Graduate Growth & Infrastructure Planner

About the London Borough of Tower Hamlets

Tower Hamlets is one of the most diverse, fastest growing boroughs in London with an expected population increase of 80,000 people and 110,000 new jobs over the next two decades - that’s a 25% population increase and a doubling of jobs in 20 years!

We are home to one of the most ambitious Opportunity Areas (OA) for growth in London (Isle of Dogs & South Poplar, including Canary Wharf) with substantial growth also planned for the Poplar Riverside and City Fringe areas. This requires a planned and coordinated approach for delivering housing, infrastructure and placemaking which will be essential to making this growth a success.

The Role

SO - are you up to the challenge?!

If you are keen to learn and are ready for something new and exciting, then this new area of planning – Infrastructure Planning – could be just the place for you.

As the RTPI Local Authority Planning Team of the Year 2020, our Infrastructure Planning (IP) Service is an industry leader at the cutting edge of infrastructure planning centred at the heart of great place making, spatial planning and delivery. We provide a core planning function to the Council coordinating the strategic planning, funding, development and delivery of infrastructure with expertise in infrastructure planning, CIL, S106, project and programme management.

As part of the IP Service, you will have a varied workload including engaging with key stakeholders, politicians and internal Service Areas and working with developers to oversee the delivery of infrastructure and other benefits secured through S106, CIL-In Kind and other delivery mechanisms. You will proactively manage agreements through the council’s Exacom monitoring database, ensuring obligations are addressed by the required trigger point and taking enforcement action where necessary to secure compliance. You will also gain exposure to other key areas of infrastructure planning, including the Community Infrastructure Levy, Neighbourhood Portion and programming the funding and delivery of infrastructure across the borough. This is an unrivalled opportunity to be involved in a wide range of work in a friendly and supportive team where you can grow and develop your skills.

About You

As an aspiring planner, you will have:

·        Eligible for RTPI membership

·        a passion for place making

·        the ability to communicate well, build relationships, bring people together and deliver collaboratively across a wide range of key stakeholders

·        a proactive approach to improving existing processes to ensure we deliver the best outcomes for our local communities

You will also exhibit the ‘TOWER’ values and behaviours of the Council including working Together, being Open, Willing, striving for Excellence and having Respect.

If you think this could be you then APPLY NOW!         

Requirements

This post is open to candidates with the appropriate knowledge, skills and experience to fulfil the job description and person specification attached to the role.

Benefits and Allowances

· Annual Leave – Starting at 30 days, a generous leave allowance with continuous service provisions;

· Pension - You will automatically become a member of the Council's rewarding pension scheme;

· Flexible working - the council seeks to ensure that employees achieve improved work life balance and offer flexibility to staff members such as the option to work from home (when appropriate);

· Learning & development – the Council promotes continuous development of staff members at all times and supports a wide range of internal and external training programmes including project management, leadership development and technical training.

· You will receive support and guidance from qualified members of staff (RTPI Accredited Planners) if you are commencing/progressing on to certain routes within the RTPI Licentiate Assessment of Professional Competence (L-APC) to gain Associate/Chartered status.

· Staff loan scheme for annual season travel ticket - the council gives interest-free season ticket loans to staff who have successfully completed their probationary period;

· Travel schemes/allowances – this includes: cycle to work scheme, pool bike scheme and expenses covered with all travel related to working task;

· Employee Assistance Programme - the council offers an employee assistance programme that provides confidential counselling support services for both personal and work-related issues to staff.

Applications close 18th December 2022 and it is intended that interviews will take place from week commencing 9th January 2023.

Tower Hamlets is a modern, forward thinking local authority, offering flexible working arrangements, generous annual leave, local government pension scheme and other staff benefits. For an informal discussion please contact the Infrastructure Planning Manager (Programmes), Sarah Wilks on sarah.wilks@towerhamlets.gov.uk

Application Details

This post is open to the following types of applicants: Redeployees/ Internal/ External

All applications should be made via our online application system, no CV’s or alternative forms of applications are accepted. Internal employees should apply via the council's Intranet. External applicants apply via the Council's website www.towerhamlets.gov.uk/careers

Tower Hamlets vision for our borough is that: people are aspirational, independent and have equal access to opportunities; we are a borough that our residents are proud of and love to live in; and we are a dynamic, outcomes-based council using digital innovation and partnership working to respond to the changing needs of our borough. We want people who aspire to our TOWER values: Together; Open; Willing; Excellent; Respect.

Tower Hamlets has a zero-tolerance approach to, and works to eradicate, all forms of discrimination on the basis of race, sex, disability, age, religion or belief, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, marital status, status as a civil partner, gender, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy and maternity and looks to employ a diverse workforce representative of those groups. We recognise that people can also be disadvantaged by their social and economic circumstances, so we will work to eliminate discrimination and disadvantage caused by social class.

We welcome applicants interested in flexible working arrangements and also applicants who live in the borough.