Senior Planning Officer
£41,424- £44,624 per annum, 37 Hours per week
Permanent Contract
Coleford
Are you an experienced planner ready to take the next step in your career?
This is a fantastic opportunity for someone with 3–5 years’ experience looking to progress into a senior role, or for a planner from the private sector keen to bring their expertise into local government. Joining our friendly Development Management team of 12, you’ll also be part of a wider professional group, including specialists in policy, sustainability, and heritage. With ongoing mentoring from our Principal Planners and Development Manager, this role offers genuine scope for growth and development in a supportive and collaborative environment.
Working within one of the most unique and diverse districts in the country, you’ll play a key role in shaping the future of the Forest of Dean – from historic woodland landscapes and the Wye Valley National Landscape to vibrant market towns and rural farmsteads. The area’s rich cultural heritage and variety of regeneration projects, including the conversion of historic banks and churches into community spaces, make every day different and rewarding. You’ll also have the chance to work on exciting developments such as an international project to improve the understanding and preservation of the planets deep water environments, large-scale solar projects, and the creation of our new Local Plan – all part of our commitment to going greener and exploring innovative ideas like achieving Biosphere status.
This is your chance to make a meaningful impact, delivering major and complex planning applications that will help shape a more sustainable and inclusive future for the district. If you’re passionate about planning, thrive on variety, and are looking for a role where you can stretch your skills while working in one of the UK’s most distinctive landscapes, we’d love to hear from you.
You will need
• A qualification in planning, equivalent to a degree or relevant experience of three to five years
• GCSE Maths and English or equivalent to grade C/4 or higher
• Experience of working flexibly as part of a team and collaborating with colleagues and stakeholders
• Experience of being involved in continuously improving services and developing products to meet customer need
• Deliver commitments and take ownership of own caseload, reshaping of plans to deliver required outcomes
Special Conditions
• Full UK Driving Licence with access to a vehicle for work purposes
For more information about this role please see the Job Description/Person Specification.
Closing date- 30th November 2025
Interview date- 12th December 2025
What we can do for you
- Agile working allowing a mix of home and office working
- Flexible working arrangements (depending on the role)
- 27 days paid annual leave (pro rata if you are working part time) plus bank holidays, which increases to 30 days after five years of service
- In addition you will have an extra two volunteering days a year for you to support a charity of your choice
- Renewed again for another year there is a Health cash plan giving you cash back on health, dental and eye care
- Generous contributory local government pension scheme
- Employee Assistance Programme 24/7, providing positive, preventative and supportive advice and counselling to deal with everyday events and issues
- Cycle to work scheme
- Salary sacrifice car lease scheme with significant tax and NI savings to be made on electric cars
- Generous sickness cover above statutory entitlements