Area Development Manager

We have an exciting opportunity for an Area Development Manager to join our Planning team based in Braintree, Essex. Are you an experienced Town Planner looking to take a step into management or an existing manager looking for a new challenge? Then you may be the Area Development Manager we need to lead a team and provide an effective Development Management Service for an area of the district. This is an exciting time to work for Braintree. The district will grow significantly in the coming years, and we are looking to embrace this challenge to deliver well-designed new homes, jobs and the infrastructure required to support this growth, whilst being careful to preserve the character and quality of the district.

About the Role This is an excellent opportunity to join a dynamic and ambitious Planning service. As an Area Development Manager, you will have the skills to lead, coach, and mentor a team of 4-5 professional Planning Officers. This is a pivotal role within the team, being responsible for signing off Delegated Decisions for one of the Area teams, managing and monitoring team performance, ensuring the delivery of excellent customer service, and being the Lead Officer at Planning Committee. In addition, you will play an active role in ensuring continuous improvement and that service transformation is embedded effectively.

The successful candidate will have extensive planning knowledge and experience of working within a Development Management team. You will have a strong proactive work ethic, analytical in your approach, with excellent communication, report writing, and customer service skills, as well as the necessary motivation to deliver high performance and the ability to work accurately and to tight deadlines. If you are hardworking, ambitious, dynamic, and commercially aware, we want to hear from you. You will need to be a member of the Royal Town Planning Institute or be eligible for membership. If you have previous management experience, it would be a bonus.

Braintree is an ambitious and dynamic Council and is becoming one of the fastest growing Districts in the East of England with three growing towns, London just 45 minutes away and the district located directly between the international transport centres of Stansted Airport and Harwich and Felixstowe International Ports. We have a deserved track record for delivering and a strong reputation within the business community. Braintree District Council is a great place to work. We pride ourselves on our creative and innovative approach, which is led by our employees, and are committed to having an engaged workforce who understand our strategy and how they can help deliver it. Our people see the difference they make and how the work they do actively contributes to and encourages positive change in the local community. We also offer some great benefits, including:

• Flexible working
• Hybrid working arrangements are available in this role (home/office based) subject to business need
• Local government pension scheme
• Learning and development for all employees
• Employee discounts at local businesses
• Employee recognition schemes
• Extensive health and wellbeing programmes, including discounted gym membership

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The closing date for this opportunity is midnight on Sunday 13th September 2026. Interviews will be held w/c 21st September 2026.