Sustainable Places Technical Specialist

Position:
Sustainable Places Technical Specialist ()

Location:

Newcastle, North East

Travel:
Regular travel to other offices and partner sites is required.

Licence:
Full UK Driving Licence required.

• Be a strong team player who enjoys ‘making things happen’.
• Coordinate pre‑planning and planning advice on strategic growth proposals, working with developers, local authorities, government departments, and housing delivery organisations.
• Collaborate with internal colleagues to deliver innovative, multi‑functional approaches to challenging environmental issues, including water quality, water resources, flood risk, and climate change.
• Lead at a senior strategic level to develop and maintain influential external networks that support organisational objectives, mindful of political sensitivities.
• Provide strong technical leadership to inspire, motivate, and develop the team and other colleagues.
• Support the Team Leader in developing the team and taking ownership of improvement initiatives and actions.

• A qualification in, or practical experience of, Town and Country Planning or a relevant discipline.
• Experience working with the Environment Agency as a Planning Advisor, Planning Specialist, or on a consultee team, or with a developer, local planning authority, or other statutory consultee.
• Ability to build new networks and relationships using own initiative.
• Experience influencing organisations and individuals to deliver environmental benefits.
• Problem‑solving skills for complex issues and opportunities.
• Confidence in communicating strategic and technical issues to a range of audiences.
• Ability to provide pre‑application and strategic advice, including associated cost recovery.
• Team‑working skills and flexibility to respond to changing demands in a high‑workload, high‑pressure environment.

Benefits:
Full support, induction, and the equipment needed to thrive will be provided. Incident response training is central to our mission, and employees are expected to support incident response, which may attract additional payments.

We are fully committed to having a diverse and inclusive workforce to reflect the communities we serve. We welcome flexible working patterns for all vacancies, including job share, and we have a Guaranteed Interview Policy to support applicants with a disability whose application meets the minimum criteria for the post.