Senior Planning Officer

**Salary** - £36,124 - 41,511

**Hours** - 37 hours - office base, on-site, hybrid working

**The role**

We are currently looking to appoint a Senior Planning Officer who will be responsible for assisting in the delivery of the Council’s Forward Planning Service.

**Qualifications**

Membership or eligibility for membership of the Royal Town Planning Institute.

**Duties and responsibilities**
- Prepare Rossendale’s Local Plan and other associated documents, including the Authority Monitoring Report.
- Undertake and where appropriate, supervise the preparation of the evidence base including appropriate analysis, associated with the above.
- Develop and maintain a thorough understanding of the legislative and guidance procedures relating to the formulation of planning policy documents.
- Represent the Council at meetings, public inquiries and examinations in respect of matters associated with the formulation of planning policy and development proposals.
- Prepare concise and coherent reports and other documents related to the work of the Forward Planning section and development of the Local Plan related documents.
- Represent the Council at cross district meetings & wider partnership groups.
- Manage documentation for the Council’s website acting as a web champion ensuring the Planning service web pages remain relevant and timely.
- Engage with Neighbourhood Forums on the preparation of Neighbourhood Plans.
- Respond to correspondence and enquiries from elected members, members of the public and other service customers.

**Person Specification**
- Have a good knowledge of procedures relating to the production of Local Plan Documents, including Supplementary Planning Documents & Neighbourhood Plans.
- Have a good understanding of current town planning issues.
- Experience of computer based systems including Microsoft Office, Geographical Information Systems (GIS) as well as manual and computerised planning record systems.
- Experience of working as part of a team to deliver corporate and service initiatives and developing innovative solutions to problems.
- Ability to communicate ideas effectively with professionals and non-specialists both verbally and in writing. The ability to build relationships and communicate with all levels within the Council.
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
- Ability to use own initiative to organise and manage own workload effectively.
- A commitment to developing and maintaining high levels of customer service in accordance with the Council’s Customer Service Standards.
- Ability and willingness to demonstrate the council’s values and behaviours.
- Current Full Driving Licence

**Benefits**
- Flexible working
- Hybrid working
- Family friendly policies
- On-site free parking
- Up to 31 days' annual leave
- Option to purchase additional leave
- Salary sacrifice cycle to work scheme
- Savings and loan scheme
- Discounted gym membership
- Generous pension scheme
- Additional voluntary contribution to AVC
- Staff reward scheme
- Employee Assistance Programme
- Employee forums (Your Voice, Health & Wellbeing)

**General Statement**

The information contained in this job description is provided to assist employees joining the council to understand and appreciate the work content of their post and the role they will play in the organisation. However, the following point should be noted:

- Whilst every endeavour has been made to outline all the duties and responsibilities of the post, a document such as this does not permit every item to be specified in detail. Broad headings, therefore, may have been used, in which case all the usual associated routines are naturally included in the job description.

**How to apply**

Rossendale Borough Council, People & Policy, The Business Centre, Futures Park, Bacup, Lancashire, OL13 0BB

As part of our commitment to inclusion, we offer guaranteed interviews for specific groups of people. To qualify, you will need to meet the minimum requirements for the role, and identify with one of the below criteria:

- Members of the Armed Forces and veterans
- If you consider yourself to be disabled or if you have a long-term health condition.

**Closing Date - Monday 20th January 2025 at 10am**

**Interview Date - To be confirmed**

**Job Types**: Full-time, Permanent

Pay: £36,124.00-£41,511.00 per year

**Benefits**:

- Additional leave
- Company pension
- Cycle to work scheme
- Free parking
- Sick pay
- Work from home

Schedule:

- Flexitime
- Monday to Friday

Work Location: Hybrid remote in Bacup OL13 0BB

Reference ID: EP2004