Senior Planners - Development Management and Enforcement in Kingston upon Thames

About The Borough

Found in zone 6 with good transport links in and out of London, Kingston is a vibrant and diverse university town which creates the rich sense of community shared across the borough and its Residents. Kingston boasts an idyllic riverside location, good shopping and great restaurants, as well as a mix of modern and historic town centre. Kingston has lots of open parklands and cycle routes that help connect the district town centres into an enjoyable place to live and work. We are passionate about working closely with our residents and vulnerable groups to help them maintain their independence and create a balance between support and independent living.

About The Role And Our Ideal Candidate

What you’ll do:

• Deliver high-quality, timely and defensible planning advice to applicants, residents, Members and stakeholders.
• Manage a caseload aligned to your experience and grade, meeting statutory timescales and borough performance standards.
• Work collaboratively with internal services and external partners including the GLA, TfL, statutory consultees and community organisations.
• Support service improvement, digital transformation and modern ways of working.
• Promote inclusive engagement, sustainable development and equitable outcomes across all planning activities.

Depending on your specialism, you will also:

Development Management

• Assess and determine planning applications, undertake site visits and negotiations, and prepare delegated and committee reports.
• Represent the Council at appeals, hearings and inquiries at Senior and Principal level.

Planning Enforcement

• Investigate alleged breaches of planning control, prepare formal enforcement actions and represent the Council at appeals, hearings and court proceedings.
• Work collaboratively to secure proportionate, negotiated compliance where appropriate.

Career progression

• Senior Planner (H–I): Leading complex work, mentoring colleagues and supporting Member engagement.
• Principal Planner (J): Leading major and sensitive work, providing quality assurance, mentoring staff, exercising delegated authority and deputising for the Lead Officer.

What we’re looking for

• A degree in Town Planning or a related built-environment discipline or experience in an enforcement environment e.g. Local Authority or Police.
• Commitment to professional development, with or eligible for RTPI or other professional body (for enforcement) membership or progression toward chartered status (as appropriate to grade).
• Strong professional judgement, clear communication skills and a collaborative approach.
• Experience relevant to your specialism (Development Management, Policy or Enforcement), with the ability to work confidently in a complex London borough context.

Join us and build your planning career in Kingston — shaping places, supporting communities and progressing through a clear, supported professional pathway.

About Us

Shape Kingston’s Places. Influence Decisions. Grow Your Career. We’re looking for talented and motivated planning professionals to join Kingston’s Planning Service across Development Management and Planning Enforcement. This career-grade opportunity offers structured progression, meaningful responsibility and the chance to work at the heart of one of London’s most complex and rewarding planning environments.

Why Kingston?

Kingston operates within a demanding London planning context — high housing need, ambitious regeneration, climate-led design expectations and strong community engagement. From strategic sites and sensitive heritage assets to enforcement challenges and Local Plan delivery, our planners play a vital role in shaping high-quality, sustainable places. This role offers flexibility, professional development and the opportunity to progress from Planner through to Principal Planning Officer, supported by strong leadership and a collaborative culture.

Our Offer To You

As an organisation that values and nurtures talent, we’re committed to helping you fulfil your potential and will offer you a supportive, friendly and collaborative environment to grow and develop your career and skills. We’re constantly striving to improve our ways of working so putting your ideas across however big or small will be fully encouraged and supported by your colleagues and our dynamic and experienced management team. Employees have access to a wide range of benefits to enable staff to achieve a work life balance, some of which include:

• A generous annual leave entitlement of 25-32 days, plus bank holidays (pro-rata if part-time working hours apply) depending on service and grade.
• Enhanced Maternity, Paternity, shared parental, adoption and dependents leave.
• Three volunteering days per year in Kingston.
• Hybrid working (dependent on the role).
• Flexible and agile working arrangements using Google Chromebooks.
• Learning and development portal offering a range of courses.
• Discounts on a range of local shops, restaurants, gyms and leisure centres.
• Interest free season ticket loans.
• Local Government Pension Scheme.
• Bicycle loan facilities and cycle to work scheme.
• Electric vehicle leasing scheme.
• Confidential health & wellbeing and counselling support.

Application Process

For more information and to apply, please visit www.kingstonjobs.co.uk. Penna are managing this recruitment campaign on our behalf as our trusted Recruitment Partners. Apply online outlining what skills, abilities and experience you can bring which makes you an ideal candidate for this role. Please refer to the requirements outlined in the job profile when completing your application.

We understand and recognise the benefits of using Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the workplace and are embracing AI where appropriate, to boost our productivity and streamline how we deliver our Council services efficiently; to provide the best possible outcomes for our residents and communities. However, we reserve the right to reject applications where it is apparent that AI-generated content has been used in isolation and without personalised responses. At Kingston we value authenticity and are looking for individuals who can clearly demonstrate their own skills, experience and motivation for the role that they are applying for and embrace and demonstrate our STAR values. Here at Kingston we have core values of Transparency and this is to be demonstrated during the application process and completion of the supporting statement and will be further tested at interview and selection stage for those who progress forward.

Additional Information

We are proud to be a diverse and welcoming Borough and we strive to create a workforce which reflects the community we serve, and instil a sense of belonging in our staff. We celebrate and respect differences and appreciate the value of having a diverse workforce, therefore we welcome applications from under represented groups. To support our workers and their families we offer a range of family friendly, inclusive employment policies, flexible working arrangements, staff engagement forums and inclusive staff networks who help drive our diversity agenda. We are also proud to be a disability confident employer and guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum essential criteria for a role. As an accredited London Living Wage Employer all our employees are guaranteed the London Living Wage regardless of their length or type of contract. The UK has a points-based immigration system affecting EU and Non-EU workers and sponsorship requirements. We advise checking the GOV.UK website for right to work guidance. Sponsorship availability varies and is subject to eligibility requirements and budget limitations. As a result, we cannot guarantee sponsorship for all roles and will evaluate sponsorship requests on a case-by-case basis.