Public Practice is recruiting talented, motivated and experienced planners from England and Wales to join place-shaping work in the public sector, while an IHBC trustee’s recent focus on the programme at our last members-only Council, and open to 10AM, 16/11.
Serena Cardozo, IHBC Trustee and Principal Conservation Officer, Uttlesford District Council writes in her presentation to IHBC’s last Council:
‘….For IHBC members, my experience highlights a growing and important shift in how local authorities are building conservation capacity. Initiatives such as Public Practice are introducing professionals with diverse but highly relevant backgrounds into conservation roles at a time when many services are facing skills shortages and increasing workload pressures. This approach widens the pool of candidates, diversifies professional perspectives and strengthens the integration of design, heritage and placemaking within planning services…..’
The Planner Jobs writes:
The Associate Programme can offer you:
A public sector role matched to your experience and skills
A tailored development course to support your shift into public service
A cohort of peers to grow with, connect with and learn alongside
The Programme involves completing a competitive application process. When you apply to this advert, you’re applying to join the Associate Programme rather than applying directly to a local authority. Successful candidates will secure a 12-month minimum employment contract with a salary ranging from £30,000 to £55,000, depending on experience.
Your job role in the public sector
Our planning system is a powerful framework to shape the future of our everyday environment. With the unprecedented focus on planning and planners in the public sector, there is an opportunity for professionals to advocate for the profession and expand their influence across development management and policy-making in-house. Your role might include:
- Coordinating an emerging Local Plan involving multiple stakeholders, including local and national bodies.
- Influencing major schemes at the pre-application and application stages.
- Promoting the engagement of stakeholders and communities in policy development that will impact the shape of their towns and villages.
- Coordinating development management processes with evidence-based collection and policy development.
- Project managing the delivery of design policy and guidance documents.
For more information about roles that Planners can take on in the public sector, visit the disciplines section of our website: https://www.publicpractice.org.uk/disciplines/planning
About you:
We want our cohorts to be diverse in terms of skills, experience, and backgrounds and actively encourage applications from all sections of society, be it age, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, faith, neurodiversity or disability. We require applicants to have a minimum of three years of relevant professional working experience within the built environment so that they can hit the ground running from the start. There is no upper limit. To be eligible for the programme, applicants must have the legal right to work in the UK. We are unfortunately not able to sponsor visas. Applicants must be willing to consider a full-time equivalent salary of £30,000 – £55,000, depending on the role’s grade and their experience.
Why apply to the programme:
Join a cohort of interdisciplinary placemakers: You will be part of a diverse cohort of highly skilled practitioners with different backgrounds, experiences and disciplines.
Receive support as you transition:
We understand joining the public sector for the first time can be a unique challenge. Through our bespoke Associate Course, we will provide you with career development and unique on-the-job learning in a supportive environment to help you transition.
Build your network:
Whether through learning sessions or our programme of events, including our annual Community Forum and our Community Field Trips, we will draw on our network to introduce you to people, organisations and ideas that can support your practice.
About Public Practice
Public Practice was founded as a not-for-profit in 2017 with a mission to build the public sector’s capability to improve the quality, equality, and sustainability of places. They believe that local government’s role is crucial in creating and managing everyday places that work for everyone and that, to achieve this, it must be well-resourced with diverse placemaking skills and the right support to lead the way.
The organisation delivers services to help the public sector build capacity and develop its placemaking capabilities, including recruiting talented professionals through the Associate Programme, providing organisational design strategy, a senior-level Jobs Board, and publishing annual insights to improve knowledge sharing and practice.
Location
We recruit Associates to jobs in Authorities across England and Wales. Opportunities to work from home have increased, but there is generally an expectation that Associates are present at their Authorities’ offices on a weekly basis (around two days per week). You will also need to be able to attend a number of in-person courses and field trip days throughout the first 12 months in your role.
How to apply
The first stage of the application process is completing an online application form. Applicants will then be assessed anonymously based on their answers to questions. Those who are successful at the online stage will receive an email during the week commencing 26 November inviting them to book into two online assessments. If you meet our requirements after all assessments, you will join our pool of candidates and be considered for any suitable roles we receive. We strongly recommend you take our Eligibility Quiz or attend one of our events for further information on our programme before starting your application on our website: https://www.publicpractice.org.uk/become-an-associate-planner
The deadline to apply is 10am on Monday 16 November.
Accessibility
Public Practice is committed to creating equal access to our recruitment process for all. If, for any accessibility reasons, you would prefer to submit your application in an alternative format, please email info@publicpractice.org.uk or call 020 3858 7447 to discuss your requirements. Applications are open until Monday, 16 November.
Find out more about how to apply here
See the IHBC Council paper ‘From private sector architect to local authority conservation officer, via Public Practice, by Serena Cardozo, IHBC Trustee and Principal Conservation Officer at Uttlesford District Council on her experience of the Public Practice.
See more on the HBC’s last members-only Council: Top marks for IHBC’s latest Council as LA Conservation service talks, papers & film get 10/10 from nearly 20% of 120+ delegates, shaping the survey for our new parliamentary push
See more background on Serena Cardozo’s Council paper: Spotlighting IHBC’s latest Council, on local government conservation: IHBC trustee Serena Cardozo (& her manager) highlight Public Practice’s potential to help local services
