Principal Planning Officer

**Salary**

Grade 12, £49,046 - £53,594 pa + £5,000 Market Supplement

**Contractual hours**

37

**Basis**

Full time

**Region**

South

**Job category/type**

Economic Development, Planning

**Date posted**

07/03/2025

**Job reference**

002121

**About the Role**

Maidstone Borough Council is a progressive and pro-active local authority with strong ambitions for Kent’s County Town and surrounding countryside. This is an exciting opportunity for a planner wishing to grow their strategic planning experience.

Maidstone offers a unique opportunity to work on major planning, development and investment projects. We work on a varied canvas - bringing forward significant, high quality growth with associated infrastructure, whilst enhancing our significant local landscapes, heritage and identity.

To help plan pro-actively, Maidstone Borough’s Local Plan Review was adopted in March 2024 and we are now focussing on sustainable delivery, including masterplanning two new garden communities. We are also progressing a Gypsy and Traveller Development Plan Document and progressing a Maidstone Town Centre Strategy. The role will therefore provide superb experience for an enthusiastic team player and self-motivated individuals within a dynamic environment.

**About Maidstone Borough Council**

Maidstone Borough Council is a confident organisation with ambition to deliver quality homes, high quality places adopted for a changing climate and resilient communities, as well as a fairer economy for people and planet and aspirations to deliver high quality services to our residents and local businesses. We continue to build on our strengths - assets, knowledge and expertise and our track record for innovation and improvement to create a financially sustainable future so that we can continue with our undiminished plans.

We will only achieve the results we are aiming for through the talents and hard work of all our people. You are encouraged to become part of our team and in return you can expect support, training, and fair reward from us. We will give you the opportunity to develop the skills to do your job well and create a positive working environment where your ideas about improving how we do things are valued and we manage the changes needed for new ways of working well.

At Maidstone Borough Council we recognise the importance of flexible working and the benefits this can bring to both our staff and the Council. We know that by offering employees a range of flexible working opportunities we can positively impact their wellbeing and engagement, and drive productivity in return. As such we have developed a highly flexible hybrid working policy, alongside our flexi time and flexible working policies, enabling staff to shape their working patterns around building a greater work life balance.

**Our Offer**
A range of benefits including:

- Highly flexible hybrid working opportunities
- 7am to 7pm flexi time to suit personal circumstances for most roles
- Generous holiday entitlement which increases after 5 years LG service plus bank holidays with the option to buy additional leave
- Additional 3 days leave given to enable a close down of the offices between Christmas and New year
- Free parking and casual car user allowance
- Range of flexible working opportunities to accommodate people’s home/work life balance including compressed hours, 9-day fortnight, part time
- Invitations to staff events to celebrate success and support wellbeing that include holistic therapies and outdoor activities
- Employee Assistance Programme which provides confidential & independent information and access to counsellors
- Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) with valuable life cover and financial protection for your family
- Life Assurance - three times your annual salary (for members of the LGPS)
- Season Ticket Loan - to help with the cost of your rail/ bus journey, to & from work
- Lease car salary sacrifice scheme allowing you to lease a brand-new car. The monthly fee includes insurance, servicing and road tax
- Annual flu vaccine
- Cycle to work scheme
- Staff benefits discounts on leisure, eating out, holidays and shopping
- Excellent learning and career opportunities for committed individuals
- A professional fee payment, if required for the role

**About You**

To be considered for the Principal Planning Officer role, your education and training will include:

- Degree in Town Planning or Post Graduate qualification in Town Planning
- Full Driving Licence

Your experience will include:

- Extensive experience of dealing with complex and sensitive planning issues and preparation of policies and guidance
- Ability to assess and evaluate large quantities of often complex and sometimes conflicting information and data and then find creative solutions and formulate strategic policy and proposals

Additionally, you will have excellent written and verbal communication skills and the ability to work independently and as part of a team.

**Se