where large-scale projects require additional technical resource and input.
The role also involves working across the wider Development Management service areas, including Planning Enforcement, Development Strategy, and Technical Support.
With the support of the Development Management Team Leader, the Principal Planning Officers and other colleagues, you'll have appropriate on the job training as well as external training courses and mentoring. You'll be supported to develop the necessary knowledge, experience and skills to become a Graduate Planning Officer and work independently to support our Planning Service.
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You will need a degree in a relevant subject as well as a genuine interest in the built environment and an interest in ensuring our community in West Northants thrives.
Planning is a technical field, so an aptitude in area is needed, but what we do in Planning affects people's lives, so you'll need to be a strong communicator with the ability to empathise and negotiate.
In planning, we are passionate about people, places and sustainability. We balance development to support new housing and jobs with protecting the environment for future generations and our commitment to net zero by 2030. We want to create an outstanding natural environment, fit for future generations. If this is something that you feel excited about, we'd love to hear from you