Principal Urban Design Officer

Role Purpose

• Negotiation and appraisal of major and strategic planning proposals in relation to private and the Council's own regeneration programmes, attracting over £1bn of inward investment, and shaping the borough.
• Principal specialist advisor to the Council's Planning service in relation to urban design, architectural appraisals, and public realm.

Responsibilities

• Providing design guidance and consultancy in connection with Harrow’s development management function to include pre-application and application advice on key development proposals, including providing written comments and liaising with GLA officers as appropriate.
• Negotiation with developers to achieve satisfactory proposals within the context of national, strategic, and local policies standards and guidelines.
• Supporting officers in the commissioning and development of masterplans and planning/design briefs for major regeneration sites.
• Liaison with and support for the Policy team in the preparation and review of the Harrow Local Plan.
• Providing training and support to officers and Members in relation to urban design, good public realm, and achieving high densities.
• Line management of the junior design officer.
• Undertake site visits in relation to the assessment of development proposals, including active building sites, ensuring necessary risk assessments are undertaken and appropriate site PPE.
• Responsible for Council equipment, including laptop, smartphone, and camera.
• Attendance at the Council’s Planning Committee and Major Developments Panel as required.

Requirements

• Ability to demonstrate initiative in organising workload and establishing priorities for action, and to carry out the necessary work to the required quality within given deadlines in the context of a busy working environment.
• Ability to manage competing priorities both in own workload and the workloads of others, and can deal positively with changing priorities, as may be required by the needs of the service.
• Ability to present information, verbally and in writing, on planning applications, appeals, and other planning matters in a manner which clearly demonstrates a thorough, structured, logical, and orderly approach.
• Ability to work effectively in a specialist team, and a willingness to work in a manner that contributes positively to the performance of the team.
• Ability to supervise and motivate a team of planning officers, including performance management of the group or project.
• Physically able to undertake site visits and inspect application development sites safely.
• Able to attend evening meetings and Member Briefings.
• Knowledge of the relevant health and safety procedures in relation to the working office environment and to site visits, whether in or out of buildings.

Contract

• RIBA part II as a minimum (or equivalent Masters degree).
• Initial 12 months ongoing contract.
• PAYE via Umbrella.
• Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm (Hybrid position).