Job Description
ROLE PROFILE
Job Title: Planning Policy Manager
Service Area: Planning Policy
The ‘role profile’ is the contractual element that your post has been assigned to and generically sets out in broad terms the responsibilities the post holder is expected to have.
Grade: TM1
Responsible to: Head of Planning
Responsible for: Planning Policy Team
Generic Responsibilities
1. Provide leadership and line management enabling your people to perform to the best of their abilities, working in line with HR policy to ensure good employment practices are embedded in day-to-day operations. Adopt a managerial approach that promotes employee involvement, maximum attendance and continuous improvement
2. Take day to day responsibility for the management of appropriate budget allocation and spend
3. Communicate, influence and advise senior managers and elected members
4. Build and maintain successful relationships with relevant stakeholders and partnerships
5. Improve team and service performance by identifying and implementing people, system and process developments
6. Take responsibility for planning your own and your teams work along with influencing and shaping the strategic plans for your service and the council
7. Represent the council in all that you do to continually build our reputation, manage risk and ensure the corporate and service priorities can be met
8. Use your professional and technical expertise to ensure your team, service and the council delivers successfully. This includes up-skilling, supporting and advising others to transfer and sustain this expertise
9. Deputise for the Head of Planning as required.
10. Proactively participate and contribute to the Councils Wider Management
Team ensuring you continually improve your practice in line with council standards
11. Maximise your expertise and position to enable innovation and change, ensuring your team can embrace new ways of working
12. Ensure your team and associated delivery operate within council, statutory and legal requirements and report performance accordingly
13. Develop, introduce and monitor policy and practice
Professional/Technical Roles- TASK SPECIFICS
- The ‘task specifics’ is the non contractual element that your post has been assigned to and is a more detailed description of day-to-day activity which will be reviewed in line with PDR objectives and can change when priorities change.
JE Reference EDP4.1
Purpose
To lead on matters relating to the planning policy function within the City
Council including the South Worcestershire Development Plan Review, neighbourhood planning, development plan documents, supplementary planning documents, infrastructure planning, site-specific policies, evidence gathering, implementation and monitoring, responding to government consultations on national planning policy changes and provide advice and guidance to the council, internal and external customers, on planning policy matters.
Service to Customers
1. Provide expert planning policy advice for the City Council and as part of the South Worcestershire Districts group, to the wider partnership of
Wychavon and Malvern Hills District Councils.
2. Lead in the preparation of evidence and act for the Council as the expert planning witness in public examinations and planning appeals.
3. To lead on the development, management and coordination of planning obligations through CIL and S106 agreements, working with other service areas across the Council.
4. To lead on the development and delivery of the Local Development
Scheme.
Business Improvement/planning responsibility
1. To lead, develop, manage, implement and keep under review strategies, projects and plans relating to all aspects of planning policy and to ensure an up-to-date planning policy framework that reflects statutory requirements, national and regional planning policy and guidance, and the City council’s priorities.
2. To maximise the effectiveness of planning policies, considering analysis of planning appeals and to analyse the planning policy implications of development and regeneration schemes.
3. To make recommendations for creative and practical policy and strategy solutions, including the production of planning briefs and preparation of local development documents and supplementary planning documents.
4. To lead the adoption of a project management approach to policy development, advice and research, ensuring projects are appropriately defined and resourced, and are delivered on time, to budget and meet agreed objectives.
5. To manage the preparation and review of statutory development plan documents and ensure they meet the relevant legal requirements and tests of soundness. This will include meeting requirements for Strategic Environmental Assessment, Sustainability Appraisal and Equalities and Health and Wellbeing Impact Assessment.
6. To produce and maintain an up-to-date Local Development Scheme that sets out the City council’s programme for planning policy development and review.
7. To ensure comprehensive and effective stakeholder engagement and inclusive public consultation during the preparation of planning policy documents, in accordance with the council’s Statement of Community Involvement and working closely with the council’s communications team as required.
8. To ensure that accurate, up-to-date and easy-to-use planning policy webpages are maintained that make available policy documents, guidance, evidence and monitoring data to service users, customers and the public. To drive forward innovation in use of digital technology to improve service provision and increase community engagement in planning policy matters.
9. To lead on all aspects of neighbourhood planning in accordance with legislative requirements and government guidance, providing appropriate advice and support to neighbourhood planning groups.
10. To prepare and present professional evidence on planning policy matters at examination hearings, public inquiries and appeal hearings and to advise and supervise others in doing this. The post holder will be required to give expert evidence on complex policies and proposals.
11. To lead the preparation and presentation of advice, briefing information and reports on very complex and/or contentious policy issues and development projects, and the preparation of planning briefs and/or planning policies for key development sites.
12. To scope, commission and project manage consultants as necessary to deliver relevant research, and policy and strategy development, including site appraisals and evidence studies, working collaboratively with other teams and service areas as required. To be responsible for managing allocated project budgets.
13. To consider the implications of changes to permitted development rights and bring forward Article 4 Directions when and where necessary in accordance with legislative requirements.
14. To establish an effective policy monitoring framework (including the development pipeline), to evaluate and review the effectiveness of local planning policies including s106 developer contributions and Community Infrastructure Levy funds. To keep under review and develop monitoring systems to meet the requirements of external agencies, in particular Housing Land Supply, Housing Delivery Test, the Brownfield Land Register, the self- and Custom-Build Register and information required for the Authority’s Monitoring Reports.
15. To ensure effective integration with the Development Management service (including planning enforcement), including the provision of timely, accurate and consistent advice on the interpretation of planning policy.
16. To ensure that the council is advised effectively regarding the planning policy implications of corporate projects and initiatives and asset reviews in conjunction with the Head of Planning.
Colleagues, Self and Partners
1. To provide clear and concise planning policy advice to stakeholders, professional agents, councillors, parish councils and members of the public..
2. To develop material and present and explain planning policy advice to committees, public meetings, support exhibitions or other functions and appear as the Council’s representative at Examinations in Public and Public Inquiries.
3. To provide planning policy advice to: a. Development Management including:
- Responding with planning policy advice on relevant planning applications.
- Contributing to the provision of pre-application advice.
- Attending relevant meetings to provide planning policy advice.
- Preparing appeal statements and Proofs of Evidence and appearing as the Councils expert witness at public enquiries. b. To members of the public, developers and other Council departments. c. To elected members and CMT/CLT. d. To respond to FOI/EIR requests.
3. To provide strong and visible line management to team members by demonstrating a comprehensive understanding of legislation, regulations and national planning policy to deliver service requirements relating to quality of the service provided and efficiency.
Managing Resources (people, equipment, buildings)
Accountability
1. Provide strong and visible leadership, taking responsibility for the work of the Planning Policy team, demonstrating a commitment to the effective management, improvement and overall delivery of the
Planning Policy Service.
2. Ensure through personal example that a sustained performance improvement culture is expected of the teams by helping members of the teams grow to take effective responsibility for their areas of work.
3. To be responsible for the recruitment and selection of staff and the procurement, appointment, supervision and financial management of specialist consultants.
4. Personal and line management responsibility to ensure compliance with risk assessments and health and safety legislation
5. Personal and line management responsibility to ensure use of vehicles in accordance with health and safety policy and legislation
6. Responsibility for effective use of time and resources of a range of staff within the City Council and external partners to secure positive outcomes where possible.
7. Supporting the establishment and delivery of strategic objectives and promoting best practice, compliance and operational management of the city’s own assets and those of partner organisations, e.g. buildings and sites.
Nature of Contacts (internal/external)
Internal staff, stakeholders, professional agents, councillors, parish councils and members of the public.
Oversee statutory consultation in accordance with the Town & County Planning Act:
Scope and prepare public consultations including:
a. Understanding the planning and legal framework of public consultations.
b. Preparing consultation materials, displays, explanatory documents and methods of response.
c. Representing the Council at public consultations and presenting planning in a transparent and easily understood way to a wide range of stakeholders.
d. Manage expectations of what planning policy can achieve, including the expectations of government agencies and other significant Council partners.
e. Acknowledge, collate and analyse consultation responses. f. Oversee and co-ordinate preparation of post consultation reports and advice and present this to the full range of planning policy customers.
Working with Partners:
a. Worcestershire district councils and district councils in neighbouring counties which border Worcestershire.
b. Worcestershire County Council.
c. Working with councils across the West Midlands and beyond where the evidence suggests the Duty to Cooperate applies.
d. Worcestershire Local Enterprise Partnership.
e. Infrastructure Service Providers at least 25 separate organisations and contact is at a manager or senior manager level.
f. Sport England, Environment Agency, National Highways, Historic England, Natural England.
g. Developers, land agents and planning consultants.
h. Educational establishments including the University of Worcester.
i. Health service providers and the emergency services.
j. Faith communities including the Worcester Diocesan Board.
Planning Policy Customers:
a. Other City Council service managers
b. Members of the public, local community groups and NGOs
c. Developers, land agents and planning consultants
d. Other District and County Councils
e. Government departments and agencies
f. Infrastructure service providers
g. Elected members of Worcester City Council and other Councils
Provide timely advice on planning policy and related matters to the Council about changes in national and European legislation.
Procedural Context
- The role operates within the context of the Town & Country Planning Act legislation and the National Planning Policy Framework and National Planning Practice Guidance. In addition, consideration must also be given to inquiry and appeal decisions and recent case law.
- Work is also governed by the local plan (South Worcestershire
Development Plan - SWDP) Supplementary Planning Documents and
Development Plan Documents.
- Work is informed by the cross-district Joint Advisory Panel (JAP) comprising elected members representing each of the south Worcestershire district councils.
- In addition to planning policy, work is framed by the council’s corporate plan and the local service plan.
Key Facts and Figures
- To assist the Head of Planning in the preparation, implementation, administration and monitoring of Service Plans and Service Budgets.
- A minimum of five years’ experience in a local government Planning Policy role post-professional accreditation including at a senior level with direct management experience. Substantial experience of producing handling major, complex contentious planning and related applications including those of a strategic nature, negotiating s106 legal agreements and improvements to design quality and giving evidence at appeal public inquiries.
- Developing and managing a budget in order to commission external consultants and procure technical reports, surveys and advice – circa £100k
- Overall responsibility for monitoring and management of S106 and Community Infrastructure Levy funds. Current fund value circa £3m.
- Manage service budget covering staff and delivery costs of circa £200k.
Knowledge and Skills
1. Degree or equivalent in Town and Country Planning or a related subject
2. Chartered Membership of Royal Town Planning Institute.
3. A minimum of five years’ experience of local government Planning Policy work post-professional accreditation including substantial experience operating at a senior level within local government or the private sector within a planning policy related team leader role.
4. Evidence of continuous professional development by relevant professional or management and/or leadership training and experience
5. Project and programme management for research consultations and commissioning consultants for example to prepare evidence to support the Plan Making process.
Behaviours
1. Work to the Council’s values
2. Awareness of the Council’s safeguarding policy in their service area and how to report any concerns
3. Awareness of the Council’s Health and Safety policy in their service area and committed to safe working practices
4. The post holder will undertake all duties expected of the post in accordance with the current Royal Town Planning Institute’s Code of
Professional Conduct
Job Types: Full-time, Permanent
Salary: £43,516.00-£47,573.00 per year
Benefits:
- Additional leave
- Company pension
- Cycle to work scheme
- Employee discount
- Flexitime
- Gym membership
- Private medical insurance
- Relocation assistance
- Sick pay
- Store discount
- Wellness programme
- Work from home
Schedule:
Work Location: Hybrid remote in Worcester, WR1 1DT
Reference ID: WCTY000000758
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