Planning Officer (Renewable Energy)

The role

We are looking for a Planning Manager with knowledge of Renewable Energy applications to LPAs to join the in-house team. We are looking for someone who can support and manage external planning consultants to submit Renewable Energy projects into the Town and County planning system including: Pre-App meetings, public consultations, Parish Council meetings, managing EIA screenings, stat consultee responses, committee hearings, planning appeals and judicial reviews.

This is a vital role within the wider development team. Liaising with teams within the company, external planning advisors, consultants, and Planning Officers at the LPAs. There are already great relationships with a number of highly experienced Renewable Energy planning consultants, and these will need to be supported and managed closely.

The candidate

We are looking for someone with the ability to influence strategic thinking at all levels. The ideal candidate will be technically able, with a minimum of 2 years of planning/development experience within a consultancy or a developer.

You should have a proven track record of delivering projects from ground-up through to construction release of conditions, with preferential attention given to candidates who have renewables experience such as solar or wind, and can do the following;

• Provide a clear path to planning success within each project being developed or considered
• Liaise, and influence key stakeholders, such as; Planning Officers, employees of consultee organisations, third parties within the planning system
• Ensure compliance with planning regulations
• Keep informed of planning policy and practice, market conditions and the impact of government policy
• Being accountable for projects, from the outset through to consent, and release of conditions with the help of experienced senior external planning consultants
• Assessing and commenting on draft design & access statements from external consultants prior to submission.
• Attend local planning hearings and committee meetings throughout the process
• Leading the outsourced planning team, such as LVIA, Environmental, Photo, Water bodies, Highways, whilst always providing direction and internal updates

The client

Our client has been developing and building Solar Farms and Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) in the UK since 2012. With well over 300MW of ground mount solar pv projects installed to date, they are one of the leading UK solar development companies with a strong project pipeline stretching into the future. They are also the largest developer of NSIP solar and BESS projects in the UK, leading the market.

To be successful you will have the following skills and experience:

• Clear competence in the job,
• Experience with renewables technologies, such as Solar, battery or Wind
• Relevant professional qualifications e.g. Planning qualification (RTPI or MTPI)
• 2+ years’ experience in property planning
• Can handle intense and passionate questioning with patience and maturity
• Proven commercial and contractual acumen
• Can lead a multi-disciplinary team (internal and external)
• Excellent communication, influencing and report writing skills
• Ability to build collaborative and sustainable relationships