Principal Planner

Contract Type: Permanent

Working Hours: 37 hours per week

Worker Type: Hybrid Worker

Salary: Starting salary is £42,123, rising to £45,529 per annum (pro-rata for part-time). A £5,000 per annum market supplement is also currently payable for this post.

Location: Loxley House, Station Street, Nottingham, NG2 3NG

We've got an exciting opportunity available for talented individuals to join our workforce. Working for Nottingham City Council has great benefits. As well as competitive pay, great leave entitlement and access to a generous pension scheme, we strive to create an innovative, inclusive and progressive work culture where everyone is supported to do and be their very best.

About the Role

Nottingham is a Core City with ambitious plans for growth, regeneration and investment. To help deliver that ambition, we need a Development Management service that is recognised as one of the most modern, effective and forward-looking in the country. We are looking for a Principal Planning Officer to join our Planning team and take the lead on a varied caseload of major, complex and high-profile development proposals. You will manage applications from initial pre-application discussions through negotiation, assessment and decision-making, helping to secure high-quality and sustainable development across the city.

The role will involve working closely with developers, agents, landowners, councillors, local communities, internal specialists and external agencies. You will prepare and present clear, robust reports, negotiate improvements to development proposals and, where required, represent the Council at appeals, public inquiries and court proceedings. You will also help mentor and develop less experienced planning officers, sharing your knowledge and supporting consistent, high-quality decision-making across the team.

This is a strong opportunity for an experienced planner who wants to work on challenging and important proposals in a dense and varied urban environment. Nottingham offers everything from major regeneration and city-centre development to heritage assets, housing growth, neighbourhood investment and complex urban design issues. You will have room to exercise professional judgement, influence outcomes and make a visible contribution to the future of the city. We are also investing in better systems, data and technology so that planners can spend less time on administration and more time applying their professional expertise.

About You

• A degree in Town Planning or a related discipline accredited by the Royal Town Planning Institute, together with an appropriate postgraduate planning qualification.
• Substantial development management experience, including responsibility for major, complex or high-profile planning applications.
• Thorough knowledge of planning legislation, national and local planning policy, statutory processes and current development management practice.
• Strong analytical and professional judgement, with the ability to assess complex proposals and technical information and produce clear, robust recommendations.
• Excellent communication, stakeholder-management and negotiation skills, including the ability to explain complex planning matters and work confidently with developers, communities, councillors and senior stakeholders.
• The role requires someone who can manage a substantial workload, work effectively under pressure and take ownership of progressing complex cases.
• You should be pragmatic and solutions-focused, while maintaining professional standards and ensuring that decisions are legally and procedurally robust.

At Nottingham City Council we believe that work is what you do, not where you do it. We offer different working arrangements, depending on the role, including hybrid working.

Closing Date: 30th November 2026

Please note there may be occasions where we close the advert before the closing date and we encourage you to apply as soon as possible. Interviews will be held: w/c 7th December 2026.