Senior Policy Planner

Summary

Opportunities to shape future growth in dynamic Cambridge and South Cambridgeshire.

We currently have a fantastic opportunity to work within our vibrant and busy Planning Policy, Strategy & Economy team. This is an exciting time to join the team that is currently working on a huge range of projects. These projects include developing the first joint Local Plan in an area with the fastest growing city economy in the country, incorporating major regeneration schemes and providing new low carbon districts in Greater Cambridge. 

The range of opportunities within this Shared Planning Service provides you with an unparalleled opportunity to develop your career, working on some of the most innovative developments in the UK with a group of passionate and dedicated colleagues.

Greater Cambridge offers a unique opportunity to help plan for the future of the beautiful historic City of Cambridge and its surrounding rural area, which together are home to world renowned universities, hospitals and cutting edge science. Our combined growth agenda includes a range of new settlements within South Cambridgeshire and urban extensions to Cambridge.  For instance, existing exciting new strategic development projects include Waterbeach new town (11,000 homes), Northstowe new town (10,000 homes) and urban extension developments such as Eddington (3,000 homes) and meeting the planning needs of Europe’s most important biotechnology cluster. The preferred options for our new joint Local Plan includes further strategic opportunities to meet our continuing significant need for jobs and homes in the area, with further major developments.

We also have clear environmental ambitions and commissioned pioneering work on climate change and meeting net zero carbon to inform our policy development in our emerging local plan.

Our local communities are also taking the opportunity to plan what happens in their areas through the preparation of Neighbourhood Plans, and we are committed to supporting them deliver their aspirations. We have 7 adopted Neighbourhood Plans, with several more heading towards their referendums, and a range of other urban areas and villages working on new plans.

We are looking for a Senior Policy Planner to help us move our plans forward. We are particularly interested in someone who can take a lead on Neighbourhood Planning working with a small group of officers in the team, as well as taking part in our wider plan making. We are seeking someone who can provide advice and support to communities, and organise the programme of Neighbourhood Plan delivery from early consultation stages through to the making of plans.

We positively encourage flexible working arrangements across our Cambourne and Cambridge City locations, and hybrid working. Within the Planning Policy Team we take a flexible approach to working from home, but also have regular ‘together days’ where team members can work together in either our Cambourne or Cambridge offices.

From January 2023 until March 2023 we will be taking part in a 4‑day working week trial by South Cambridgeshire District Council. A 4‑day week is when full-time staff work one less day per week (4 days instead of 5) but still get paid the same salary. It is not the same as compressed hours, which is working the traditional 37-hour week over 4 longer days. A 4‑day week for a full-time employee at the Shared Planning Service will consist of 30 hours. For part time staff, the amount of hours reduced would be calculated via a pro-rata reduction. A helpful way of explaining this arrangement is that staff will need to get 100% of their work done, in 80% of the time, for 100% of their salary, by changing the way we work. The purpose of this trial is to better support the health and wellbeing of our colleagues, while still delivering an excellent service to our residents. Read more about our 4 day week trial.

We are looking for applicants with the drive to embrace the exciting challenges of this busy Shared Planning Service; there is no better place to develop your career. If you would like to work on exciting projects with an enthusiastic team, come and join us.

For an informal discussion about the roles please contact Jonathan Dixon, Planning Policy Manager (07514 925952) or Jenny Nuttycombe, Principal Policy Officer (07563 421032).

Closing date: 9am Monday 6 February 2023

Interview date: Wednesday 15 February 2023