Planning Lawyer

Planning LawyerBirmingham, Guildford or Bristol (40% office based) – with travel£54,180 - £64,120Closing Date: 26.11.25About the job.Join National Highways as a Lawyer and make a real impactYou’ll provide clear, pragmatic legal advice across planning, highways, and environmental law, helping shape decisions that keep our roads safe and efficient. Working alongside experienced Lawyers and Senior Lawyers, you’ll support complex cases and draw on specialist expertise to protect the best interests of National Highways every step of the way.This is a hybrid position (40% office based) and can be based from either our Guildford, Bristol or Birmingham offices and will include some travel to other offices to attend meetings.Provide advice on development consent orders, transport and work act orders, local development orders, compulsory purchase, highways law, permitted development, spatial planning issues, , town and country planning matters, including planning inquiries and appeals, plus environmental law all to protect the interests of National Highways.Act as the legal expert for National Highways, resolving any queries, providing clear, concise advice and direction and providing support to Senior Lawyers on complex matters where required.Advise on reputational risk, ensuring the horizon is scanned, pulling together conflicting priorities and manage expectations of a range of stakeholders to provide the best possible legal service to National Highways.Take responsibility for ensuring that guidance, legislation and policy are followed, providing high quality, pragmatic advice.Advise as a public sector lawyer on planning, highways and environmental law, reputational risk and legal risk.About you.A Qualified Lawyer with experience of planning, highways and environmental lawA good understanding of Public LawAble to manage own caseload and work under pressure and to deadlinesAbility to influence stakeholders at a range of levelsAbout us.Here at National Highways, we manage and improve England’s motorways and major A roads, helping our customers have safer, smoother and more reliable journeys. Our priorities are safety, customers and delivery, and at the core of this, are our values of passion, integrity, safety, teamwork and ownership.Legal Services encompasses both the National Highways legal team and the company secretariat. Our aim is to provide the organisation with an effective legal service and support the Board, Chief Executive, and its committees on a wide range of issues. We offer strategic legal advice on commercial, planning, operational, highways, employment, regulatory, and property matters, ensuring legal compliance and minimising exposure to risk.External candidates will be offered a starting salary at the lower end of the pay scale, while current employees will be appointed in accordance with our established pay policy.We are committed to creating a diverse environment and welcome applicants from all backgrounds.About UsWhy you should join usAt National Highways we believe in a connected country. We are passionate about creating a culture where colleagues feel connected, included and enjoy greater wellbeing to achieve this. We’re proud that as an organisation we are continually striving to do better and actively encourage and support our colleagues to do the same with their careers.So, if you put safety first, take ownership of your work, show passion for what you do, work effectively in a team, and demonstrate integrity in how you do it – then you’ll be a great fit for our organisation.A connected and sustainable working approach has been adopted across National Highways. For some roles, this means being able to work in a hybrid way spending up to 60% of time working from a remote location such as home.We offer many different ways to work flexibly and we’re open to discuss part-time working, job shares, and flexible start and finish times.Please wait until the interview stage before asking us about flexibility, and we will explore what is possible.Our benefits packageOur total reward package includes basic salary, the potential for a performance related bonusContributory pension scheme with employer contribution of up to 10%Annual Leave starting at 26 days (plus Bank Holidays) rising by 1 day each year up to 31 days (plus Bank Holidays)Flexible hours and an approach driven by connected and sustainable working which includes hybrid workingLife assurance of 4 times annual salaryHealth and wellbeing support, including an Employee Assistance Programme, available 24/7 365 days and network of mental health first aiders. Plus access to a wellbeing app to enhance your self-care 24/7, Occupational health service and flu vaccinesA cycle to work scheme for the purchase of a bicycle and equipment for healthy, low carbon travelSignificant investment in your career development, through learning and development, talent management, coaching, mentoring and on job experience And we areFamily friendly with enhanced maternity leave and pay, paternity leave (15 days), shared parental leave, adoption leave. Plus access to financial support for holiday play schemes and paid special leave (up to 5 days pa), eg for caring responsibilitiesMoney friendly with access to a discounts platform including over 3000 discounts for supermarkets, eating out, leisure, holidays. Alongside a financial wellbeing programmeCommunity friendly – offering paid leave to volunteer, 3 days basic/yearIf you are successful, it is key to know all offers of employment are subject to satisfactory completion of our pre-employment checks which include:Right to work check3 year employment history referencesDBS criminal record checkSocial media and adverse journalism checkDriving licence check (if applicable)Fit to work questionnaire (for all), followed by a medical check (if applicable)Qualifications and/or professional membership check (if applicable) And finallyWe reserve the right to close before the advertisement expires.