Associate Director/Director

Associate Director / Director – Town Planning

Location: Cardiff

Working Pattern: Hybrid working

Salary: Competitive, dependent on experience

The Opportunity

An exciting opportunity has arisen for an experienced planning professional to join an established but growing planning consultancy in Cardiff, at Associate Director or Director level.

This is a key leadership appointment, offering the opportunity to take responsibility for the day-to-day management and development of an established team of Planners, whilst playing an important role in the continued growth and direction of the Cardiff office.

The successful candidate will take on an office leadership position, providing guidance, support and direction to the existing team, ensuring the department continues to deliver a high-quality service across its varied client base and project portfolio.

The business is looking for someone with proven management experience, who can bring strong leadership qualities, commercial awareness and the ability to get the best out of a team. Experience in generating new business would be a significant advantage, although it is not an essential requirement.

This is an opportunity for someone looking to take the next step in their career, with the scope to influence the business and potentially progress towards a Director-level position with associated equity opportunities.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and manage the Cardiff planning team, comprising of Planners across varying levels of experience.
• Take responsibility for the day-to-day running and performance of the Cardiff office.
• Provide leadership, mentoring and professional development to team members, supporting their continued progression.
• Oversee the delivery of planning projects, ensuring high standards of technical work, client service and project management.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with existing clients, local authorities, developers and other key stakeholders.
• Identify opportunities to develop existing client relationships and contribute towards the growth of the business.
• Support the strategic direction and continued expansion of the Cardiff planning team.
• Work collaboratively with colleagues across the wider business, sharing knowledge and identifying opportunities for cross-sector working.
• Bring new ideas, expertise and potentially new areas of work to complement the team's existing service offering.

Project Portfolio

The Cardiff team currently works across a diverse range of sectors, with its workload broadly comprising:

• Education: A significant proportion of the team's work involves education-related planning projects.
• Residential: Traditional residential development, working with a range of clients and stakeholders.
• Health, Energy and Retail: A varied portfolio of projects across these sectors.

The business is open to candidates who can strengthen its existing areas of expertise, as well as those who can introduce complementary specialisms or bring experience in entirely new sectors.

This provides an opportunity for the successful candidate to help shape the future direction of the team's project portfolio.

About You

• An experienced planning professional operating at Associate Director or Director level, or someone ready to step into this level of responsibility.
• MRTPI qualified.
• Proven experience managing, leading or developing a team within a planning consultancy or related environment.
• A confident communicator with the ability to build relationships and influence clients and stakeholders.
• Strong technical planning knowledge and experience overseeing a varied project portfolio.
• Commercially aware, with an understanding of how to develop client relationships and support business growth.
• Experience in business development and bringing in new work would be advantageous, but is not essential.
• A proactive and approachable leader who can motivate, support and develop an established team.
• The ambition to play a key role in the continued growth and success of the Cardiff office.

Salary & Benefits

• Competitive salary, dependent on experience and