Job Description
About The Role
We are looking to appoint a Team Leader within our Development Management service, to work alongside two existing Team Leaders.
The post is career-graded and will be of particular interest to planners who already have extensive experience in development management, and those who are keen to increase their experience and involvement in managing the service.
You will be responsible for the day-to-day management and providing guidance to planners of varying experience, along with Officers providing business support to the Development Management service.
You will deal with a personal caseload of major planning applications, including those which are of high corporate importance, those which cover a wide breadth of planning issues and those which can often prove controversial.
For complex and high-profile planning appeals, especially those being dealt with at public local inquiries, you will provide oversight of the Council’s case, liaising with consultants appointed on behalf of the Council, as well as those representing appellants.
We are keen to engage with applicants, agents and other interested parties. We offer an extensive pre-application planning service and we encourage all parties looking to bring development forward to use it. We strive to secure high quality, sustainable development within the Borough, and you will play a substantial part in us achieving this.
About You
We are looking for a positive, enthusiastic and proactive planner to join our organisation and play a key role in shaping the future of the borough. You will have an opportunity to really make your mark on a wide range of major developments.
You will have a qualification in Town Planning or a related discipline and be eligible for membership of the Royal Town Planning Institute. Considerable experience of working in Development Management and experience in dealing with complex planning issues will be a major advantage.
The team culture is that individuals take ownership and responsibility for their workload, with significant opportunity for delegated decision making, so excellent communication skills, initiative and the ability to work under pressure are essential.
About Us
Fareham Borough Council is a local authority for the area midway between Portsmouth and Southampton. Local Government services are split between Fareham Borough Council and Hampshire County Council.
The Borough has a highly diverse character. It contains a number of urban settlements of varying size with many surrounded by countryside. The Meon Valley runs north-south through the centre of the Borough with the River Hamble marking the western edge of the Borough. Much of the southern edge of the Borough adjoins The Solent, which contains a number of habitat sites of national and international importance’ whilst the South Downs adjoin the north eastern side of the Borough.
Thirteen Conservation Areas are located around the Borough, along with approximately 600 listed buildings. The Town of Fareham contains a well preserved Georgian High Street with the village of Titchfield developed around a medieval core.
Notwithstanding the modest area of the Borough, there are a number of extensive and exciting development opportunities.
The northern part of the Borough contains the entirety of the Welborne Garden Village one of the largest housing led developments along the south coast. Welborne will ultimately provide for up to 6,000 dwellings, 105,000 square metres of employment floorspace and extensive supporting retail and community uses.
The southern edge of the Borough contains the historic Daedalus airfield which has been in aviation use for in excess of 100 years. As well as continuing as an active airfield, the site (which is within the Council’s ownership) is allocated for extensive employment floorspace (circa 80,000 square metres).
In September 2023, the Council purchased the Shopping Centre in the heart of Fareham. The regeneration of Fareham Town Centre is a high corporate priority. The Council is planning to have a Regeneration Strategy and Action Plan in place for the Town Centre by the Summer of this year.
Benefits of working for us
We are keen to enable those working for us to be individually empowered to do their job. This role will not only do this but will also provide an opportunity to gain broader experience in a wide range of development projects and to gain management experience.
In addition to this the Council offers the following employee benefits:
- Hybrid (office/ home) and flexible working opportunities
- Flexible working hours scheme
- An annual leave entitlement of 28 days for candidates with more than 5 years local government experience. In addition to this, you will be entitled to up to three additional days leave between Christmas and New Year.
- Ability to purchase 5 days of additional leave per year
- Authorised car parking
- Employee discounts