Job Title: Senior Planning Consultant

Location: Birmingham

This organisation is an award-winning specialist provider of planning, land, property, and business solutions. They are an established and trusted company known for delivering innovative and cost-effective services to both public and private sector clients. Their team prides itself on strong customer relationships, high service standards, and consistent repeat business.

Why Work Here

The organisation is committed to employee wellbeing and professional development. Benefits include:

• Competitive salaries
• Enhanced family-friendly policies
• Pension & Life Assurance
• Employee Assistance Programme
• 25 days annual leave plus bank holidays, with an option to buy additional days
• Flexible working arrangements under an agile working approach
• High-quality training and development opportunities

The Opportunity

Due to ongoing growth, the organisation is seeking a Senior Planning Consultant to join its expanding Professional Services Team. The role involves delivering specialist planning services to planning professionals, developers, local authorities, applicants, and the general public.

Reporting to a Principal Planning Consultant, the successful candidate will provide expert planning advice, assessments, and recommendations across a wide range of queries, including those received through national planning advice platforms.

Agile working means the successful candidate must be willing to work occasionally outside standard office hours—including early mornings, evenings, and weekends—when required. Flexibility is offered in return to support personal commitments.

Key Responsibilities

• Providing online and remote planning advice on general and site-specific matters
• Supporting other team members by handling queries relating to planning guidance and local authority services
• Preparing for customer meetings by reviewing local planning policies and site histories
• Producing written meeting summaries and planning consultancy reports, referencing policy, planning history, constraints, and recommendations
• Preparing delegated and committee planning reports for a variety of applications (e.g., extensions, LDCs, prior approvals, advertisement consents, change of use)
• Preparing documents/forms for planning submissions and conducting site visits where required
• Negotiating with applicants and agents regarding applications and planning queries
• Using internal systems to manage applications, reports, site visit notes, and enquiry databases
• Attending monthly team meetings and weekly one-to-one case reviews
• Meeting daily/weekly/monthly KPIs
• Undertaking peer review/quality assurance of team reports
• Supporting junior colleagues through case meetings and technical guidance
• Contributing planning expertise to internal stakeholders and supporting business development activity
• Maintaining high levels of productivity and accuracy
• Keeping technical knowledge up to date with emerging planning policy
• Undertaking other duties aligned with the role

What We're Looking For

Essential:

• Degree in a relevant planning discipline or RTPI-accredited qualification
• Minimum of 2 years’ experience in a local authority, private consultancy, or a mix of both
• Excellent oral and written communication skills
• Strong ability to provide planning advice clearly, confidently, and professionally—including handling difficult customer situations
• Strong time management and ability to meet strict deadlines
• Ability to assess proposals against planning policy at local, regional, and national levels
• High focus on accuracy, productivity, and efficiency
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to work with a wide range of stakeholders

Desirable:

• Experience supervising or mentoring junior planners
• Eligibility for RTPI membership
• Full driving licence

Interested?

The hiring manager is looking to meet with suitable candidates as soon as possible. If you meet the criteria above, please contact Josh Jones at Penguin Recruitment on 01792362010 or email josh.jones@penguinrecruitment.co.uk.