Calling Landscape Architects to the Associate Programme

Are you a landscape architect who cares deeply about the role nature plays in everyday life? Public Practice offers an opportunity to put your skills where they matter most: at the heart of communities in England and Wales. We are recruiting talented, motivated and experienced landscape architects who want to gain experience in the public sector. Our flagship initiative provides the support and structure to help you confidently take this next step in your career.

The Associate Programme can offer you:

• A public sector role matched to your experience and skills
• A tailored development course to support your shift into public service
• A cohort of peers to grow with, connect with and learn alongside

The Programme involves completing a competitive application process. When you apply to this advert, you are applying to join the Associate Programme rather than applying directly to a local authority. Successful candidates will secure a 12-month minimum employment contract, with a salary ranging between £30,000 and £55,000, depending on experience.

YOUR JOB ROLE IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR

Following the new announcements relating to nature, landscape, and ecology, local government has an ever-increasing need for in-house skills relating to blue and green infrastructure and biodiversity. There is also renewed attention to new settlements and large-scale master planning for development, both in terms of supporting a quality public realm, as well as active travel and healthy living.

A Landscape Architect placement may involve:

• Undertaking landscape character appraisals of key sites as part of Local Plan site assessments.
• Taking a landscape-led approach to the strategic planning for emerging masterplans, urban extensions or new settlements.
• Integrating green infrastructure and sustainable urban drainage into major developments, infrastructure or highways.
• Preparing public realm design guides across Authorities or areas of development.
• Securing funding for restoring or revitalising parks and open spaces.
• Promoting active travel and sustainable forms of transport through public realm improvements.
• Implementing biodiversity net-gain.

For more information about roles that Landscape Architects can take on in the public sector, visit the disciplines section of our website.

WHO YOU ARE

We want our cohorts to be diverse in terms of skills, experience, and backgrounds and actively encourage applications from all sections of society, be it age, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, faith, neurodiversity or disability. We require applicants to have a minimum of three years of relevant professional working experience within the built environment so they can hit the ground running from the start. There is no upper limit.

To be eligible for the programme, applicants must have the legal right to work in the UK. We are not able to sponsor visas. Applicants must be willing to consider a full-time equivalent salary of £30,000 - £55,000, depending on the role's grade and their experience.

WHO WE ARE

Public Practice was founded as a social enterprise in October 2017 with a mission to build the public sector’s capability to improve the quality, equality, and sustainability of places. We believe that local government’s role is crucial in creating and managing everyday places that work for everyone, and that to achieve this, it must be well-resourced with diverse placemaking skills and the right support to lead the way. We deliver services to help the public sector build capacity and develop its placemaking capabilities.

LOCATION

We recruit Associates to jobs in Authorities across England and Wales. Opportunities to work from home have increased, but there is generally an expectation that Associates are present at their Authorities offices on a weekly basis (around two days per week), although this does vary across Authorities. You will also need to be able to attend a limited number of in-person courses and field trip days throughout the first 12 months in your role.

HOW TO APPLY

The first stage of the application process is completing an online form. Applicants will then be assessed anonymously based on their answers to questions. Those who are successful at the online stage will receive an email inviting them to book into two online assessments. If you meet our requirements after all assessments, you will join our pool of candidates and be considered for any suitable roles we receive. We strongly recommend you take our Eligibility Quiz or attend one of our events for further information on our programme before starting your application on our website.

The deadline to apply is 4 January 2026.

ACCESSIBILITY

Public Practice is committed to creating equal access to our recruitment process for all. If, for any accessibility reasons, you would prefer to submit your application in an alternative format, please email info@publicpractice.org.uk or call to discuss your requirements.

TO APPLY PLEASE CLICK THE "APPLY NOW" BUTTON AND YOU WILL BE REDIRECTED TO BEGIN THE APPLICATION PROCESS.