Salary and grade: £48,530 - £54,064 per year, Grade 7
Duration of role: Fixed term contract for 18 months
Hours per week: 37
Location: Hybrid / Abingdon, Oxfordshire

Closing date: 13th September 2024

About the role and what we’re looking for

We’re looking for a dynamic, innovative, solution-focussed professional planner with an interest in working on, and inputting into, Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIP).

The successful applicant for this role will join the councils at an exciting time. Our team works across two councils and is responsible for delivering a new joint Local Plan between South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse. Furthermore, within the Vale of White Horse there are currently two emerging NSIP proposals: the South East Strategic Reservoir Option (SESRO) being progressed by Thames Water, and the Botley West Solar Farm being progressed by Photovolt Development Partners.

We are looking for a passionate officer to lead on the councils’ responses to these NSIPs, as well as any other future NSIPs that are proposed within South Oxfordshire and the Vale of White Horse. In the role, you will forge strong relationships with a variety of stakeholders, including elected councillors, town and parish councils, utility and infrastructure providers, Oxfordshire County Council, and NSIP applicants. You will also coordinate the input of several internal specialist disciplines (depending on the nature of the NSIP), including development management, drainage engineers, environmental health, landscape, and arboriculture officer.

While the councils are not the decision-making authority for NSIPs, you will be required to lead our response to the pre-application, pre-examination, and examination stages, and where relevant, the post decision stage. Throughout the process, you will need to brief and coordinate the input of the specialist officers, as well as briefing the Infrastructure Planning Team Leader, Planning Policy Manager, Senior Management Team, and Councillors / Committees.

Alongside leading our input on the NSIPs, you will work with the Planning Infrastructure Team Leader on wider infrastructure matters to support our emerging Joint Local Plan. This will allow you to work on a variety of infrastructure topics, including transport, green infrastructure, leisure facilities, utilities and communications, and healthcare. You will work with a team of planning policy officers to assist in the viability testing of the infrastructure requirements in the Infrastructure Delivery Plan (IDP) to help manifest these infrastructure needs into planning policies in the Joint Local Plan.

Your essential skills, knowledge and experience

• capable of managing complex projects
• good interpersonal skills with customers and stakeholders, demonstrating an understanding of individual needs
• excellent customer service skills, including provision of readily understood professional advice to customers and stakeholders, using tailored language specific to their level of understanding needs
• able to communicate ideas and expectations clearly and succinctly, using plain language
• ability to work in a digital / remote office environment
• good negotiating skills, actively listening to others’ viewpoints
• good, accurate written communication skills
• ability to research concepts / projects, use own initiative and carry out activities with minimal supervision
• able to demonstrate the ability to successfully deliver complex and challenging programmes of work through effective partnership working in a political environment
• good knowledge of Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs) process, other infrastructure policy, planning policy and legislation relevant to infrastructure scheme development
• ability to use, interpret, summarise and present numerical information effectively

Your essential qualifications

• a degree or diploma in Infrastructure Planning or Town Planning, a related discipline or equivalent level of experience
• a good breadth and depth of experience of working in infrastructure planning or town planning - minimum of 2 years’ experience

The benefits we offer

• A basic 25 days annual leave per annum, rising to 30 days after five years. You also have all the bank holidays to look forward to and time off between Christmas and New Year.
• Flexible working and annualised hours – a flexible approach to work that our employees love!
• Salary pay awards – most jobs give scope for a pay increase after six months or the following April (depending on your start date) and we also review salaries each April.
• A generous career average pension scheme which includes life insurance of three times your salary
• No car park costs as there’s ample free parking available
• The opportunity to purchase a vehicle through the Salary Sacrifice Scheme
• The opportunity to purchase a bike through Cyclescheme (cheaper than directly through a store) so that you can cycle to work!
• Various schemes to keep you healthy (reduced gym membership, free swims, contributory medical schemes, wellbeing appointments, free eye tests for DSE users, after work sports clubs and more)
• We give you two days per year to volunteer within the local community.

You may have experience in the following: Planning Officer, Planning Policy Officer, Senior Planning Officer, Senior Planner, Senior Policy Planner, Senior Infrastructure Planning Officer, Lead Infrastructure Projects Coordinator, National Infrastructure Planning Lead, Principal Infrastructure Projects Officer, Senior Planning and Infrastructure Officer, Senior Strategic Infrastructure Planner, Principal NSIP Planning Officer, Senior Infrastructure Strategy Manager, National Infrastructure Projects Lead, Senior Infrastructure Delivery Manager, etc.
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