Salary: Grade 12 £50,515 - £55,202 pa plus market supplement of up to £5,000 and essential car user allowance
Contractual hours: 37
Basis: Full time
Region: South
Job category/type: Planning
Job reference: 002205

About the Role:

We are pleased to announce an exciting opportunity to join Maidstone Council as a   Development Management Team Leader. This opportunity has arisen due to recent internal career progression which reflects our commitment to supporting staff growth and progression.

We are looking for an enthusiastic, motivated and experienced individual to lead and manage a team of 6-8 planning officers with varying levels of planning experience. You will lead delivery in respect of a wide variety of different pre application advice requests, planning applications and planning appeals to ensure a high-quality development management service.

With your team, you will be responsible for a wide range of work, including proposals of between 1 and 50 residential units, commercial development, HMOs, prior approval, agricultural development and equestrian development and change of use. You will ensure that planning decisions are sound in terms of policy, relevant guidance and legal framework and result in high quality sustainable development.

You will work effectively to identify and present to developers, clear solutions to planning issues. You will be decisive and, where necessary, negotiate to achieve the implementation of high-quality development. You will enable applications to be advanced at an appropriate pace to build and sustain the council’s five-year land supply.

You will be effective at managing your own caseload and helping with the management of the caseload of the team. You will be effective at line management and deputising for the Planning Applications Manager, including work allocation and sign off responsibilities for planning matters in line with the Head of Planning and Economic Development Scheme of Delegation.

You will present at the council’s monthly Planning Committee in terms of your own caseload and that of others in the team, guiding the decision-making process. You will be the Council’s lead witness in terms of relevant appeals and ensure that the Council are represented effectively in other appeals and Court proceedings.

This is a full-time position on a permanent contract, working 37 hours a week, Monday to Friday, on a hybrid basis.

About Maidstone Borough Council:

Maidstone Borough Council is a confident organisation with ambition and aspirations to deliver high quality services to our residents and local businesses. We strive to make the borough an attractive place for all and secure a successful economy. We continue to build on our strengths - assets, knowledge and expertise and our track record for innovation and improvement to create a financially sustainable future so that we can continue with our undiminished plans.

We will only achieve the results we are aiming for through the talents and hard work of all our people. You are encouraged to become part of our vision and, in return, you can expect support, training, and a fair reward from us. We will give you the opportunity to develop the skills to do your job well and create a positive working environment where your ideas about improving how we do things are valued and we manage the changes needed for new ways of working well.

At Maidstone Borough Council, we recognise the importance of flexible working and the benefits this can bring to both our staff and the Council. We know that by offering employees a range of flexible working opportunities, we can positively impact their wellbeing and engagement, and drive productivity in return. As such, we have developed a highly flexible hybrid working policy, alongside our flexi time and flexible working policies, enabling staff to shape their working patterns around building a greater work life balance.

Our Offer:

A range of benefits including:

- Highly flexible hybrid working opportunities
- 7am to 7pm flexi time to suit personal circumstances for most roles
- Generous holiday entitlement which increases after 5 years’ LG service plus bank holidays with the option to buy additional leave
- Additional 3 days’ leave given to enable a close down of the offices between Christmas and New Year
- Free parking
- Range of flexible working opportunities to accommodate people’s home/work life balance including compressed hours, 9-day fortnight, and part time
- Invitations to staff events to celebrate success and support wellbeing that include holistic therapies and outdoor activities
- Employee Assistance Programme which provides confidential & independent information and access to counsellors
- Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) with valuable life cover and financial protection for your family
- Life Assurance – three times your annual salary (for members of the LGPS)
- Season Ticket Loan - to help with the cost of your rail/bus journey to & from work
- Lease car salary sacrifice scheme allowing you to lease a brand-new car. The monthly fee includes insurance, servicing and road tax
- Annual flu vaccine
- Cycle to work scheme
- Staff benefits, including discounts on leisure, eating out, holidays and shopping
- Excellent learning and career opportunities for committed individuals
- A professional fee payment, if required for the role
 
About You:

- You will have a degree in Town Planning or a Post Graduate qualification in Town Planning and be a Chartered Member of the Royal Town Planning Institute, or be eligible to apply for chartered status
- You will hold a Full UK Driving Licence with access to a motor vehicle to visit sites as required
- You will have a range of development management experience, including dealing with complex and sensitive planning applications and planning appeals
- You will have experience of working closely with Councillors and have political sensitivity
- You will have excellent project management and communication skills and will have worked in a planning performance agreement environment

Selection Process:

Following the submission of your application form, it will be reviewed by the recruiting manager. Those that are successful in securing an interview can expect a job specific interview assessment, followed by an interview.

Maidstone Borough Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults and expects all employees and volunteers to share this commitment.

If you would like to discuss this position, please contact Tony Ryan, Planning Applications Manager on 01622 602358 or [email protected].

Interview Date: w/c 1st December 2025