Senior Planning Advisor

The Forestry Commission is seeking an experienced and strategic planning professional to lead a newly established team dedicated to strengthening the role of trees and woodlands within the planning system. This is an exciting opportunity to influence planning policy and development decisions at national, regional and local levels, ensuring that the environmental, social and economic benefits of trees and woodlands are fully recognised as England delivers significant housing, infrastructure and economic growth.

Reporting to the Head of Planning, Infrastructure and the Built Environment, you will lead a team comprising five Area Planning Delivery Advisers and a Planning Coordinator, providing strategic direction, leadership and oversight across a diverse portfolio of planning and development activity. The team will coordinate the Forestry Commission’s engagement with Spatial Development Strategies, Local Plans, Tree and Woodland Strategies, Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs), planning applications and other land-use change proposals, helping to secure positive outcomes for trees, woodlands and wider green infrastructure.

A key aspect of the role will be establishing and embedding this new function within the wider organisation. You will be responsible for setting priorities, developing capability, monitoring performance and driving continuous improvement, while ensuring strong alignment and effective collaboration with existing planning specialists and Area Team colleagues. Building a cohesive and integrated approach across both new and established roles will be critical to the team’s success.

You will also lead the development of guidance, resources and processes that enhance the Forestry Commission’s ability to fulfil its responsibilities for expanding, protecting, improving and connecting woodlands across the country, while ensuring a consistent and effective approach to planning engagement.

Working within the Planning, Infrastructure and Built Environment Team, you will collaborate closely with policy, infrastructure and operational colleagues, alongside a wide range of external stakeholders across the planning, development, environmental and land management sectors. Through these partnerships, you will help shape plans, policies and major development proposals, ensuring that trees and woodlands are embedded as a fundamental component of sustainable growth and place-making.

This is a high-profile leadership role requiring strong planning expertise, proven experience of leading and developing teams, excellent stakeholder management skills and the ability to influence decision-making at all levels. The role requires occasional nationwide travel. We support blended working, combining time at a base office location with home working. Candidates will be required to travel nationwide.

Key Responsibilities

• Manage the delivery of the Forestry Commission's statutory and non-statutory responses to planning consultations, including Spatial Development Strategies, Local Plans, NSIPs, Planning Applications, Tree and Woodland Strategies, etc.
• Provide Leadership and management of the Planning Delivery group, including the five area based advisers and the planning co-ordinator role. Establish a high-performing, collaborative team culture, ensuring effective alignment with existing Area Team staff, integration with established ways of working, and consistent engagement across the Forestry Commission.
• Forensically assess, identify and review the delivery of the Forestry Commission's planning work, including working practices, to help improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the advice given.
• Oversee the development of key resources that will improve consultation responses including internal guidance, templates, standard responses and text as part of the development of the casework tracking system.
• Provide regular, timely and accurate reporting on the Forestry Commission’s planning performance and delivery, including maintaining effective relationships with Defra and MHCLG to ensure reporting requirements, priorities and stakeholder expectations are met.
• Provide updates for the national planning delivery team and area teams on changes to the planning system and the Forestry Commission's role within it.
• Work with other Senior Planners across PIBE to provide leadership and guidance to the national Planning Delivery Team and Area Teams on developments within the planning system, ensuring colleagues remain informed of legislative, policy and procedural changes, and understand the Forestry Commission’s role, responsibilities and strategic priorities within the planning process.
• Develop and implement a casework review process that supports advisers and managers in producing high-quality, consistent and proportionate responses to planning consultations and applications.

Person specification

Essential

• Degree/Higher Diploma in Town and Country Planning or extensive experience in planning delivery.
• Experience of representing the interests of Forestry and/or Trees and Woodlands within the planning system, through development plans and engagement with development projects.
• Line Management experience, providing leadership and co-ordination of a working group.
• Competent and effective IT user with experience of MS Office and also including remote working and associated communication tools (e.g. MS Teams).
• Experience of stakeholder management – building strong business relationships and collaborative working to deliver mutually beneficial results.
• Confident interpersonal and communication skills with experience of presenting to a range of audiences, both verbally and written.
• Proven ability to build and maintain effective relationships with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders, influencing outcomes and securing collaborative solutions within complex and often competing environments.

Please clearly demonstrate how the above applies to you throughout your application. Failure to do so will mean that your application is automatically sifted out.

Desirable

• Member, or eligible for membership, of one of the following, Royal Town Planning Institute (MRTPI), Institute of Chartered Foresters (MICFor), TCPI, CIEEM or other relevant chartered body.
• Knowledge and experience of considering landscape impacts of development.
• Experience of managing a team that has provided improved performance for development planning work.
• Demonstration of detailed monitoring and reporting of performance and implementing measures to address identified issues.

Essential Technical:

• Planning experience, including interacting and contributing towards local plans, major developments and using planning guidance and policy.
• Environmental/forestry/ecological knowledge.
• Forestry regulations useful.
• Able to assess and analyse planning documents (plans, surveys etc).
• Comfortable with interrogating maps/spatial data.

Behaviours

We’ll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process: Leadership, Delivering at Pace, Developing Self and Others.