project officer jobs

Policy Planning Officer
Job Ref: 000A 9BD8 / 1
Pay Rate: £45–£50 per hour PAYE Up to £55 per hour DOE
Hours per week: 37 Monday – Friday, normal working hours – PT hours available
This opening assignment is for 3 months
Stockport, SK1 3XE
Hybrid – 2 days per week in office

Summary of what the candidate must have to apply:

• Minimum 6–8 years’ planning policy experience
• Local authority or consultancy background
• Strong working knowledge of UK planning legislation
• Direct experience of Local Plan preparation and review
• Ability to provide clear, professional planning policy advice
• Confident stakeholder engagement and report writing skills

The role: This role provides specialist planning policy advice and supports the delivery of Stockport Council’s statutory planning functions. You will be heavily involved in Local Plan preparation, monitoring and policy compliance, working closely with internal teams, members, developers and external stakeholders.

Key accountabilities:

• Contribute to the preparation, monitoring and review of planning policies
• Ensure statutory and regulatory requirements are met
• Provide professional planning policy advice to officers, elected members, developers and the public
• Represent the Council in statutory plan-making processes, including Examination in Public
• Monitor and interpret changes in planning legislation, policy and guidance
• Support Development Management on major planning applications and pre-application work
• Provide project support for the Local Plan
• Prepare reports, briefing notes and consultation responses

Requirements/key criteria:
Experience:

• Minimum 6–8 years in planning policy within a local authority or consultancy environment.
• Local authority background

Skills:

• Ability to analyse complex planning issues.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Strong stakeholder engagement and negotiation skills.

Desirable:

• Experience of Green Belt and open space policy issues.
• Familiarity with Examination in Public procedures.
• Ability to work independently and manage competing priorities.

How to Apply

• Quote the Job Title and Reference Number in your application.
• Submit your CV in Word format.
• Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis—early submission is recommended.

We will also add your details to our mail out lists. Please note you may receive details of roles outside of your immediate vicinity, as many candidates are able to relocate temporarily for work. Please disregard any such emails that are not of interest and let us know if you would rather not receive such mailouts and/or if you wish us to delete your details and prefer to apply direct to our advertised roles.

If you do not hear from us within three working days, unfortunately your application has not been shortlisted on this occasion. Thank you for your interest in working with us.


Qualification details and any other experience/skills relevant to the role to help support your application should be clearly shown in your CV.