Assistant Planning Officer

Sheffield is a vibrant, green and ambitious city (‘The Outdoor City’) which has seen significant investment, development and regeneration in recent years, and this is set to continue.

To help us create great places to live and work, we are seeking an enthusiastic recent planning graduate who is keen to gain valuable experience in the Development Management Section of a busy planning department, dealing with a substantial range of smaller planning applications.

Excellent verbal and written communication skills are required for this post. Good negotiation and project management skills are also essential qualities. You should be customer focussed and a strong team player. You will need a good working knowledge of current planning legislation and be able to demonstrate an awareness of ongoing legislative changes and their implications. You should be competent at understanding and assessing architectural drawings and possess excellent ICT skills. The ability to manage a high workload to achieve specific deadlines is essential. These roles come with a requirement to undertake site visits and attend in-person meetings.

In Sheffield, people are at the heart of what we do. You will be part of a network of supportive colleagues in Development Management and the wider Planning Service, working within the framework of, and promoting the Council’s corporate vision and values.

The Planning Service is located in the city centre, close to the award-winning Peace Gardens, Winter Garden and ‘Heart of the City’ regeneration project. 

Other benefits include:

• Annual Leave (25 days, increasing to 30 days after 5 years’ service).
• Automatic incremental salary progression within your grade each year.
• Local Government pension scheme.
• Flexible working with at least 40% of your time based in the office with your team.
• Flexi scheme with the ability to have an additional day off per month.

We are investing in our workforce and are promoting opportunities to our under-represented groups. We value equality, diversity and inclusion and are focused on increasing the diversity of our workforce, particularly the number of Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic, Disabled and LGBTQ+ people, so that our teams reflect the communities in the city we serve. We are also supporting staff with unpaid caring responsibilities to work flexibly.

It is a great time to join us and we welcome your application.

Under the Guaranteed Interview scheme, applicants who are disabled, care leavers, or armed forces veterans will be guaranteed an interview if they meet the essential criteria and indicate their eligibility on the application form.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all individuals, ensuring a safe and supportive environment for everyone and where appropriate to the role the successful applicant will be required to undertake relevant safeguarding checks.

Full-time employees work 37 hours for 52 weeks of the year and we offer a generous holiday entitlement. We are open to discussions about a wide range of flexible working opportunities which benefit you and the Council, including reduced hour contracts, working part time or as a job share.

If you are appointed to this role, your starting salary will be at the bottom of the grade. If you provide payslip evidence that your basic pay is greater than the bottom of the grade, we will consider starting you at the point of minimum advantage within the grade.

Equality of pay is extremely important to us. All roles at Sheffield City Council are going through an evaluation process which may result in changes to some pay arrangements from 2026.