North Northamptonshire Council is hiring a lead officer for its heritage and place services to join its staff in Kettering, UK.

We are looking for someone to provide leadership for the Council’s heritage and place services, overseeing the operational delivery of specialist functions including conservation, archaeology, urban design and landscape. You should be proficient in particular on matters of urban design.

Working in partnership with the head of policy and placemaking, the role supports the development and delivery of strategies that transform the heritage and place services, ensuring they are high‑performing, cost‑effective and responsive to local needs and contribute to the creation of high‑quality places across North Northamptonshire. The role will be key in shaping and delivering plans, strategies and projects that transform and strengthen service delivery. You will also oversee the support given in providing expert environmental advice in determining planning applications.

Through strong partnership working across the Council and with external stakeholders, you will ensure the delivery of a high‑performing, cost‑effective, and resilient service that meets local needs and helps create high‑quality places across North Northamptonshire. You will also ensure the team supports the processing of planning applications through the provision of expert environmental advice.

What will you be doing?

Duties will include:

lead the day‑to‑day delivery of the Council’s heritage and place service, ensuring compliance, performance and value for money
provide professional input into policy development and advice on planning applications, including minerals and waste planning
provide direct advice and oversight on matters of urban design
support the transformation and continuous improvement of heritage and place services, including digitalisation and efficient service delivery
provide expert technical advice and represent the Council at committees, public inquiries, examinations and external meetings
lead and support special projects and collaborative working across the Council and with external partners
deputise for the head of policy and placemaking as required and contribute to strong governance, customer service and accountability

About you

For this role, you will require:

a relevant degree or equivalent qualification in urban design to allow access to membership of a recognised professional organisation
membership of the professional organisation in which they are trained or demonstration of eligibility for full membership
extensive knowledge of the environmental specialism in which they are trained i.e. urban design)
knowledge of the English planning system, including legislation, the National Planning Policy Framework and best practice advice
demonstration of a track record of projects in an environmental specialism; or supporting and overseeing the work of others to deliver on a range of planning proposals within local authority
knowledge and understanding of key operational issues affecting environmental specialisms, both nationally and locally
significant experience of engaging with developers, stakeholders, councillors and members of the public on environmental specialisms and planning matters

Our benefits

Here at North Northamptonshire Council, we’re transforming for the better, using all our creativity and imagination to create the best life for our local people.

You’ll find that we have a wide range of careers that may be more surprising than you think!

Why choose us?

We offer a vibrant working environment with:

a competitive salary
a pension scheme, where we pay a significant contribution on top of your contribution; it provides life cover and ill-health protection
lots of opportunities to develop your skills, knowledge and potential in a large unitary council
generous leave entitlement (28 days, rising to 33 days) and bank holidays, plus the option to buy up to an extra 10 days
hybrid and flexible working arrangements, where practicable for service needs to help you with a healthy work-life balance.

We provide a range of great benefits such as an Employee Assistance Programme, an Employee Benefits Scheme, wellbeing support, travel rates at HMRC rates, as well as supporting a range of active Employee Network Groups.

About us

Our values and behaviours

Our values define who we are and how we operate, by forming the foundation for how we interact with our customers, colleagues and provide our services.

They are also at the forefront of our decision-making and delivery and are:

customer-focused
respectful
efficient
supportive
trustworthy

Our key commitments help ensure that the priorities we make, now and in the future, maintain the necessary breadth of focus in those areas that we believe matter most.

Disability Confident Employer

We are proud to be a recognised Disability Confident Employer and is committed to providing an inclusive recruitment process and will offer an interview to disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role.

Our Employment and Disability Service provides bespoke support to individuals facing barriers to employment, helping them work towards their goals to start, stay and succeed in employment. For further information, please click here.

Armed Forces Community

The council obtained the Gold status award for the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme (ERS).

Further information can be found here.

Please submit your application via the ‘apply for job’ button below.

North Northamptonshire Council

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Lead officer – heritage and place