Graduate Town Planner

AECOM Graduate Town Planner role supporting land-use planning, development consents, planning policy, research and major infrastructure, energy and residential projects. Pasted markdown

Job Description

Our Town Planning Team has a number of fantastic graduate opportunity available immediately in our London and Bristol offices (other locations including Manchester, Birmingham, Plymouth, Basingstoke, Nottingham, Chesterfield and Leeds will also be considered).

About our Team

The AECOM Planning Practice covers both policy planning and consenting. Our projects include some of the largest, most complex and high-profile development projects in the UK for both public and private sector clients.

We are a vibrant and dynamic planning team and work closely with colleagues in other related disciplines, including masterplanning, landscape, environment, sustainability, transport, economics and stakeholder engagement.

Our projects

We support Plan-making from the strategic to local and neighbourhood scale, including:

• Strategic growth and infrastructure planning – projects include those at the regional and sub-regional scale, such as Growth and Infrastructure Frameworks for Kent, Surrey, West Sussex, Essex, Hertfordshire, Oxfordshire, and the West of England and nationally significant strategic planning studies for Central Government including work for MHCLG on the Ox Cam Arc New and Expanded Settlements Programme and for Homes England and the Thames Estuary Growth Board on the Thames Estuary 2050 Growth Study.

• Local Plans – We work with a range of local planning authorities to provide full support through the plan-making process by developing evidence such as housing and economic development need assessments, housing and employment land availability assessments, sustainability appraisals, as well as working with our client to develop policies in their Plans and defending them at Examination in Public.

We lead on complex planning consents for infrastructure, energy, transport and residential development schemes including:

• Great Grid Upgrade – AECOM are leading planning consents on a number of projects for National Grid which are following the Development Consent Order process including new transmission lines.

• Northern Arc, Burgess Hill - AECOM submitted a hybrid planning application for a 3,500 home urban extension to the north of Burgess Hill on behalf of Homes England. Our planning team coordinated the major multi-disciplinary team to produce the masterplan, Infrastructure Delivery Plan and Phasing Strategy.

• Trans-Pennine Route Upgrade – on behalf of Network Rail, AECOM is leading the consenting for the transformative, long-term railway infrastructure programme that will improve connectivity and help boost economic growth in the North.

• London Luton Airport Expansion DCO – AECOM provided town planning, masterplanning and environmental support to the Development Consent Order application to almost double the size of London Luton Airport, including a new terminal.

Here's what you'll do:

Joining AECOM will provide you with opportunities for career progression within a positive culture where learning and development is actively supported and promoted.

As a Graduate you will play a role in supporting a wide variety of projects, engaging directly with clients and stakeholders to secure successful planning outcomes. Work portfolios are managed to ensure that all staff experience a breadth and depth of project opportunities (including plan making, development management and infrastructure projects).  

AECOM works closely with the RTPI to provide comprehensive training and support to our graduates undertaking the Assessment of Professional Competence. We offer the opportunity to network with other planners and professionals at frequent events, meet-ups and knowledge-sharing sessions to support and enable you to achieve your career ambitions.

Main duties would be to:

• Provide technical inputs to land use planning projects and work within a team of planners, environmental specialists, landscape architects and engineers to deliver a range of projects including land development, infrastructure planning, policy planning and strategic development planning projects.

• Play a supporting role in the preparation of planning consent applications for a range of energy, water, infrastructure and large-scale residential schemes, working with other disciplines in multi-disciplinary teams. This would for example include writing planning statements or policy appraisals and liaising with the client and other stakeholders to achieve successful planning outcomes.

• Carry out planning research and analysis and assist with the identification of planning risk.

• Support others in the team to identify and pursue business development opportunities and support the growth of the business through new and repeat clients. Contribute to proposals and qualification documents to secure new commissions.

• Provide effective representation for the organisation, developing and managing relationships with clients, local authorities and other stakeholders through project work and through attendance at conferences and other networking events.

• Participate in the successful operation and management of the Planning team, including playing a role in sharing technical knowledge and excellence.

• Assist the management team as required.

Enjoy the Perks

At AECOM, you'll enjoy a range of core and personalised benefits designed to support your future and well-being, customised to fit your lifestyle. Take advantage of career development opportunities, our flexible hybrid working model to ensure a work-life balance that suits your lifestyle, technical practice networks, AECOM University, and volunteering days.

Here is what you will get from us!

On the job support and learning

When a graduate starts at AECOM, we pair them with a senior member of the team who will guide and mentor them through their initial period working on live projects and business development tasks, to support with any technical queries.

Graduate Development Programme

Our 2-year graduate ADVANCE programme is designed to help you build your career in AECOM. You will attend several instructor-led training sessions where you will meet and hear from people across the business and take part in a series of interactive activities to equip you with the knowledge and skills you need to succeed in your role.

Alongside the instructor-led elements of the ADVANCE programme, you will also engage with an online curriculum via AECOM University and can join the ADV ANCE webinar series. We will provide you with all the support and tools you need to achieve your professional development ambitions, which may include Chartership with the relevant international professional institution.

We have more than 750 graduates on our programmes across the UK and Ireland from more than 40 different disciplines, each making a tangible difference to the environment in which we live and work.

We will help you work towards becoming a Chartered Member of the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI).

Ready to push the limits of what’s possible?

Here’s what we’re looking for:

A graduate with a degree or post graduate level qualification in Town or Urban Planning or a related discipline.

• A hard working and highly motivated individual with excellent communication, presentation and report writing skills

• Able to work on own initiative and under pressure

• Competent in the use of Microsoft Office including Excel, PowerPoint and Word.

• An understanding of UK Planning policy and legislation

• Interest in all aspects of Planning

• Successfully manage time to meet project deadlines

• Client focused with good interpersonal skills and collaborative approach with a high level of commitment to quality

• Able to learn and willing to embrace digital technologies that support and enhance our planning capabilities

• Full current driving licence is preferred (although not essential) and access to a form of transport to travel to various sites to carry out the duties of the post. Please indicate if you hold this within your application

• Ideally planning work experience beyond academic study (achieved either during studies, industrial placement, vacation work or since)

You must have permanent right to work in the UK as we are unable to offer visa sponsorship for this position.

About AECOM

AECOM is the world’s trusted infrastructure consulting firm, delivering professional services throughout the project lifecycle – from advisory, planning, design and engineering to program and construction management. On projects spanning transportation, buildings, water, new energy and the environment, our public- and private-sector clients trust us to solve their most complex challenges.

Our teams are driven by a common purpose to deliver a better world through our unrivaled technical and digital expertise, a culture of equity, diversity and inclusion, and a commitment to environmental, social and governance priorities.