Town Planner / Senior Town Planner

Opportunity for Planning Consultant / Senior Planning Consultant. Geddes Consulting has an exciting opportunity for a talented and passionate Town Planner. We are looking for someone to support our work on a range of planning projects, primarily local development plan representations and planning applications for medium to large scale strategic residential and mixed-use developments.

Regarded as one of Scotland’s leading independent planning consultancies, we provide a range of complementary services. These include masterplanning, urban design, landscape architecture, sustainability and viability – enabling a comprehensive place-shaping suite of products for our clients. You will benefit from this broad range of services, advancing your learning and appreciation of different skills and specialisms.

The ideal candidate will be looking to broaden their experience and skills base in a dynamic and practical workplace environment, working as a member of our multi-disciplinary team. You will join our established team to help deliver your assigned tasks in an effective and timeous manner, working up to a position where you can deliver commissioned projects and co-ordinate your own workload as part of the project team.

The successful candidate will be a qualified town planner with excellent skills in collating evidence to support planning strategies. Knowledge of how residential, mixed-use and regeneration projects are delivered within the Scottish planning system is preferable. An appreciation of the Environmental Impact Assessment policy framework and assessment process would also be an advantage.

Our multi-disciplinary team works closely with experts in transport, archaeology, ecology and other technical specialists on a wide variety of projects. We also regularly engage with a broad range of stakeholders as part of our work. Joining Geddes Consulting will provide you with opportunities for career progression within a positive culture where learning and development is actively supported and promoted.

You will have the opportunity to work towards taking more responsibility on your projects and contribute to the future growth and success of the business. Work portfolios are managed to ensure that all staff contribute to and experience a breadth and depth of project opportunities.

• Maintain a comprehensive understanding of the Scottish planning system and planning law and be able to use this knowledge to promote strategies and solutions to secure planning permission.
• Effective time keeping, good communication, excellent report writing and the ability to manage multiple tasks across a range of projects will be skills essential to the role.
• The ability to work effectively and constructively within a project team and also to be able to work well independently when delegated tasks is also essential.
• Preparing and writing our range of market leading supporting reports used to secure planning permission as well as helping with the co-ordination and preparation of the planning input for our range of design and promotional products.
• Co-ordination and preparation of Environmental Impact Assessments for client proposals when required.
• Maintain communication and negotiation with planning authorities and stakeholders about solutions to meet our client’s project requirements including securing appropriate planning conditions and planning obligations.
• Attending and participating in meetings and stakeholder events relevant to the work you are doing including consultations with members of the public.
• Assisting our project managers in the co-ordination and delivery of commissioned work, including specifying, producing and reviewing work to resolve or address specific planning policy matters.

• Educated to degree level with an RTPI-accredited degree programme (or equivalent).
• Confident with Microsoft Office 365 suite.
• Familiar with Adobe Creative Suite.
• The ability to work under direction from senior colleagues.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills.

• Minimum of 2 years’ post qualification working in a relevant planning role.
• Chartered membership of the RTPI.
• Previous experience working within public and/or private sector roles.

Geddes Consulting is one of Scotland’s leading planning and development consultancies. We work with developers, national house builders and the public sector. We have a strong track record in securing allocations, planning permissions and winning appeals based on our detailed evidence led responses to policy compliance requirements.

You will have the opportunity to work within a small, highly competent and dynamic team where you will be involved in a wide variety of stimulating project work. You will work closely with the holistic in-house members of the team as well as other external consultants in other disciplines.

We ensure a workplace that encourages growth, flexibility and creativity, as well as a company culture that champions inclusion, diversity and overall employee well-being through programmes supported by company leadership.

Our core values define who we are, how we act and what we aspire to. We believe in helping our colleagues achieve their potential and we’ll help you reach yours.

We are constantly evolving our way of working to ensure we play to people’s strengths and reflect personal circumstances, whilst ensuring we always deliver for our clients. Across the business, we have a range of different working arrangements including our blended flexible working, balancing personal, team and client requirements. We are always happy to explore what may be the ‘best fit’.

Salary is negotiable and will be dependent on the experience of the candidate. The company benefits include an annual bonus, 36 days annual leave, pension scheme and private health insurance.

If you wish to find out more, please contact Stuart Salter on 0131 553 3639 or email at stuart@geddesconsulting.com. For further details on the range of project work delivered by Geddes Consulting please visit our website www.geddesconsulting.com.