Town Planning Consultant in Chelmsford

Planning Consultant | Essex | £26,000–£38,000 Broad (Experience Dependent)

Location: Essex

Salary: £26,000–£38,000, depending on experience

Experience: Graduate to 5 years' experience

Working pattern: Office-based initially, with flexible working available after probation

An established and growing private planning consultancy in Essex is looking for a Planning Consultant to join its close-knit team. This role would suit a recent graduate looking to build their career in planning, as well as a planner with up to five years' experience who is ready to take on greater responsibility.

Working within a team of around five planners, you will gain exposure to a varied portfolio of commercial, residential and development projects , working directly with clients and supporting projects through different stages of the planning process.

What you'll be working on

The role offers the opportunity to get involved in a broad range of planning work, including:

• Site appraisals – assessing the development potential of sites and preparing initial planning advice and desktop assessments.
• Planning applications – preparing and coordinating applications for planning permission, listed building consent, advertisements, householder developments and permitted development.
• Planning appeals & enforcement – assisting with appeals against planning refusals and advising on planning enforcement matters.
• Building regulations – supporting building control applications, including full plans and building notices.
• Client work – communicating with clients, local planning authorities and other consultants and helping to progress projects from initial appraisal through to decision.

This is a role where you will be able to see the full life cycle of projects , rather than being restricted to one particular area of planning. As your experience develops, you'll have the opportunity to take on more responsibility for your own projects and client relationships.

About you

We're open to candidates from graduate level through to around five years' experience . You may have a degree in Planning, Geography, Real Estate or a related discipline, or already have experience working within a planning consultancy or local authority.

We're looking for someone who is:

• Keen to develop a career within private-sector planning.
• Commercially aware and interested in understanding clients' objectives.
• Confident communicating both verbally and in writing.
• Organised, proactive and able to manage multiple projects.
• Interested in gaining broad experience across different areas of planning.
• Comfortable working as part of a small, collaborative team.

For a graduate, this is an opportunity to develop quickly by working alongside experienced planners and gaining exposure to real projects and clients from an early stage .

For someone with existing experience, there is scope to build on your technical knowledge and take greater ownership of projects.

What you'll get

• £26,000–£35,000 salary , depending on experience.
• 26 days' annual leave , excluding bank holidays, increasing by one day every two years up to a maximum of 30 days.
• Flexible working hours after probation – standard hours are 9am–5pm during probation, moving to a flexible 10am–4pm core-hours arrangement afterwards.
• Hybrid working – the opportunity to work from home one day per week, with the potential for two days depending on the role and circumstances.
• A supportive, close-knit team environment with regular team-building activities and social events.
• The opportunity to work across a diverse range of commercial and development projects and develop your career within private practice.

The team is looking to appoint as soon as possible , but is willing to wait for the right person. If you're looking for a role where you can develop your planning career, gain broad project experience and become part of a genuinely collaborative team, we'd be keen to hear from you.