Located at the heart of England’s Northwest and with a varied mix of cultural and leisure facilities and unique industrial heritage, St. Helens offers great opportunities as a place to live and work. St. Helens Council plays a key role in the Liverpool City Region and wider area and has an acknowledged reputation as providing excellent planning services.

We are dealing with an exciting range of planning challenges, balancing needs for major new development linked to the Council’s growth agenda against the protection of the Borough’s greenspaces and other environmental assets. In this context, we have recently adopted out ambitious new Local Plan.

You will provide a lead role – with the support of a talented, friendly and enthusiastic planning policy team - in implementing the Council’s recently adopted Local Plan, as well as developing other areas of the Council’s planning framework, including the preparation of a number of supplementary Planning Documents. You will also take a leading role in co-ordinating the Council’s ongoing Neighbourhood Planning project work.

You must have significant planning policy experience and a degree in planning or a related discipline, and a good knowledge of relevant legislation, guidance and procedures. You must also be able to communicate well, both orally and in writing, analyse information in a clear and logical manner and meet priorities and deadlines, and have good IT skills. You should also be able to work well as a team member and individually with minimum supervision, be enthusiastic and able to lead and motivate others.

In line with our new ways of working, this role is hybrid and will involve working from home with occasional working in our agile hub at Atlas House in St Helens Town Centre.

Interested to Find Out More?

You can review our full job description details, and person specification information here.

You are also welcome to contact us for a chat before applying by contacting Lucy O'Doherty, Development Plans Manager at Lucyo'doherty@sthelens.gov.uk.

Please note we reserve the right to close the advert early should we receive a sufficient number of applications and encourage you to apply early, to avoid disappointment.

Equality & Diversity
St Helens Council respects and values the individuality that every employee brings. We encourage applicants from diverse backgrounds, who share our values, our commitment to inclusion, and who will help us on our journey to transform our organisation. Further information about Equality & Diversity at St Helens Council can be found here https://www.sthelens.gov.uk/equality.

St Helens Council is a Disability Confident Employer. Disability Confident Employers lead the way in helping to take action that changes attitudes, behaviours, and cultures for the better.

NOLAN Principles of Conduct in Public Life.
All Council employees are required to abide by the ethical standards embodied by the 7 Nolan Principles: Selflessness, Integrity, Objectivity, Accountability, Openness, Honesty, and Leadership.