Principal Urban Design Officer

• 3 days in the office per week
• at the offices in Brent Civic Centre
• within the Placemaking Team

Brent is a tremendously vibrant London Borough where the iconic arch of Wembley Stadium dominates the skyline. Spanning both inner and outer London, it is a borough of huge contrasts in terms of its economic, environmental, ethnic and social make-up. Brent’s diversity is evident to all who visit, and its long history of ethnic and cultural diversity has created a truly unique place and is valued by those who live and work here.

The council is pursuing a far-reaching transformation agenda that better meets the community's needs; it is an exciting time to join them.

Job Purpose

Good design is fundamental to a high-quality city. The borough is recruiting an experienced architect or urban designer to support its growth ambitions and deliver on the policies of the Brent Local Plan.

Brent is committed to design excellence, and they believe in a place-based approach to development that responds to the areas of growth, areas of renewal and areas for protection across the borough. All development proposals must lead the way in good urban and sustainable design, support health, wellbeing and inclusivity, and positively address the design policies within the London Plan, the Brent Local Plan and the Brent Supplementary Planning Documents.

• As a key member of the Placemaking team, you will work across a number of other teams and departments to provide urban design advice into strategically important planning applications, masterplans, site allocations and planning briefs. 
• You will also be responsible for overseeing the management of the Brent Quality Review and Community Review Panels, the Brent Design Awards, and a range of other design-related workstreams and projects. You will also seek new ventures through grant funding or revenue-generating opportunities.

Role Reporting

• you will be responsible for an Urban Design Officer and a Placemaking Officer
• you will be reporting directly to the Placemaking Manager
• you will also be working alongside the new Principal Heritage Officer

You will be an experienced built environment professional with a proven track record of delivering high-quality design outcomes, either through project-based experience gained in practice or a similar role in a local planning authority.

You will, first and foremost, be a proactive design advocate with the confidence and ability to champion good design at various levels within the organisation and amongst various stakeholders. You will have excellent verbal, written, and visual communication skills and be demonstrably collaborative in your approach.

Person Specification:

• From an urban design perspective, a comprehensive understanding of current issues & developments affecting planning, regeneration & local government in London.
• A comprehensive understanding of main central government & development plan policy issues.
• A comprehensive understanding of spatial planning legislation & good appreciation of related legislation, including local government legislation.
• A general level of political awareness & comprehensive knowledge of the operation of local government.
• A high level of ability in applying urban design principles to the spatial planning/regeneration process.
• Substantial experience of major issues related to spatial planning in a large, complex organisation.

Further details of the requirements are listed in the full role profile below.

• £53,607 - £56,646 per annum salary
• Local Government Pension Scheme entitlement, with a 6.8% employer contribution.
• 27 days holiday per annum
• Flexible and compressed hours working offered

If you are interested in applying for this job, please start by clicking the "Apply With Authority" button on this page and then following the links. You will need to set up an account with Brent.

You must provide a supporting statement as part of your application that clearly shows how you meet the criteria on the Person Specification. Brent will accept a CV in support of your application. However, you should still provide a supporting statement.

If you would like an informal discussion about the role, please contact John Stiles, Placemaking Manager.

Access & Inclusion

Brent Council values the diversity of its community and aims to have a workforce that reflects this. Therefore, it encourages applications from all sections of the community. It positively encourages all applicants to self-identify their characteristics in the diversity survey section of the application.

As a disability confident employer Brent welcomes applications from people with all disabilities, including “non-visible” disabilities and mental health conditions. They will interview any disabled applicant who meets the essential criteria. If you require reasonable adjustments to be made to any part of the recruitment process due to your disability, please contact recruitment@brent.gov.uk.