Chief Planner and Head of Planning Service

Reference
: VAC
008987

Final date to receive applications: 16/11/2026

Location: City Hall College Green City Centre Bristol BS1 5TR

Salary: HoS: £80,737 - £89,465 + a market supplement of up to 15% could be discussed for an exceptional candidate.

Package: Relocation expenses of up to £8,000 are available subject to meeting the terms and conditions of our relocation policy.

Bristol is one of the UK’s most dynamic and ambitious cities.

As the Core City at the heart of the West of England (one of the country’s fastest-growing regional economies), Bristol has a critical role to play in supporting sustainable and inclusive growth, housing delivery, inward investment and infrastructure investment across the region.

The opportunities and challenges we face do not stop at the city boundary. The decisions we make today about growth, placemaking, transport, infrastructure and the natural environment will help shape the future of Bristol and the wider region for decades to come, meeting our Corporate Strategy objectives and One City commitments.

Planning has a central role to play in responding to those opportunities and challenges. We are seeking an outstanding planning leader to become Bristol’s next Chief Planner and Head of Planning Service, building on a strong platform of improvement and helping to shape the next chapter for one of the country’s most influential planning authorities.

Reporting to the Director of Economy of Place, you will provide strategic leadership for Bristol’s Planning Service, overseeing Development Management, Planning Policy, Building Control, Consultees and Planning Enforcement.

You will lead the service at an important moment for both Bristol and the wider region and work collaboratively with neighbouring authorities and the Mayoral Combined Authority.

With Bristol’s new Local Plan approaching adoption, the focus will increasingly turn to implementation, ensuring planning supports the delivery of homes, infrastructure, employment space and sustainable growth. At the same time, you will help shape the next Local Plan, for which we’ve completed Scoping Consultation.

Bristol is also working closely with partners across the region on a Spatial Development Strategy, creating a new framework for planning at a strategic scale. You will play a leading role in ensuring Bristol’s interests are reflected within that work, while helping strengthen collaboration across the wider city region.

The role sits within Bristol’s Economy of Place division, bringing together Planning, Transport, Regeneration, Economic Development, Culture and Creative Industries, Sustainable City and Climate Change and The Avon Riversides 2100 project. As a member of the senior leadership team, you will work closely with colleagues across these disciplines to help shape a joined-up approach to growth, placemaking, infrastructure, investment and environmental sustainability.

The role also extends well beyond the Planning Service and Economy of Place. As Chief Planner, you will work collaboratively with senior colleagues across the organisation, helping to align planning with wider council ambitions and ensuring the service plays a proactive role in unlocking and enabling delivery.

The role requires someone who can operate confidently at both a professional and corporate level; leading a major statutory service whilst also contributing to wider organisational priorities, influencing strategic decisions and helping create the conditions for successful delivery across the Council.

This is not simply a planning leadership role.

We are looking for someone who can build on recent improvements and continue to modernise and…