Principal Planning Officer Before you apply -Turn on alerts for jobs like this!

As a Principal Planning Officer, your role involves leading and managing strategic and complex planning projects. You'll work on facilitating community engagement and collaborating with stakeholders to promote appropriate development. Reporting to a Planning Manager, you'll be responsible for handling the most challenging and strategic planning applications. This will require you to come up with creative and innovative solutions to support sustainable development in line with Wiltshire's place-shaping objectives.

Additionally, you'll supervise and mentor less experienced officers. This includes reviewing and approving their work to ensure it aligns with the Council's Local Plan, Scheme of Delegation, and national planning policy.

Wiltshire is one of the UK's largest unitary councils, with 5,300 public servants helping residents live their best lives.

Our Mission

Ensure Wiltshire's people live full, healthy, and enriched lives. Create beautiful communities that are exciting places to live. Generate a thriving economy, supported by a skilled workforce. To take the lead in mitigating the climate challenges ahead.

Commitment to equality & inclusion

As an Includability Committed Employer, Inclusivity is a key element of 'Our Identity'. We are firmly committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people, and vulnerable adults and to the principles of inclusion and diversity in employment and the delivery of our services. Read our statement of commitment to equality and inclusion. Our Inclusive Workforce Strategy outlines our approach and commitment to diversity and inclusion. Meanwhile, staff-led networks help us shape an inclusive workplace with the support of leaders.

Working with us

This is a place with an inclusive can-do culture, where talented people thrive. An agile, high-performing organisation that offers award-winning benefits and recognises effort. Our team are proud to build the best possible communities in partnership with residents, thinking innovatively. With our shared mission, we make a difference - an unbeatable feeling.

Our Planning Service

At the heart of Wiltshire's growth and development, we ensure that every decision we make promotes high-quality place-shaping, guided by policy and best practices in urban design. As a statutory and regulatory service, we're responsible for delivering housing and employment in line with our adopted Local Plan.

We're on an exciting journey to elevate our planning services, and we're looking for passionate professionals to be part of this transformation.

Last spring, our Director of Planning invited the Planning Advisory Service for a Peer Review. This has set the stage for an ambitious transformation programme launched at the end of last year. To support this initiative, we're investing £1 million in additional staffing, creating new opportunities across all service areas.