Principal, Planning

About the role

Ethos Urban is continuing to expand our Brisbane team and is currently seeking a Principal Planner, who will be joining our great 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 candidate for the role will have planning experience working within the private or public sectors on complex development projects or planning policy.  We are looking for someone who has a deep knowledge of the Queensland planning system which comes from experience in delivering development approvals and/or policy work. You should 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 alongside other planning and development professionals.

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. We are a fast-paced organisation dealing with complex and exciting projects across the State and nationally.

Who are we looking for?

In the Principal, Planning role, 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 our project teams. 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.
• Participate in all aspects of urban planning from preparation and management of proposal/EOI writing, research & analysis, plotting approvals pathways & processes, report writing and client management.
• 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.

What should you bring?

The right person for the role will align with our values of ‘making a difference’ and have an ‘all in’ attitude, striving for the best outcomes for our team and our clients. Applicants must have a tertiary qualification in urban and regional planning. Dual degrees and/or experience in any of other service offers (design, engagement, social strategy or economics) is a bonus.

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 in Qld - or a mixture of both!
• Experience with steering mid to moderate/ large developments through the approvals process.
• A commercial focus and service orientated approach – prior consulting experience is a plus but not a showstopper.
• 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 – and to be able and willing to ‘chip in and help out’ when and as needed.

Why Ethos Urban?

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. For over 30 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.

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 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 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 more than just a national multi-disciplinary firm; we are consultancy done differently. Our people are the core of our business. Some of the key personal and professional opportunities for planners joining our firm include:

• We are proponents and real supporters of flexible working embedded in our Policy outlining a host of ‘flexible’ arrangements.

• 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 and access to transitional coaching, paid study leave and more.

• Access to a Leadership Development Program to support pathways to leadership for our Principals and above.

• We cover your industry memberships, we provide an access to an array of great learning and personal development initiatives and incredible career pathways..

• Be part of our many committees helping make Ethos Urban a more inclusive and socially conscious business such as our Reconciliation Action Plan Committee and Working Group, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee and Sustainability Committee.

• Become a valued member of our Future Leaders group; an internal forum that supports the professional and personal capabilities of our ‘urbanist’ cohort (under-grads through to senior urbanist level) through a diverse range of learning, professional development and team social activities.

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 through a cover letter & CV by clicking apply. We are waiting to hear from you.