Area Team Leader - Development Management

We are a large metropolitan district authority with diverse towns and villages ranging from Dewsbury at the edge of Leeds, the university town of Huddersfield to Holmfirth at the edge of the Peak District within stunning Pennine countryside. We have ambitious long-term visions to create thriving, modern-day town centres in Huddersfield and Dewsbury.

This is an exciting time to join the Kirklees Council Development Management team. Our Kirklees Local Plan is currently being updated, and you will have an opportunity to help shape development in this wonderful part of West Yorkshire. We know we need to deliver new homes and jobs to create the communities of the future and cement our position in the Leeds City Region. We want our buildings and spaces to be of high quality and are looking to take the opportunities to improve design whenever they present themselves.

However, we recognise there are challenges ahead, not least in balancing the expectations of growth with our vibrant local communities, the infrastructure requirements, and our quality landscapes. We are preparing for a bright future which is why we need to strengthen our Development Management team with this high-profile Area Planning Team Leader role.

At Kirklees we want to be innovative and creative in the way we work to deliver our services to our communities, so we are always looking for better and smarter ways to work. Therefore, the Development Management part of the service needs forward thinking and driven individuals to take us forward on our new journey.

We are seeking to appoint a forward thinking, motivated and organised planning professional who is keen to make a significant contribution in leading the performance and achievements of our Development Management Team in this high profile team leader role. We are a high performing planning authority and you would have the opportunity to lead one of our planning teams of around 15 planners and develop your own career in our supportive organisation which seeks to help its staff realise their potential.

You will have significant experience of dealing with complex planning applications and appeals. You will need to be a team player with a positive approach, willing to contribute to the delivery of transformational change and continuous improvement to secure excellent customer service. In return, we will offer you plentiful and varied experience in a key role within our Development Management service.

You must demonstrate sound knowledge of current planning legislation and associated guidance in your application; have good interpersonal, written and verbal communication skills; listening, and negotiation skills; an ability to accept responsibility and work constructively within a small team; an ability to organise and prioritise own workload; and competence in working in a digital environment. You will be required to travel across the district to satisfy the duties of the post and a current driving licence is therefore desirable.

This role is based within Growth and Regeneration.