Planning Director

DLP Planning Ltd are seeking a Planning Director for our Sheffield Office, which serves a wide area covering Yorkshire and The Humber and the wider north of England. The Sheffield Office includes members of the Sustainable Development Delivery team (SDD) and Strategic Planning and Research Unit (SPRU) as well as members of the Cass team (providing masterplanning expertise). This mix of specialisms allows for collaborative working.

With the support of other members of the senior management team, the Director will assume take part in leading the Sheffield Planning Office with the expectation that they will further develop its profile and build upon its well-established project portfolio which includes residential, mixed use strategic sites, urban regeneration, advanced manufacturing proposals, education projects, solar and renewable energy projects and enforcement matters. The Company, however, operates as a ‘single team’ so staff routinely work outside of their base location in liaison with other DLP Offices.

We are presently looking to expand the professional team and the postholder will have a leading role in further building the team.

Role and Responsibilities 

You will confidently lead on projects and engage in both development management and development plan / policy work. This will include, but is not limited to, managing major planning applications, planning appeals, Local Plan representations, site promotion, Local Plan Examination and public inquiry work.

You should have experience of managing professional teams and be able to provide leadership and vision. With excellent stakeholder management skills, you will be at the forefront of client development and will be required to attend networking events to promote the company.  You should be client facing and have a strong and proven record in business development. You should have a network of contacts and definitive targets for sectors in which to generate the next stage of growth for the Office. Our aim is to further strengthen the reputation of DLP Planning Ltd in the region ad wider north as part of that process.

As Office Director, you will assume responsibility for the financial and performance planning of the Office and will be expected to participate and contribute to wider company management.

Key responsibilities and accountabilities are set out as follows;

• Manage and grow the established Planning team;
• Provide leadership and mentoring for the office and team as it grows;
• Development of the client base including oversight of existing client instructions and development of new client opportunities;
• Manage the workloads and professional development of staff ensuring that all the required standards are met;
• Manage and maintain the Office profitability, including client accounts, budgeting, and income projections;
• Develop and secure specific opportunities in identifiable growth sectors;
• Contribute to Companywide business and development strategy; and,
• Accountability to the Board of Directors and the Managing Director

Qualifications

We are looking for a qualified Town Planner ideally with at least 10 years + professional experience preferably in private sector consultancy or a mixture with public sector and client-side roles. Candidates should have a postgraduate qualification in Planning and be a chartered member of the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI).

Salary and Benefits

Remuneration will be commensurate with the abilities and potential of the successful candidate and will include a competitive salary, performance linked bonus scheme, access to the Company Pension Scheme, health insurance and other fringe benefits.

DLP Planning Limited operates as an Employee Owned Trust. The culture, welfare, support and development of our staff is of great importance and it is key that this individual is closely aligned to those values.

A staff member has the added benefit of an element of bonuses being tax free and a future potential payment based on their part ownership of the Company.  More information will be shared at the interview stage.

A full driving licence is essential.

About DLP Planning Ltd

DLP Planning was formed in 1991 and became an Employee-Owned Trust in 2022.  It is one of the largest independent town planning consultancies in the country and, alongside London as the capital office, there are offices in Bedford, Bristol, Nottingham, Rugby, Milton Keynes, Liverpool Leeds and Sheffield.

DLP Planning Ltd is a subsidiary of DLP Consulting Group and offers clients a multi-disciplinary service as required and/or specialist advice geared to specific disciplines.

The governance structure is such that the Managing Director is supported by the Board of Directors who run the Company but with the added governance of being  overseen by the Board of Trustees who include representatives of the senior management, the former shareholders, an Independent Trustee and the staff. All qualifying members of staff  are part owners in the business and participate in promoting the objective to help it continue to grow sustainably in the long term.

If you wish to discuss the role, please contact Michael Edgar (Director) (0114 2289190) and to apply, email a CV and covering letter to Fay Wagstaff, Practice Manager at fay.wagstaff@dlpconsultants.co.uk by 31/05/2024

Experienced Flood Risk Engineer

In April 2022, DLP, which was originally formed in 1991, became an employee owned business, and is now one of the largest, independent town planning consultancies in England.  The Company presently has offices in Bedford, Bristol, Nottingham, Rugby, Milton Keynes, London, Sheffield Leeds and Liverpool. (www.dlpconsultants.co.uk).

The Sustainable Development and Delivery (SDD) Team is a specialist team within DLP that provide a range of transport planning, traffic engineering and infrastructure design services to support development proposals all around the UK.  The SDD team work closely with planning and master planning colleagues in relation to development layout design, planning applications and discharge of planning conditions.

In order to support growth, not just in the volume of our workload but also critically in the breadth of the services that we offer, we are looking to recruit an experienced Flood Risk / Drainage engineer with a client focussed and ‘can do’ attitude.

The candidate will have experience and expertise in the provision of Flood Risk Assessments, drainage strategies and design, (hydraulic modelling would be a benefit but not essential) , and the ability to technically lead, manage and deliver the flood risk and drainage aspects of development related projects . The role will also involve developing and winning new work both organically within the existing business and externally from new clients.

We are looking for candidates with the skills, experience and attributes set out below. If you feel you are the right candidate for this position then please send us a CV and a covering letter to fay.wagstaff@dlpconsultants.co.uk telling us why you think you’ll be right for us, and us for you. Please provide specifics on the skills you have against those listed as being essential, desirable and useful.

Skills 
Essential;

• Flood risk management experience, including the use of WinDES/Micro Drainage software and CAD;
• Experience of technically leading and managing projects;
• Preparation/design of Drainage Strategies to support both outline and detailed planning applications;
• Project management and work winning experience
• Client Facing, proposal writing and report reviewing/approval experience.

Desirable;

• Hydraulic modelling experience
• Surface water and foul drainage design experience
• Sustainable drainage (SuDS) design experience
• Autocad

We offer excellent opportunities to develop and grow your skills and career through involvement in a wide variety of projects as well as a competitive salary, pension scheme, bonus scheme, private health insurance, life insurance and contributions towards professional subscriptions along with a great working environment.

The Company operates a blended working arrangement whereby staff are required to be in their office for core days, with the remainder of the week being either working from home or from an office and to arrange this according to project/company needs.

Please respond with your CV to: fay.wagstaff@dlpconsultants.co.uk

For an informal conversation about this vacancy, please contact David Baber on 07551 122449