Associate Director of Planning Norwich Cambridge London

Lanpro is a market leading multidisciplinary consultancy who specialise in Planning Design and the Environment.

The company works on projects at all scales within town semirural and rural contexts across a variety of sectors that includes residential historic sites and estates renewable energy and mixeduse commercial developments.

As part of our growth and forever evolving proposition we are looking for an Associate Director level to join their highly efficient and growing Planning team. Applicants for this role will work on projects throughout the UK but with the core workload currently coming in from Cambridge and the Eastern region it would be ideal if you were suitably located in Norwich.

Job Purpose

As an Associate Director you will take a leadership role on planning projects and coordinating and overseeing projects. You will be an ambassador for the company undertaking business development through building upon existing client relationships and actively seeking opportunities for future business whilst also taking a leadership role in developing the teams core competencies assisting the Regional Director in the daytoday management of the team and undertaking direct line management responsibilities as directed by the Regional Director.

Key Responsibilities

Developing ourselves and others

• Demonstrates effective management and the ability to influence and persuade across a range of stakeholders both internally and externally.
• Helps to ensure all members of the team are effectively developed and is committed to personal CPD in pursuit of continuous learning and selfimprovement.
• Inputs into team objectives and delegates effectively.
• Demonstrates effective management of staff and direct reports not solely on a project basis.
• Takes responsibility for line management coaching mentoring training wellbeing and the performance management of more junior employees.
• Assists in the technical development of staff coaching and mentoring on technical issues and assisting with others gaining professional accreditation.
• Participates in appraisals for more junior employees.

Collaboration and innovation

• Champions the Lanpro client centric agenda internally and externally.
• Establishes consolidates and builds on relationships with new and existing clients and colleagues.
• Ensures client expectations are managed appropriately and that their needs are identified and met (or exceeded).
• Provides technical input into projects and bids and uses technical knowledge to identify and realise new client opportunities.

Defining our future

• Responsible for negotiating major contracts with customers/clients and or suppliers/contractors including managing legal and contractual aspects.
• Develops business opportunities with new and existing clients with little or no support and demonstrates excellent judgement and ability in targeting strategic and profitable jobs.
• Makes decisions at a tactical level with some strategic input to overall functional strategy and regional Business Plan.
• Freedom to make decisions affecting the function within the overall business strategy.
• Has a strong professional profile and reputation both internally and within the industry and utilises this effectively to leverage business opportunities.

Delivering our projects

• Day to day line management of junior team members to ensure effective utilisation of team members and delivery of project outcomes.
• Performs a challenging range and variety of complex technical and professional activities in the pursuit of project excellence.
• Ensures compliance and adherence to all applicable SHEQ procedures for self and others.
• Takes a key role in projects within relevant specialist field.
• Manages the delivery of specialised components of projects.
• Project managing a mix of large and complex planning submissions
• Project managing planning appeals including appearing at appeal hearings and/or as an expert witness at appeal inquiries.
• Performing strategic planning research and policy development including assessments of development potential.
• Undertaking site inspections and assessing the merits of proposals.
• Giving guidance to engineers/architects on the production of drawings and supplementary information in relation to planning submissions.
• Providing strategic project management input including financial management.
• Providing senior leadership within the Planning Division
• Maintaining continuing professional development in accordance with the requirements of the RTPI.

Qualifications & Experience

• An RTPI accredited degree or Masters in a related discipline
• A chartered member of the Royal Town Planning Institute.
• Will have spent considerable time working in the planning industry ideally including some experience of working in the private sector and experience of directly managing staff or leading a team.

Essential Knowledge Skills Abilities

• Excellent communication skills.
• Strong client management and resolution including the ability to present at senior levels and across a range of stakeholders.
• Expert negotiation skills.
• Excellent project management skills coupled with timeliness and accuracy.
• Strong report writing skills and ability to review colleagues work providing constructive feedback.
• Strong commercial knowledge.
• A strong awareness of local politics and the interface between planning and politics.
• Exemplary knowledge and expertise of planning practice legislation across England and Wales.
• Excellent report writing with a natural ability to explain and discuss planning issues for a varied audience.