Developer Contributions - Principal Planner – 2 posts PO4-PO6 £46,041 - £54,129 per annum About Us The Planning & Development service is shaping the places our residents and businesses use every day. We do this by working with and holding developers or land owners to the high standards in our bold Local Plan and the London Plan. The newly established Development Delivery team is building on the aspirations of our residents and members. We want to ensure our residents can benefit from genuinely affordable homes, have access to beautiful and truly accessible public spaces, can secure the new jobs being created in a range of industries, and have access to social infrastructure for everyone to thrive. Our strategic sites will create new communities that must truly connect with their neighbours. The Development Delivery team want to forge more productive relationships with stakeholders to help with the delivery of development alongside adequate infrastructure. Our borough is growing and so is our team. About the Job Our ambition as a team is to align infrastructure delivery and council services to the growth and development across the borough. The development industry is active in Newham so this is a busy part of the service with commitment and enthusiasm to enable high quality development. We are looking for a colleague at a senior level to robustly scrutinise submissions and applications made to us. Your application must demonstrate the experience you have to perform the tasks and accountabilities at grade PO6. In relation to financial matters the team collect, allocate and reconcile income; the team also assess and act as gatekeepers of the governance process to release monies for expenditure. Quarterly reporting to TfL and the council’s capital and assets oversight board is required and annual statutory reporting is supported by a report to members of the strategic development committee. This role will require collaboration with the wider team – sharing your knowledge and experience to enhance all team member’s approaches, but you will maintain a range of developments and casework commensurate with this grade – i.e. the most complicated developments making transformational changes in east London. These challenges will be fun and you will maintain professional working relationships with developers, agents, architects and other professional stakeholders all with a common goal to deliver development in Newham. In the short-term we will be collaborating with our colleagues at the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) to continue their good work with developers in and around the Olympic Park; maintaining and enhancing the working relationships we have with developers across the borough and meaningfully engaging with our colleagues across the council to facilitate positive planning outcomes to benefit our residents. For Planning Obligations This is an important role in the developer contributions (S106) team, you will be one of six officers dealing with planning obligations work reporting to a team leader. We will be working hard to improve the way we work, enhance transparency and find new ways to engage with residents and businesses on the social value that development is bringing to the borough; we’re on the verge of making transformational change to how we do things and would value the experience new appointments would bring from other work settings. Operationally the team is responsible for the financial and non-financial matters associated with compliance with deeds of planning obligation. This involves casework for assessing and making judgments of submissions on a range of planning related themes from sustainable and active transport, socio-economic development, public transport, financial viability, affordable housing and other matters. For CIL You will report to a team leader alongside five other colleagues – together you are the developer contributions (CIL) team. We are building and maintaining a reputation for robustly scrutinising the CIL regulations and holding the development industry to the highest standards; whilst also supporting developers with getting on site by promptly processing claims for relief and exemptions; and we like to innovate with an internal culture of co-designing service improvements. This team is primarily responsible for the collection of and accounting for monies – the developments in Newham span super-major developments phased to deliver over 15-20 years and schemes which gain consent and want to be on site within weeks or days of planning permission. This post will help to streamline our processes and work with some of our more technically challenging casework; including collaborating with planning policy, development management, infrastructure planning, resident engagement and other colleagues to help facilitate development. About You You are a passionate and informed advocate for the council in relation to this area of expertise as an MRTPI or MRICS planner or working towards membership of these institutions. You will be keen to learn and develop; including by mentoring other members of the team. You will be confident in your own abilities but not afraid to be honest if something does not go to plan. You will be confident in preparing and presenting reports on complex matters to a range of audiences to clearly inform, influence or engage on planning obligations, planning policy and site specific considerations. You have a deep and through understanding of statue, case law and appeal decisions that you can apply to your advice to stakeholders, in your delegated reports and to shape our ways of working. You will have experience of or feel comfortable in representing complex planning obligations and/or CIL matters in conversations with residents, members, senior leaders, developers, land owners, and infrastructure providers. You will be financially astute and have a keen eye for detail to safeguard income and expenditure of public funding in line with the internal controls you and the team will update and enforce. As a non-negotiable you will be committed to the achievement of equality, diversity and inclusion in both employment and service delivery. Closing date 9/09/24 interviews to be held: 24th/25th September 2024 https://www.newham.gov.uk/downloads/file/7563/service-redesign-jd-developer-contributions-principal-planner Additional Information To complete a successful application please carefully review the person specification and ensure you offer examples of your work experience. Should you require any help or advice with your online application, please contact the Recruitment Help Desk on: 0203 373 0909. Should you wish to have a confidential conversation about this job you may contact the Hiring Manager Jennifer Bishop on 02033731168 or [email protected]. The council is committed to the development of colleagues. During the course of your employment, subject to you meeting entry requirements and based on the exigencies of the service, the Development Delivery team will support the progression of an apprenticeship achieving a chartered town planning standard at level 7 or an alternative leadership apprenticeship. If you are currently on an apprenticeship levy funded course please contact us so we can discuss how this could be transferred to Newham. Additional