Planning Liaison Engineer

Wessex Water is a community within a community. As we face challenging and interesting times regarding water and sewerage, we must maintain the supply of safe, high-quality drinking water to our customers whilst ensuring a high-quality treated return to the environment. This role is an integral part of this journey.

What you'll do 

Within our Planning Liaison Team, we are proud of the quality and efficiency of our work to ensure the right solution is delivered for our customers. We are responsible for providing accurate, relevant and timely information to developers, local planning authorities and customers on the serving of new developments of both household and non-household. We are at the forefront of ensuring that new development reduces the rainwater runoff into the sewer network, to help reduce the impact of new development on the environment. 

This role gives an outstanding opportunity for an experienced engineer to have a real impact on the future investment in our sewerage and water supply services. The role is diverse and offers a variety of responsibilities as you will carry out pre-development assessments on both minor (less than 10 units) and major developments across the Wessex region. You will be communicating with developers and local planning authorities to assess the impact of proposed developments. You will work with a range of teams across the business to ensure that issues are identified and resolved with the best outcome for the customer and Wessex Water. You will identify the need for any capacity improvements as a result of new development, as well as regularly reviewing and updating guidance and policies.

You will be responsible for taking developments from initial assessment enquiries, co-ordinating through the business and with local planning authorities, and preparing well-written responses to developers. You will report to the Senior Planning Liaison Engineer, and your work will be reviewed and quality assured.

Now is an exciting time to join the Planning Liaison Team as we undergo a period of change under new leadership. We sit within Developer Services and work with a range of teams to ensure consistency and a strategic approach to new development. Some of our key objectives include greater engagement with developers, local planning authorities and internal communications. We are pivoting toward the use of data feedback into decision-making and looking for ways to be innovative and efficient, and we would welcome your input on this.

What you'll need 

As a self-sufficient Planning Liaison Engineer, you will

• have a strong understanding of the development management process that contributes to sewerage and water supply services
• hold a Civil Engineering Degree or equivalent qualification
• be a strong communicator and able to confidently advise and influence a range of groups on developments that you are working on
• possess excellent written, presentation, IT, time management and organisational skills as a pre-requisite. You will also be self-motivated and have a drive for change, learning and efficiency.

What you'll receive

• A combined pension contribution of up to 20%.
• Career progression and professional development opportunities.
• 25 days' holiday rising to 28 with length of service.
• The opportunity to sell up to five days of holiday every year.
• The opportunity to buy up to ten days of holiday each year (subject to conditions).
• A healthcare package that allows you to claim back healthcare costs.
• Life assurance of up to eight times your salary.
• The opportunity to lease a new electric car through salary sacrifice (subject to conditions).
• Cashback and discounts from more than 3,000 retailers.
• One paid volunteering day each year.
• Enhanced family leave and pay arrangements.
• Access to an interactive health and wellbeing platform.
• Support from trained mental health first aiders.
• A £1,000 referral fee if you recommend someone who is successfully recruited by us. 

Who we are

YTL UK is part of the international YTL Group based in Kuala Lumpur. The UK companies include:

• Wessex Water – one of the top-performing water and sewerage companies in England and Wales, serving 2.9 million people across the South West
• YTL Developments – a major UK developer currently redeveloping a former airfield into an award-winning, exciting mix of houses, apartments, schools, commercial space, restaurants and hotels, to make a truly sustainable new community
• YTL Construction UK – a top 20 UK contractor providing fully integrated services to infrastructure, residential, commercial, industry, energy and environmental sectors
• YTL Live – the development and operation of an entertainment complex that includes a 20,000-capacity arena, conferencing and exhibition space
• plus a number of other retail, environmental and specialist businesses.

Our people tell us that YTL UK is a great place to work, which is why so many of them stay with us! You will have a unique opportunity to develop and progress your career within such a diverse group.

We are passionate about diversity and inclusion – with that in mind, all applicants are welcome. We are delighted to have signed the Armed Forces Covenant and are a Disability Confident Employer.

If you require reasonable adjustments to be made during the recruitment process, please inform a member of our Recruitment team.