Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Urbanism Consultant

🎯 Role Definition

This role requires an experienced Urbanism Consultant to lead multi-disciplinary urban design and planning projects, deliver strategic masterplans, and provide expert advice to public and private sector clients on urban regeneration, land use policy, and sustainable place-making. The Urbanism Consultant will combine technical planning knowledge, strong stakeholder engagement ability, and practical design skills to shape resilient, inclusive and economically viable urban environments.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Graduate Urban Planner / Junior Urban Designer
Town Planner or Planning Policy Officer
GIS Analyst or Transport Planning Assistant

Advancement To:

Senior Urbanism Consultant / Senior Urban Designer
Principal Consultant — Urbanism / Project Lead
Head of Urbanism / Director of Planning and Design

Lateral Moves:

Transport Planner or Multimodal Mobility Specialist
Environmental Planner / Sustainability Consultant
Regeneration Project Manager or Development Manager

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Lead the preparation and delivery of integrated masterplans and urban design frameworks, synthesizing place analysis, land use strategies, and development capacity assessments to guide large-scale regeneration and new neighbourhood projects.
Prepare clear, persuasive planning statements, design codes, and development briefs that articulate design rationale, policy compliance, and implementation pathways for Local Planning Authorities and private developers.
Conduct robust site appraisals and spatial analysis using GIS, mapping, demographic and land use datasets to identify constraints, opportunities and preferred development scenarios.
Coordinate multi-disciplinary consultant teams (transport, landscape, ecology, heritage, drainage) to produce cohesive planning submissions, ensuring technical inputs are integrated into the urban design strategy.
Provide statutory planning advice and support through pre-application engagement, planning applications, and appeals, drafting responses to planning conditions and liaising with planning officers and elected members.
Develop and lead community and stakeholder engagement programmes, designing inclusive workshops, charrettes, exhibitions and online consultations to capture local aspirations and manage feedback into design development.
Prepare viability-informed land use and housing mix strategies with clear policy justification to maximize deliverable outcomes while meeting affordable housing and infrastructure obligations.
Undertake urban design visualisations, illustrations and 3D massing studies (SketchUp/ Rhino / Adobe suite) to communicate design intent to clients, stakeholders and planning committees.
Apply transport and movement analysis to shape street hierarchy, public realm, active travel routes and access arrangements in coordination with transport specialists.
Assess planning policy and local development plans, advising clients on compliance, policy interpretation and opportunities for policy negotiation or deviation where justified.
Lead Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) scoping and inputs related to urban form, landscape and socio-economic impacts, ensuring mitigation strategies are embedded in the design.
Deliver concept-level infrastructure and delivery strategies, coordinating with utilities, highways and landowners to define phasing, servicing and funding mechanisms for implementation.
Prepare compelling bid documents, funding applications, and strategic business cases for regeneration programmes, demonstrating social value, economic impact and deliverability.
Undertake place-based economic and social analysis to inform mixed-use programming, public realm activation, cultural infrastructure and local employment strategies.
Provide technical responses to detailed design queries during technical submissions and post-consent stages, overseeing compliance with planning conditions and design codes.
Monitor planning application progress, negotiate planning obligations (S106/CIL) and advise on conditions to protect design quality and long-term place outcomes.
Lead ESQ (Equalities, Sustainability, Quality) reviews and design health checks to ensure proposals are inclusive, climate resilient and deliver healthy streets and public realm.
Mentor junior planners and designers, providing on-the-job training, design review and quality assurance to grow internal capability and maintain high delivery standards.
Generate high-quality presentation materials and reports for client boards and planning committees, tailoring messaging to policy, political and commercial audiences.
Evaluate brownfield redevelopment opportunities, contamination constraints and remediation needs in coordination with environmental and engineering specialists to support deliverable schemes.
Support landowner and developer negotiations through feasibility testing, scheme optimisation and clear explanation of planning risk and mitigation measures.
Stay abreast of national and local planning policy changes, urban design guidance and best practice, translating policy implications into practical advice for clients and design teams.

Secondary Functions

Support business development by preparing proposals, CVs and fee estimates for new urbanism consultancy opportunities and sector-specific tenders.
Manage contract administration tasks including fee monitoring, time recording and client invoicing to ensure profitable delivery of urban design commissions.
Contribute to thought leadership content such as case studies, white papers and conference talks on sustainable urbanism, densification and inclusive neighbourhood design.
Promote cross-office collaboration and knowledge sharing, maintaining design templates, precedent libraries and GIS datasets for reuse across projects.
Represent the consultancy at public hearings, planning committees and stakeholder advisory panels to advocate for design-led planning outcomes.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Advanced urban design and masterplanning expertise with demonstrable delivery of frameworks, design codes and development briefs.
Strong knowledge of national and local planning policy, zoning, land use regulation and planning application procedures.
Proficiency in GIS (ArcGIS, QGIS) for spatial analysis, mapping and capacity modelling.
Competency in 3D modelling and visualisation tools (SketchUp, Rhino, Revit/BIM preferred) and Adobe Creative Suite for presentation materials.
Experience preparing Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) inputs and sustainability appraisals related to urban development.
Understanding of transport planning fundamentals, active travel design, and experience coordinating with transport modellers.
Ability to produce economic and housing need assessments, viability inputs and mixed-use programming strategies.
Familiarity with heritage appraisal, landscape-led design, ecological constraints and integrating mitigation measures into masterplans.
Experience drafting planning applications, planning statements, S106/CIL negotiation briefs and managing pre-application processes.
Strong report writing, technical drawing interpretation and specification skills for client submissions and tender documents.
Working knowledge of public realm design standards, street typologies, accessibility and healthy streets principles.
Competence in community engagement tools and techniques including charrette facilitation and stakeholder mapping.

Soft Skills

Excellent stakeholder engagement and facilitation skills with the ability to manage competing interests and build consensus.
Clear, persuasive written and verbal communication, tailored to technical, political and community audiences.
Strong project management and commercial awareness to deliver multi-stream projects on time and within budget.
Strategic thinking with a pragmatic, delivery-focused approach to translating vision into implementable plans.
Collaborative team player who can lead multidisciplinary teams and mentor junior staff.
Negotiation and influencing skills when dealing with public authorities, landowners and private sector clients.
High attention to detail and design quality while maintaining a broader strategic view.
Resilience and adaptability in complex, fast-moving planning environments.
Creative problem-solving and the ability to innovate under regulatory or site constraints.
Commitment to ethical practice, inclusivity and sustainability in urban development.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Bachelor's degree in Urban Planning, Urban Design, Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Geography, or related built environment discipline.

Preferred Education:

Master's degree in Urbanism, Urban Design, Town Planning, or a closely related postgraduate qualification.
Professional accreditation (RTPI, RIBA, IStructE affiliated urbanism qualification where applicable) or demonstrable CPD in planning and urban design.

Relevant Fields of Study:

Urban Planning / Town Planning
Urban Design / Architecture
Landscape Architecture
Geography / Spatial Analysis
Transport Planning / Civil Engineering

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 3–8 years of relevant urban design and planning experience (consultancy, local authority, or developer-side).

Preferred: 5+ years delivering masterplans, planning applications and regeneration programmes with proven responsibility for client liaison, multidisciplinary coordination and planning approvals.