New Year, New Role, New Adventures!

We’re on the lookout for talented Associate Planners, Principal Planners and Senior Planners to join our team. If you’re passionate about planning and want to make an impact, we’d love to hear from you.

Tell us why we’d be lucky to have you. We can guarantee you’d be lucky to work with us. Let’s make 2026 the year of great opportunities!

Senior/Principal Planner

We’re seeking an ambitious planning professional looking to build their reputation and gain more experience at either Senior or Principal Planner level to join our growing team. As a consultant, you’ll be part of an ambitious and successful team providing clients with high quality, customer focussed, timely and outcome-based development management services. We offer flexible working arrangements and a competitive renumeration package.

Your duties in the role:

• Using your broad knowledge of planning areas to deliver a suitable outcome for clients.
• Processing planning applications in a timely manner, producing robust reports and recommendations to achieve desired and deliverable outcomes.
• Preparing and presenting evidence on appeals for core and external clients.
• Contributing to service improvements to achieve cost efficiency and effectiveness.
• Providing support and guidance to peers and more junior staff to distribute knowledge and ensure contemporary planning issues and legislation are cascaded and understood.
• Supporting the growth of the team by making a positive contribution to business development, securing repeat work and applying a commercial lens to all work undertaken and behaviours.

The successful candidate will:

• Have a degree in a town planning discipline, and ideally be a member of the Royal Town Planning Institute.
• Have 3 years or more relevant experience in either Local Authority or Private sector.
• Be able to prioritise and manage a workload whilst working flexibly to meet both the commercial and contractual needs of the business.
• Be able to work independently across a wide area of planning sectors, working with land owners, developers, industrial site and listing buildings.
• Hold a demonstrable level of knowledge, understanding and application of current and emerging planning legislation.
• Be ambitious to enhance the reputation of the service for innovation, quality and timeliness of delivery.
• Be an excellent communicator with strong written report writing, and verbal communication to clients.
• Enjoy being a team player in a dynamic and fast growing company.

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Associate Planner

Your duties in the role:

• Using your broad knowledge of planning areas to deliver a suitable outcome for clients.
• Supporting the growth of the team by making a positive contribution to business development, securing repeat work and applying a commercial lens to all work undertaken and behaviours.
• You will aid in securing new business through networking and establishing new contacts to grow a strong client base.
• Lead on diverse projects from concept to determination in a timely manner, producing robust reports and recommendations to achieve desired and deliverable outcomes.
• Preparing and presenting evidence on appeals for core and external clients.
• Representing the firm at planning committees, public consultation events, appeal hearings and public inquiries, where necessary.
• Contributing to service improvements to achieve cost efficiency and effectiveness.
• Providing support and guidance to peers and more junior staff to distribute knowledge and ensure contemporary planning issues and legislation are cascaded and understood.

The successful candidate will:

• Have a degree in a town planning discipline, and ideally be a member of the Royal Town Planning Institute.
• Have 5 years or more relevant experience in Local Authority or the Private sector, but ideally with some experience in the Private sector.
• Show an ability to win new work and lead projects from start to finish.
• Be able to prioritise and manage a workload whilst working flexibly to meet both the commercial and contractual needs of the business.
• Be able to work independently across a wide area of planning sectors, working with land owners, developers, industrial site and listing buildings.
• Hold a demonstrable level of knowledge, understanding and application of current and emerging planning legislation.
• Be ambitious to enhance the reputation of the service for innovation, quality and timeliness of delivery.
• Be an excellent communicator with strong written report writing, and verbal communication to clients.
• Enjoy being a team player in a dynamic and fast growing company.

For an informal and confidential chat, please feel free to contact:

Oliver Rider – 07817 903943 oliver@zestaplanning.co.uk

James Griffin – 07841 707062 james@zestaplanning.co.uk

Rob Ellis – 07736 936108 rob@zestaplanning.co.uk