Principal, Planning

About the roles (2 roles)

Ethos Urban is seeking 2 x Principal Planners in Brisbane to join our highly engaged team of urban development professionals. This role will suit dynamic and passionate individuals looking to take the next step in their professional career.

Our ideal candidates for this role will have planning experience working within the private or public sectors on complex urban development or infrastructure projects. They may also have experience in leading small teams, an outcomes-oriented attitude, excellent client liaison skills and a passion for working in a high performing organisation.

At Ethos Urban, we work in multi-disciplinary teams to approach projects from a holistic perspective – blending our services of urban design, economics, engagement, social strategy, project management and planning. This unique approach means interns are referred to as ‘Urbanists’ – as they learn to deliver urban solutions informed by a diverse range of expertise. Urbanists have a broad understanding of the built environment and property industry. They are collaborative and can work with a range of stakeholders to deliver the best urban outcomes for our clients and communities.

Key responsibilities

As a Principal, you will act as the key contact and Project Manager on various significant projects involving a range of stakeholders. As the lead Planner you will work closely with Project Directors as part of a dynamic project team. You will also provide direction for junior staff to guide them through the planning system and providing solutions to complex problems.

The successful candidate will be responsible for:

• Providing advice directly to a range of clients including landowners, developers and public-sector agencies, as the Project Manager.
• Prepare and follow up fee proposals/expression of interest and tenders.
• Scoping of projects, budgeting and project management of tasks and fee variations.
• Managing medium to large sized projects under the guidance of a Project Director.
• Project managing other junior staff including delegating, supervising and reviewing work.
• Delivering projects within budget and scope and quickly dealing with scope creep issues and fee variations.
• Developing and maintaining relationships with clients, authorities, distribution agents and sub-consultants.
• Working across a wide range of projects and services across the organisation’s diversified service areas.

Who we are looking for

We are looking for an individual who thrives in a fast-paced, highly collaborative and enthusiastic environment. They will have strong technical skills and an ability to lead moderate to large sized projects across a range of development types and services. Our ideal candidate will be driven, proactive and results orientated with the ability to work collaboratively to achieve the best results.

The successful candidate will have the following qualifications and capabilities:

• Tertiary qualifications in Town Planning (preferable) or a related discipline along with demonstrated industry experience.
• Experience in either Strategic or Statutory Planning - or a mixture of both!
• Experience with steering mid to moderate/ large developments through the approvals process.
• A commercial focus and service orientated approach.
• Highly developed organisational and time management skills.
• Excellent communication (oral and written) and presentation skills.
• Ability to build strong working relationships both internally and externally.

Knowledge of the QLD planning system & related issues is desired but not essential. If you have worked in other regions (e.g. Victoria, NSW, SA, UK) and are able to demonstrate your knowledge of that planning system then we also want to hear from you.

About Ethos Urban

Ethos Urban is a multi-disciplinary business that brings together planning, urban design, property economics, social strategy, community engagement and project management. We believe bringing collective intelligence of our different people helps us deliver better solutions to complex problems, and ultimately leads to a better urban experience for our community. Our towns and cities are always changing and we know this creates choices that can make a difference to the quality of our urban living.

We have a vibrant, enthusiastic and highly skilled team of professionals that love what they do and who get excited about planning and development. As a result, at Ethos Urban you will have opportunities to work on the most exciting city shaping projects on offer and with the most high-profile clients in the industry.

We believe we can always improve the urban life experience by creating engaging places that connect us to where we need to go, meet our changing needs and create opportunities for everyone to thrive.

For over 25 years our people have worked in partnership with the public and private sectors to provide them with the momentum to realise their ambitions for better places, communities and cities.

Why work with us?

The business of creating a better urban experience is a complex one. It requires patience, diligence, intelligence and perhaps most importantly, a passion for making a difference to our experience of urban life.

What we do and the way that we do it is unique. We view each project as a complex puzzle that requires different perspectives and alternative angles to solve it. At Ethos Urban, no one individual ever has the answer. It’s only when we bring people with different specialisations from different teams that we can see the full picture and then the way forward. We call it collective intelligence.

We continue to hire great people with a diversity of skills, experience and backgrounds. This includes people with disability, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, women, people identifying as LGBTIQ+, culturally and linguistically diverse people, carers and other diversity groups. We encourage applicants from any background to apply to join Ethos Urban!

We back our people: We are proponents of flexible work, we provide generous leave provisions including purchased leave (up to 4 weeks annually in addition to your standard 4), 18 weeks paid parental leave regardless of your parental definition, paid study leave & access to transitional coaching. In addition, we cover your industry memberships, we provide an access to an array of great learning and personal development initiatives and incredible career pathways. For more please visit our website.

We have adopted the globally recognised United Nations Sustainable Development Goals as our ESG framework. The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s) is a clearly defined pathway to improving our world, and how business can align its goals and actions to help us all collectively get there.

How to apply

Interested in joining our team? We’d love to hear from you. Send a cover letter & CV to recruitment@ethosurban.com.