Tweed Shire Council

Senior Town Planner

About the role:

• Lead the end-to-end development application process, including assessment, compliance inspections, and the preparation of recommendations for determination.
• Exercise delegated authority to determine applications, sign correspondence, and make informed decisions with implications for third parties and the broader community. 
• Lead and manage a small team of planning professionals, providing day-to-day supervision, monitoring performance and work output, and supporting team development through coaching and mentoring.
• Collaborate with internal teams, the public, developers, consultants, Councillors, and government agencies to provide authoritative planning advice and guidance on complex matters.
• Contribute to the strategic direction of the unit by assisting with policy development, LEP and DCP amendments, and budget planning.
• Represent Council as an expert witness in legal proceedings, ensuring decisions are robust, evidence-based, and aligned with statutory requirements.
• Support the Manager Building & Environmental Health in operational oversight, work planning, and the delivery of high-quality planning outcomes across the region.
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What's on offer:

• a base salary ranging from $115,562 per annum with competency-based increments up to $128,493 per annum, plus 11.5% super
• 70 hour, 9 day fortnight
• training and development opportunities
• flexible work options for a healthy work/life balance
• generous employment conditions (we have too many to list - click here for more).

We are seeking:

• A qualified Town Planner with a degree or post-graduate qualification in planning or a related discipline
• Eligibility for membership of the Planning Institute of Australia (PIA)
• Extensive experience in the assessment and determination of development applications, with a strong working knowledge of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 and related NSW planning legislation
• Demonstrated ability to lead and manage a team, including performance monitoring, mentoring, and supporting professional development
• Strong strategic thinking skills, with experience contributing to planning related policy, and broader organisational planning initiatives
• Excellent communication and stakeholder engagement skills, with the ability to provide authoritative planning advice and collaborate effectively with internal and external stakeholders, including Councillors
• Proven capacity to exercise sound judgement and delegated authority in decision-making, including in complex or sensitive matters

About us:

• Located on the picturesque far North Coast of NSW, bordering the Gold Coast.
• The Tweed is a vibrant, diverse location offering a lifestyle near the water, in a rainforest or on a farm.  
• Tweed Shire Council is committed to employment equity and diversity and encourages applications from people of all ages, abilities and backgrounds in both traditional and non-traditional roles.  We provide workplace adjustments for people with disability, and access to flexible work options. 
• Join an employer of choice. Professionals Australia (Local Government Engineers’ Association) has named Council the 2021 Employer of Choice for our great employment practices within NSW local government. 

Where it's located:

This position is based in Murwillumbah and can be directed to work from any Council work site.

Position closes: 

Friday 16 May at 12 noon sharp (NSW time).  Late applications will not be permitted.

Click here to view the Position Description 

TIPS for Addressing the Selection Criteria

Click here for more information on the Recruitment Process

Click here to view our Values

Pre-Employment Screening:

Tweed Shire Council conducts pre-employment assessments as part of its recruitment process. 

Job offers are not made until screening has been completed. Tweed Shire Council uses third-party providers to undertake:

1. Pre-employment medical – some roles require a functional (physical) assessment, and all positions are subject to drug and alcohol screening (a positive test result means the recruitment process ends and your application will not be considered).
2. Background screening - verifies that the information you have provided throughout the recruitment process is true and correct.  Click here for more information.

Reference Checks are undertaken by the panel. Your 2 referees should ideally be your current and most recent supervisors.  Your referees are not contacted unless you’ve been interviewed and are a preferred candidate.

How To Apply:

You must use your own email address, and not one used previously by another person that has applied for a position with council.

Once you start your online application, you cannot save and return to it later. 

1. Have your Resume document ready to go.
2. Fill out all questions below. Click 'Next'. 
3. You'll then be prompted to attach your resume and other documents (if applicable). Click 'Next'.
4. Review your application to confirm everything is correct. Click 'Confirm' to submit your application.

If you'd like to COPY and PASTE question fields into a separate Word document to work on over time, please find them listed below:

1. Do you hold a degree or post-graduate qualification in Town Planning or a related field? Please provide details.
2. Are you eligible for membership with the Planning Institute of Australia? If yes, please outline your eligibility.
3. Can you describe your experience managing complex development assessments or planning projects, including how you balanced technical accuracy with stakeholder expectations or time constraints?
4. Tell us about a time when you needed to resolve a significant conflict between planning regulations and community or developer expectations. How did you navigate this, and what was the outcome?
5. How do you stay informed about changes in planning legislation, policies, and emerging best practices, and can you give an example of how you have implemented such knowledge into your work?
6. As a Senior Planner, describe your approach to providing strategic leadership to your planning team. Specifically, how do you proactively identify opportunities to improve team performance, efficiency, and ensure your staff remain engaged and professionally current?
7. Describe a situation where you had to provide planning advice to senior management or elected council members on a sensitive or politically challenging matter. How did you ensure your advice was well-received?
8. In a busy local government planning environment, competing demands and deadlines are common. Explain your method for prioritising tasks and managing workloads, both for yourself and your team. Can you provide an example where your prioritisation had a direct and positive impact on delivering outcomes?
9. In a regulatory planning environment like ours, where probity, disclosure, and honesty really matter, we juggle a lot: technical accuracy in our work, meeting tough timeframes, strict compliance with the rules and standards, using logic and good judgment on the tricky qualitative issues, being diplomatic with stakeholders, advocating for good outcomes, and of course fairness and ethics in everything. Out of those factors, which two do you personally consider the most important for a senior planner, and why?

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