Senior Planning Manager

A well-established Yorkshire division of a major housebuilder is looking for a Senior Planning Manager to lead its planning function. Reporting directly to the Land Director, this is the senior planning hire in the region — responsible for driving planning strategy across a live pipeline of immediate and strategic land, managing a small team of planners, and playing a visible role at board level. THE ROLE — RESPONSIBILITIES Lead all planning activity across the Yorkshire region — immediate consents, outline applications, and a long-term strategic land portfolio Manage and develop a team of two town planners, setting workload priorities and quality standards Oversee the preparation, submission, and negotiation of planning applications, S106 agreements, and pre-application discussions Contribute to land acquisition decisions — appraising planning risk, identifying allocation opportunities, and supporting the Land Director in site selection Engage directly with local planning authorities, consultants, and statutory bodies to progress consents Monitor and influence emerging Local Plans, SPDs, and planning policy changes relevant to the region's land strategy Present planning appraisals and updates to the regional board — owning the narrative on planning risk and programme Work closely with the technical, land, and commercial teams to align planning programme with build and sales phasing Support due diligence on potential acquisitions, including assessment of planning history, constraints, and deliverability WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR Substantial planning experience gained on the developer or housebuilder side — candidates from consultancy will not be considered unless they have significant client-side or in-house experience Strong track record in residential planning, ideally including both outline and detailed applications across mixed site types Experience working across both immediate and strategic land — understanding the full pipeline lifecycle Used to presenting to board or senior leadership — comfortable owning the planning narrative in a business context, not just a technical one MRTPI qualified (preferred) or equivalent experience Proven ability to manage and mentor junior planners Strong negotiation skills — experienced in handling LPA relationships, S106 heads of terms, and appeal management Commercially minded — able to translate planning risk into business language and contribute meaningfully to land appraisals Development Manager profile also considered: Candidates with a Development Manager background will be considered where they can demonstrate deep, extensive planning expertise gained across the planning process — not project delivery. The emphasis must be on planning knowledge and strategy, not programme management or build-out.