Leeds City Council – Chief Planning Officer

Salary: £96,567 to £106,224

Leeds is a city on the up.  We’ve combined all our strengths to put ourselves amongst the top cities in the UK.  We are diverse, vibrant and thriving.  Our vision is that we become the ‘Best city in the UK’ by 2030.

Leeds has everything you’ll want to see as an expert planner.  We have a concentrated central business and retail centre, with a good mix of leisure and a growing residential market.  We have a mix of corporates and SMEs, national public sector agencies and global private sector players.  Added to this we have major city centre developments on our South Bank, the development of the East Leeds corridor, growing sectors in digital, creative and health, with established strengths in finance, legal and corporate services. Beyond the city centre we’ve got agreed plans on housing growth, major transport investment on our outer ring road, new connectivity to Leeds/Bradford airport, the impact of HS2, thriving market towns and a growing population.  Managing the complexity of Leeds’ economic growth is at the heart of this role.

We’re turning heads with the pace of change, but we’re not complacent.  We are determined to get the best deal for all our residents and for every pound of investment in the city.  Inclusive growth is part of our DNA.

As the new Chief Planning Officer you’ll work closely with the Director of City Development, the portfolio holder, the Council Leader, Chief Executive and all members to shape the city over the next 30 years.  You’ll help make us a truly global city and, in the process, change the lives of generations.  Your brief will be to proactively manage the opportunities and choices we have, influence where you can, be visible, innovative and lead planning in the city.  You’ll have permission to create and deliver through partners at the highest level, to create alliances across sectors, across organisations and nationally across government.  Underpinning this will be a real passion for Leeds and a commitment to using this role to raise the bar for the city.

Your work will go beyond city boundaries whilst always staying connected to them.  You’ll quickly gain a reputation for building alliances that create real change.  You’ll be a qualified Town Planner with a track record of shaping growth in a comparable environment.  You’ll have the judgement to know a project or programme is right, offers potential and will work with others to ensure delivery. You’ll also have the experience and judgement to know when a project just won’t work or isn’t right.   You’ll focus on quality outcomes underpinned by an exceptional analysis of the city and city region at a phase in our development where we have real choices.  We don’t have to settle for second best. You’ll win the confidence of partners because of what you achieve, alongside your grasp of the opportunities in Leeds and beyond.

In the role you’ll have everything needed to succeed; our development plan has been adopted, setting a clear framework for the foreseeable future.  You’ll have the backing of members, the resources to influence, a strong team supporting you, a clear strategy and a vision the city buys into.  You’ll have the opportunity to work on a complete and rare portfolio.  You’ll bring vision, strategic understanding, technical depth, exceptional relationship building skills, sound judgement and deep political understanding.  You’ll be expert at using soft influence to bring people, organisations and opportunities together and make a difference.  You’ll know how the public sector and local democracy works and welcome the strength this brings to the city.

Priorities in the next year, and the next 5-30 years, will remain the same.  Accelerate Leeds’ growth, build partnerships, work with West Yorkshire Combined Authority and Whitehall to support growth and support members to unleash the best of Yorkshire.  In the role, you’ll also be responsible for a team of 180 and a gross budget of £9.345m, income of £7.4m (net budget £1.945m).   If you want to be able to point to Leeds for years to come and say, “I helped build that great city” then this role just might be for you.

To download the Role Profile which includes the Job Description and Person Specification for this role, please fill out the form below, click “Send” and you will be taken to another webpage where you can view and save a PDF of the Role Profile.