31501 - Sustainable Places - Planning Advisor
| Posting date: | 25 July 2025 |
|---|---|
| Salary: | £28,607 per year |
| Hours: | Full time |
| Closing date: | 10 August 2025 |
| Location: | Preston |
| Remote working: | Hybrid - work remotely up to 5 days per week |
| Company: | Environment Agency |
| Job type: | Permanent |
| Job reference: | 31501 |
Summary
Do you want to work for an organisation that values difference and includes everyone?
Then the Environment Agency is the organisation for you! We are fully committed to being an inclusive employer and ensuring equal opportunities for everyone. We welcome flexible working patterns for all our vacancies, including job share.
We are looking for an entry grade Planning Advisor to join the Cumbria and Lancashire Area's Sustainable Places team. You will be on the frontline engaging with Local Planning Authorities, developers and consultants to ensure that the large amounts of growth and regeneration planned over the next 15 years are delivered in a way which protects and enhances the environment for future generations.
In Cumbria and Lancashire, we have some of the biggest environmental challenges: multiple main rivers, a large coastline, and the Lake District. We need a highly motivated and enthusiastic person to help us take on these challenges and deliver positive outcomes for the environment.
You will provide technical and administrative support to the Sustainable Places team to ensure we maximise results and work efficiently. This will involve planning application data screening and management, working with various internal functions to enable us to effectively influence planning application consultations, and assisting with the delivery of pre-planning advice.
You will need excellent communication and customer service skills and good organisational skills are essential. You must also be able to meet deadlines under the pressures associated with making timely planning decisions to secure local and national economic growth.
Responding to incidents is a central part of what we do. You will be required to have an incident role and make yourself available to respond to incidents or provide business continuity support during an incident.
The team
The team are friendly and hardworking, which is part of a cross cutting department that works in partnership with internal & external stakeholders to deliver EA2025 goals. We use a place based approach to influence local plan strategies and planning applications. We work with technical teams to evaluate environmental data, evidence and assessments associated with planning consultations.
We work across Cumbria and Lancashire, in our offices in Preston (Lutra House) and Penrith (Ghyll Mount).
Experience/skills required
Essential
• Able to lead and provide administrative and technical support and advice to the wider team
• Excellent IT skills, specifically Microsoft Excel
• Good team working skills and ability to prioritise work to deliver team goals
• Pro-active attitude and good problem solving skills
• Understanding of the importance of great customer service
• Numeracy skills, good attention to detail, and ability to consistently deliver tasks to a high standard
• Energy with a willingness to learn and develop
• A desire to achieve the best environmental outcomes and a flexible approach to move with our changing ways of working
Desirable
• Knowledge of Geographical Information Services (GIS) and good understanding of environmental issues and opportunities
• Interest in gaining membership of a relevant professional organisation - we provide ongoing training and this role offers career progression opportunities. We encourage staff to gain relevant professional membership such as RTPI, CIWEM, CGeog etc.
Then the Environment Agency is the organisation for you! We are fully committed to being an inclusive employer and ensuring equal opportunities for everyone. We welcome flexible working patterns for all our vacancies, including job share.
We are looking for an entry grade Planning Advisor to join the Cumbria and Lancashire Area's Sustainable Places team. You will be on the frontline engaging with Local Planning Authorities, developers and consultants to ensure that the large amounts of growth and regeneration planned over the next 15 years are delivered in a way which protects and enhances the environment for future generations.
In Cumbria and Lancashire, we have some of the biggest environmental challenges: multiple main rivers, a large coastline, and the Lake District. We need a highly motivated and enthusiastic person to help us take on these challenges and deliver positive outcomes for the environment.
You will provide technical and administrative support to the Sustainable Places team to ensure we maximise results and work efficiently. This will involve planning application data screening and management, working with various internal functions to enable us to effectively influence planning application consultations, and assisting with the delivery of pre-planning advice.
You will need excellent communication and customer service skills and good organisational skills are essential. You must also be able to meet deadlines under the pressures associated with making timely planning decisions to secure local and national economic growth.
Responding to incidents is a central part of what we do. You will be required to have an incident role and make yourself available to respond to incidents or provide business continuity support during an incident.
The team
The team are friendly and hardworking, which is part of a cross cutting department that works in partnership with internal & external stakeholders to deliver EA2025 goals. We use a place based approach to influence local plan strategies and planning applications. We work with technical teams to evaluate environmental data, evidence and assessments associated with planning consultations.
We work across Cumbria and Lancashire, in our offices in Preston (Lutra House) and Penrith (Ghyll Mount).
Experience/skills required
Essential
• Able to lead and provide administrative and technical support and advice to the wider team
• Excellent IT skills, specifically Microsoft Excel
• Good team working skills and ability to prioritise work to deliver team goals
• Pro-active attitude and good problem solving skills
• Understanding of the importance of great customer service
• Numeracy skills, good attention to detail, and ability to consistently deliver tasks to a high standard
• Energy with a willingness to learn and develop
• A desire to achieve the best environmental outcomes and a flexible approach to move with our changing ways of working
Desirable
• Knowledge of Geographical Information Services (GIS) and good understanding of environmental issues and opportunities
• Interest in gaining membership of a relevant professional organisation - we provide ongoing training and this role offers career progression opportunities. We encourage staff to gain relevant professional membership such as RTPI, CIWEM, CGeog etc.