Job Introduction
Planning Support Officer
(P01786)
Starting salary £29,364pa with progression to £31,325pa through annual increments subject to satisfactory service (inclusive of outer fringe allowance)
37 hours per week (hybrid working)
Permanent contract
Are you looking to take the first steps in your planning career as part of an ambitious service?
Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council are looking to appoint a Planning Support Officer to work as part of the Development Management service. The successful candidate will provide technical, administrative, and procedural customer support, including all applications and appeals that come through the service.
The Development Management service take a huge amount of pride in the standard of customer care they provide, and it will be up to you to maintain this. As well as providing skilled and knowledgeable support, you’ll also take responsibility for developing the electronic and manual record systems ensuring they are completely up to date and as efficient as possible.
Working with keen attention to detail, the council will look to you to assess the validity of planning and other applications as you determine the requirements for planning permission and the associated fees. Whilst previous planning experience is by no means essential, it would undoubtedly be a benefit. Otherwise, the council are looking for an organised and motivated individual with outstanding communication skills. You’ll need the ability to analyse and interpret data, as well as researching and presenting this data effectively.
What we are really looking for is someone with a true customer focus, an understanding of what great customer service involves and a commitment to delivering outstanding results.
The ability to converse at ease with members of the public and provide advice in accurate spoken English is essential in this post.
This post is hybrid working with the expectation of attending the office at least two days week, dependent on service requirements.
Along with a supportive working environment, those joining Welwyn Hatfield will discover a place in which their careers can truly thrive.
Our CORE values—Collaborative, Open, Responsible, Excellent—guide everything we do!
You will be working in the heart of Welwyn Garden City in our vibrant office. We offer flexible working to achieve a good work life balance, generous annual leave, discount to the council owned leisure facilities and much more. To see our full list of employee benefits visit My Rewards – Career.
We offer the Local Government Pension Scheme, which is a defined benefits scheme. Curious about how much a pension with Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council could be worth? Take a look at this public sector pension calculator to find out.
Please note we do not provide sponsorship for employment in the UK.
We recommend downloading the role profile as this will not be available online once the vacancy closes.
We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive a high volume of suitable applications. Early application is therefore encouraged.
Closing date for applications is 18 October 2026
Remote assessments will be held on 26 October 2026
Interviews will be held on 2 November 2026
We are changing:
Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council (WHBC) is undergoing Local Government Reorganisation (LGR). If you are employed by WHBC on 1 April 2028, it is expected that the majority of roles will transfer to the newly-created unitary councils on existing terms and conditions under TUPE (Transfer of Undertakings – Protection of Employment) principles.
LGR is one of the biggest changes in local government we will face in a generation. It will reshape how we work and how services are organised and gives us a real opportunity to build something better.
To find out more, visit Devolution and Local Government Reorganisation – Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council
