Associate Planning Officer

CompanyCapita

LocationGreater Manchester, England, United Kingdom

Posted At3/12/2026

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Occupation Type

Other administrative occupations not elsewhere classified.

Occupation Code Skill LevelMedium Skilled

Sponsorship EligibilityIneligible for Sponsorship

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Description

Capita Local Public Services is looking for an experienced Associate Planner to lead our Planning function - a role that effectively operates as the Head of Planning within our professional consultancy. This is an exciting opportunity to shape, grow and lead a planning team delivering high‑quality regulatory services into local authorities across the UK.

As the Associate Planner, you will lead a multidisciplinary planning team of around 19 people, including Development Management planners, Principal Planners, Planning Managers and a small Planning Policy team.

You will drive operational excellence, ensure high‑quality project delivery, and support the commercial performance of the function.

This is a senior leadership role requiring strong planning expertise, team leadership capability, and the ability to operate in a commercial consultancy environment.

Important: This is not a local authority Head of Planning role.

You will be leading a consultancy‑based planning team that provides development management, policy work, and planning expertise into local authorities.

This is a home‑based role with regular travel required to our Belfast and Manchester offices (typically weekly or as needed to support team relationships and delivery).

What You'll Be Doing:

Leading the full planning team (approx. 19 people) across Development Management and Planning Policy
Providing day‑to‑day leadership, coaching, 1:1s, performance management and resource oversight
Ensuring high standard delivery of regulatory planning services into local authority clients
Supporting project delivery where needed, including occasional hands‑on DM or policy work
Contributing to forecasting, commercial reviews and fee proposal development
Driving quality, utilisation and operational efficiency within the team
Representing the Planning function within the consultancy and supporting wider business priorities

What We're Looking For:

Essential:

RTPI membership
Degree in Town Planning or a closely related discipline
Strong experience in regulatory planning (local authority OR consultancy serving local authorities)
Demonstrated management and leadership experience
Minimum 5 years relevant experience

Desirable

P&L or commercial management experience (beneficial but not essential)

About Capita

Capita is an outsourcer, helping clients across the public and private sectors run complex business processes more efficiently, creating better consumer experiences. Operating across 8 countries, Capita's 41,000 colleagues support primarily UK and European clients with people-based services underpinned by market-leading technology.

We're a vital support service for our clients, enabling the everyday interactions that we expect to run seamlessly, to run seamlessly.

A publicly listed business with adjusted revenue of £2.6bn, Capita's areas of focus are Central Government, Local Public Service, Defence, Learning, Fire & Security, Contact Centres and Pensions Solutions. We're embracing change to respond to the ever-changing needs of society, creating better outcomes for all our stakeholders

What's in it for you?

23 days' holiday (rising to 27) with the opportunity to buy extra leave
The opportunity to take a paid day out of the office, volunteering for our charity partners or a cause of your choice
Auto-enrolment to our company pension, life assurance, a cycle2work scheme, 15 weeks' fully paid maternity, adoption and shared parental leave, paternity pay of two weeks...and plenty more
Voluntary benefits designed to suit your lifestyle - from discounts on retail and socialising, to health & wellbeing, travel and technology

Access to our Employee Network Groups, which represent every strand of diversity and allow colleagues to connect and learn from each other on an open, inclusive platform

You'll get the chance to follow your chosen career path anywhere in Capita. You'll be joining a network of experienced, innovative and dedicated individuals across multiple disciplines and sectors. There are countless opportunities to learn new skills and develop in your career, and we'll provide the support you need to do just that. Our purpose is to create a better outcome for you.

What we hope you'll do next:

Choose 'Apply now' to fill out our short application, so that we can find out more about you.

Equal Opportunities

At Capita, we're committed to providing an inclusive, barrier-free recruitment process and working environment for everyone. We want everyone to have the best chance of succeeding as they move through their application and start their career with us. We are an equal opportunity and Disability Confident employer; we want to hear from you if you'd like to discuss any adjustments you might need during your recruitment process. Please email reasonableadjustments@capita.com or call 07784 237318 and we'll get back to you to discuss. For more information about equal opportunities and the types of adjustments we can offer, please visit the Capita Careers website.

If you have a question that does not relate to adjustments during your recruitment process, please email our Talent Acquisition team - CPScareers@capita.com