Planning Manager

Sport England is currently recruiting for two roles in its In-house Planning Team. We’re responsible for growing and developing grassroots sport and helping more people get active across England. A core part of our role is working through the planning system to protect playing fields, influence better places, and ensure communities have access to the spaces and facilities they need to be active.

We currently have a statutory responsibility to protect playing field sites and engage with the local plan process, delivering a wider ambition to help shape environments, protect, provide and enhance facilities to make it easier to be active in everyday lives. We’re evolving how we do this – moving towards a more strategic, plan led and digitally enabled planning service that works proactively with local authorities and partners.

The roles:

• Planning Manager (Policy & Tools): You will use policy development experience skills, support the development of planning tools & guidance (including Active Design), standing advice, and service standards working with partners such as ECB, RFU, TCPA and others. You will also support the development of new digitally enabled tools and methodologies to support the delivery of the work such as Active Places and provide expert advice to colleagues delivering the above locally as well as nationally to other agencies and partners.
• Planning Manager (Local Delivery): You will use a blend of development management skills and policy development on a day-to-day basis, coupled with relationship management to support Sport England’s statutory role in protecting playing fields through the planning system, working with partners such as the ECB, RFU, LTA and other national governing bodies of sport. You will work proactively with local authorities through our new remit on local plans, influencing policy and supporting the evidence base through playing pitch strategies and strategic site engagement. Additionally, you will support our wider place-based and capital investment work by providing planning advice and influencing policy that supports active environments and everyday physical activity, not just formal sport.

These roles offer a rare opportunity to build a broad, high impact planning career, whether through hands-on local delivery, working directly with local authorities on applications, plans and place-based outcomes, or through national policy, tools and guidance, shaping how the planning system supports sport and physical activity across England. In both roles, you’ll gain end to end experience of the planning system, from local decision making to national policy and standing advice, while working as a statutory consultee with real influence. You’ll be exposed to government, local authorities, National Governing Bodies and major partners, and develop skills in strategic planning, evidence led decision making, active environments and data enabled planning. Together, these roles offer a flexible pathway to grow professionally, deepen expertise and shape the future direction of planning for sport and physical activity.

Both roles sit within a planning service that is changing how it works — moving towards a more plan led, digitally enabled and impact focused approach, while maintaining strong local delivery.