Wychavon District Council is a great place to work, with high levels of resident satisfaction and motivated staff who enjoy working with us. Located in South Worcestershire the district boasts a beautiful natural environment, a rich heritage and plenty to do and see. Wychavon district is also ranked as the second best rural place to live in the UK.

We pride ourselves on being a progressive organisation who spends time and energy on what we know matters to our residents and communities – things like finding amazing spaces to build new  homes, enhancing our natural environment,  creating jobs, contributing to reducing the impact of climate change, helping people feel safe and preventing homelessness. We want to make our districts even better places to live, work and visit and our staff support us with this.

Our staff are at the heart of what we do, and as a result we are always looking to recruit, develop and retain the very best talent we can find.  That's why, as well as offering  interesting and varied roles, we also offer a range of attractive benefits, such as agile working arrangements (including working from home), generous holiday entitlements, a pension scheme, opportunities for personal development, and discounted gym membership. We have a friendly and supportive culture and we actively seek individuals who are role models for others and are prepared to share their knowledge and expertise with others.

We share a Chief Executive and a joint management team with Malvern Hills District Council and whilst they retain their own political structures and distinct identities, the joint management structure allows us to maximise the opportunity to deliver a wide range of good value services to our customers and communities, and operate and develop shared services and partnership arrangements with each other and with other councils.

Head of Planning Policy
37 hours per week
£46,845 – £51,402 per annum

About the role

We’re looking for someone who has the passion and energy to lead an experienced team of planning policy professionals and help us drive forward the review of our ambitious  South Worcestershire Development Plan which  is joint plan between the three local planning authorities of Malvern Hills, Worcester City and Wychavon Councils.

In addition, you will be responsible for all planning policy matters relevant to Malvern Hills and Wychavon District Councils and help our Development Management colleagues to interpret planning policy. Working collaboratively to achieve our strategic priorities, plans and objectives will be a key objective for this post.

As the head of the Policy team we will want you to be engaging and seek to convey your expertise in a way that is persuasive and positive for your team, your peers and key stakeholders.

We’d like you to show us how you are passionate about planning policy and how you inspire the same energy in your team to help them deliver important projects that form part of our Local Development Scheme and Service Delivery Plans for both councils.

You’ll need to demonstrate a commitment to delivering our values of great customer service, openness and accountability, innovation and improvement and fairness and respect. Alongside this we’ll be looking for you to champion our Leadership Behaviour Framework by inspiring, communicating, collaborating and empowering self and others and leading by example.

About you

To work for us you will need to understand how local and political changes and the political structure impact on organisational priorities and have a detailed understanding of current planning legislation.

Excellent communication skills are vital and an ability to engage with a range of partners is essential to ensure effective collaboration, respected decision making and the provision of an outstanding service to all our customers.

If you are ready for a new challenge, if you are an experienced leader with a strong track record of resolving complex planning policy issues and have a passion for growth for yourself, your team and planning policy then we’d love you to apply.

Key Requirements:

• Full membership of the Royal Town Planning Institute (MRTPI)
• Experience of effectively leading a team and supporting continued professional development
• High level planning policy casework experience including dealing with a wide range of professional planning matters
• Ability to collaborate with officers and council members at a senior level, dealing with corporate issues and demonstrate commercial acumen
• Experience of providing professional / technical advice to local authorities, other relevant organisations or development partners.

Skills and Experience:

• Ability to directly undertake and support negotiations with a wide range of professional / technical bodies and stakeholders.
• Able to manage and prioritise own workload and allocate work streams to others in order to meet project deadlines and performance targets.
• Creative, innovative and proactive approach to recognising and solving problems.
• Excellent communication skills both verbally and in writing with an eye for detail
• Ability to lead and manage a variety of complex multi-agency projects
• Focused on customer requirements and shows demonstrable performance management experience

To discuss the post or for further information, please call Holly Jones, Director of Planning and Infrastructure, on 01684 862293 or email holly.jones@malvernhills.gov.uk

Closing date: Sunday 8 August 2021

Interview date: Wednesday 25 and Friday 27 August 2021

Supporting documents
Employee Benefits
Job Description and Person Specification