Associate Town Planner

Tetra Tech is seeking to appoint an experienced Associate Town Planner to join our established and growing Planning team, based in Belfast or Edinburgh. This role presents an excellent opportunity to progress your career within a leading multi-disciplinary consultancy, delivering strategic planning advice across a diverse and engaging portfolio of projects.

The business continues to grow strongly across the UK & Ireland, and this position offers exposure to complex, high-profile developments across multiple planning jurisdictions. Working in a collaborative, client-focused environment, you will contribute to commercially robust and technically sound planning solutions, while benefitting from flexible and hybrid working arrangements where project commitments allow.

Purpose & Scope of the Role

As an Associate Town Planner, you will play a key role in the delivery of planning projects from early conception through to consent and post-consent stages, working under senior guidance while taking increasing ownership of project delivery and client relationships.

The role is client-facing and will involve leading planning applications, managing consultants and stakeholders, and contributing to multi-disciplinary project teams. You will be responsible for progressing projects through the planning process, including managing submissions, responding to consultee feedback, and discharging planning conditions. The nature of the team's work means that you may be involved in projects across different planning jurisdictions, with occasional travel aligned to the expectations of a role at this level.

Your Impact in this Position

Through your technical expertise, professional judgement and project leadership, you will directly influence the successful delivery of development proposals across a wide range of sectors. Your work will help clients navigate complex planning systems, manage risk and achieve positive outcomes in a timely and commercially effective manner.

By contributing to projects from inception through determination and beyond, you will help shape sustainable development proposals, support informed decision-making and strengthen long-term client relationships. Your ability to coordinate inputs, manage competing priorities and lead effectively within multi-disciplinary teams will be central to the value you bring to both clients and the wider business.

You will bring a strong grounding in planning practice, with experience leading projects under senior guidance and progressing applications through to consent. Your understanding of planning policy, process and decision-making will allow you to provide clear, practical advice tailored to client needs. Experience of Environmental Impact Assessment and energy-related development is advantageous, though not essential.

Project & Consultancy Delivery
You will demonstrate the ability to manage projects effectively from conception through to completion, balancing competing deadlines and priorities. Comfortable working autonomously, you will also contribute positively within collaborative, multi-disciplinary project teams. Your organisational skills and commercial awareness will support efficient delivery and strong client outcomes.

Client Engagement & Communication
As a client-facing professional, you will communicate clearly and confidently with clients, stakeholders and project teams. Your written and verbal skills will support high-quality reports, planning statements and correspondence, underpinned by sound professional judgement and attention to detail.

Multi-Disciplinary Collaboration
You will be comfortable working within and, where appropriate, leading multi-disciplinary project teams. Your ability to integrate planning considerations with environmental, engineering and design inputs will help deliver coordinated, high-quality project outcomes across a wide range of sectors.

Professional Communication & Reporting
You will produce clear, accurate and persuasive written outputs, including planning statements, supporting documents and correspondence. Your verbal communication skills will support confident participation in meetings, presentations and client discussions, underpinned by sound analytical capability and attention to detail.

Mandatory Requirements

You will have substantial experience working in a planning role and be a Chartered Member of the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) or Irish Planning Institute (IPI). You will have demonstrable experience of leading projects under senior guidance, taking schemes from early concept through to planning consent and condition discharge. You will be comfortable operating within a professional consultancy environment and contributing to collaborative, multi-disciplinary teams.

Desirable Experience

The following experience would be advantageous, though not essential, as training and support will be provided:

Renewable energy and/or energy infrastructure consenting
Experience of both Northern Irish / Irish and Scottish planning systems
Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)
Work Patterns and Locations

The role is ideally based in Belfast, although Edinburgh may be considered depending on the successful candidate. Hybrid working is supported, with a phased and flexible approach agreed to suit both individual and project requirements. Tetra Tech is committed to agile working arrangements that balance professional delivery with personal wellbeing.

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