Principal Development Management Officer

The work also involves a focus on different areas for delivery, including liaising with and supporting host authorities. Being a relatively young Planning Authority, you will also have the chance to shape the delivery of the service too, as we continually strive to do better. As a Principal Officer with considerable experience, you will also be able to hone supervision/management skills when deputising for your manager in their absence.

The South Downs National Park Authority is looking for experienced planners with a passion for achieving high-quality development in a beautiful, protected Landscape. This exciting role offers a unique and fulfilling environment in which to further develop your planning career. The park covers an area of over 100 miles from the edge of Winchester to Eastbourne, with over 5,000 applications a year. In addition to the size and scale of the Park, we have a mix of work being carried out in-house by our South Downs Planning Teams or through host authorities on our behalf. In this role, there is the opportunity to deal with a varied, complex and caseload, including major applications for residential, employment and tourism development, to name but a few. The South Downs is a truly distinct National Park by virtue of the number of large settlements within its boundaries (including Petersfield and Lewes), and the opportunity for a wide variety of applications, including a significant number of major schemes, is a key element of the role., The South Downs National Park sits in a beautiful part of Southern England, and being in the South it is in one of the most economically vibrant areas in the UK, after London. This means a lot of challenges for our planning team. Working in a unique partnership with 10 local authorities within the National Park boundaries we must ensure we achieve the right balance between environmental, social and economic outcomes and that future developments in the park are managed sympathetically meeting the needs of the whole community - residents; visitors and businesses. They must achieve all this within the framework of protecting the natural environment, diversity and unique beauty of the landscape.

• Flexible working - (this is available for the majority of our roles. However, some positions may require on-site presence and /or specific hours due to business needs)
• Local government pension scheme
• Electric Vehicle Salary Sacrifice Scheme
• Heat Scheme (capped interest-free green home improvement loan, available on a first-come, first-served basis)
• Healthcare - includes cash plan, counselling and wellbeing discounts
• Access to Health and Wellbeing portal and webinars
• 28 days' annual leave, increasing to 31 days, plus bank holidays
• Professional development support
• Cycle to work scheme
• Car sharing
• Use of pool cars
• Regular staff events / activities, which support the SDNPA's Purposes and Duty