Consultant Town Planner - Policy

Job Description

Due to a significant increase in planning policy project wins and new opportunities, we are looking to recruit a consultant planner with opportunities to be based at our offices in London - Aldgate, Bristol, Leeds or Manchester whilst also taking advantage of our flexible hybrid working model

You will be joining a great team; you will have an interesting and diverse workload and you will be given the opportunity to make the most of your abilities.   

You will work on key planning policy projects, working alongside multi-disciplinary teams and engaging directly with clients and stakeholders to secure successful planning outcomes. There will also be opportunities to work on infrastructure and development projects within the Planning team. Hybrid and flexible working arrangements are available, as well as reduced hours.   

Here’s what you’ll do: 

Planning Strategy and Expertise 

• Carry out research and analysis for planning policy projects  

• Assist on elements of policy projects, including supporting local authority policy and strategy development, local plan evidence studies, strategic growth studies, infrastructure strategies and other policy and strategy commissions.  

• Assist in formulating strategic planning advice to other client and internal teams. 

• Provide effective representation for the organisation, developing and managing relationships with clients, local authorities and other stakeholders through project work and through attendance at conferences and other networking events. 

• Sharing technical knowledge and excellence. 

Project Management 

• Assist Project Managers to ensure projects are delivered successfully on budget and within programme timelines. 

• Assist in coordinating multi-disciplinary teams for seamless project execution. 

• Implement and uphold quality assurance and health and safety principles. 

Business Development 

• Contribute to the business development strategy where required 

• Assist in the preparation of commercial tenders to secure new opportunities. 

Does this sound like something you can do, and do well? If so, read on… 

About our team 

AECOM is a top ten UK planning consultancy by size, employing around 70 Chartered or Licentiate Planners. The AECOM Planning Practice projects include some of the largest, most complex and high profile development and regeneration projects in the UK for both public and private sector clients. We are a dynamic planning team and work closely with colleagues in other related disciplines, including masterplanning, landscape, environment, sustainability, transport and economics.  Examples of our project work include: 

• Sub-Regional Spatial Plans - AECOM is a leading provider of sub-regional growth studies and evidence base for plans and policy (including our strategic planning work in the OxCam Arc, Thames Estuary, Hertfordshire and the East Midlands). For many years, we have also been thought leaders and enablers for new communities and Garden Towns (including research for MHCLG, Local Government Association and Town and Country Planning Association). 

• Local Plans – Providing local planning authorities with local plan evidence and support is a key area in the policy team.  We have worked on the local plans of over 100 authorities in the last decade. This includes the full range of evidence base studies, secondments, critical friend support and coordinating multi-disciplinary teams to provide evidence to inform and test planning policy at all stages of plan-making.  

• Strategic Masterplans - We have masterplanned new Garden Communities totalling almost 100,000 homes (with current examples including Southern Manydown in Basingstoke and Naas North West Quadrant in Ireland). Our work continues to create places where people want to live and invest over the long term. 

Joining AECOM will provide you with opportunities for career progression within a positive culture where learning and development is actively supported and promoted.  

Come grow with us. 

Qualifications

Ready to push the limits of what’s possible? 

Experience 

• Relevant experience of contributing to planning policy and strategy development in a consultancy or public sector role.  

Client & Stakeholder Relations 

• Client focus, with good interpersonal skills and a collaborative working approach. 

• A business development mindset, ideally with some experience of work winning and developing relationships with existing and new clients. 

Skills 

• Ability to produce high quality technical reports and excellent communication skills. 

• Ability to work on your own initiative and under pressure. 

Quality & Commitment 

• High level of commitment to quality. 

Education & Professional Memberships 

• Degree in Town Planning or a related discipline, and membership of the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) or equivalent professional body, or working towards membership.  

Additional Information

Interested in the role or curious about life at AECOM? Follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube to explore our AECOM voices, employee stories, latest projects, and much more! 

For further information about the role, reach out to the recruiter on LinkedIn (Anne Marie Flynn). 

At AECOM, we are committed to maintaining a secure and trustworthy recruitment process and take any fraudulent hiring activity seriously. To support this commitment, all newly hired employees are required to attend an in-person Day 1 onboarding at an AECOM office location as a condition of employment.

About AECOM

AECOM is the world’s trusted infrastructure consulting firm, delivering professional services throughout the project lifecycle – from advisory, planning, design and engineering to program and construction management. On projects spanning transportation, buildings, water, new energy and the environment, our public- and private-sector clients trust us to solve their most complex challenges. Our teams are driven by a common purpose to deliver a better world through our unrivaled technical and digital expertise, a culture of equity, diversity and inclusion, and a commitment to environmental, social and governance priorities. AECOM is a Fortune 500 firm and its Professional Services business had revenue of $16.1 billion in fiscal year 2025. See how we are delivering sustainable legacies for generations to come at aecom.com and @AECOM.

Freedom to Grow in a World of Opportunity 

You will have the flexibility you need to do your best work with hybrid work options. Whether you’re working from an AECOM office, remote location or at a client site, you will be working in a dynamic environment where your integrity, entrepreneurial spirit and pioneering mindset are championed.

You will help us foster a safe and respectful workplace, where we invite everyone to bring their whole selves to work using their unique talents, backgrounds and expertise to create transformational outcomes for our clients.

AECOM provides a wide array of compensation, benefits and well-being programs to meet the diverse needs of our employees and their families. We’re the world’s trusted global infrastructure firm, and we’re in this together – your growth and success are ours too.

Join us, and you’ll get all the benefits of being a part of a global, publicly traded firm – access to industry-leading technology and thinking and transformational work with big impact and work flexibility. As an Equal Opportunity Employer, we believe in each person’s potential, and we’ll help you reach yours.

We are a Disability Confident Employer and will offer an interview to applicants who have a disability or long-term condition, who meet the minimum/essential criteria for the role. Please let us know using this email address [email protected]  if you would like to apply through the Disability Confident Interview Scheme.

All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.