Consultant Landscape Planner/Architect - Manchester

About the Role:

As our workload continues to grow, we are seeking an enthusiastic Landscape Planner/Landscape Architect to join our friendly, talented and expanding landscape planning team based in our Manchester office.

This is an ideal opportunity for graduates and candidates in the early stages of their careers.

LUC will provide you with an excellent opportunity to develop and enhance your skills in a consultancy environment. As a member of our highly collaborative teams, you will also benefit from knowledge sharing among other talented peers within our planning, design, EIA, historic environment, ecology, GIS, visualisation, and transport teams.

We are looking for candidates with an interest and/or experience in landscape planning, who are keen to deliver better futures for nature, people and places. Our work typically includes working with both public and private bodies, including government advisers for the natural and... built environment, local authorities, policy makers, and work in the energy and renewables sectors.

The successful candidate will be responsible for providing support for a range of exciting projects. An interest or experience in Landscape and Visual Impact Assessments (LVIAs), Landscape Character Assessments (LCA), landscape sensitivity studies, assessment and management of protected landscapes, planning for future landscapes and responding to climate change would be desirable.

Key elements of the role:
• Delivery of project work for a diverse portfolio of schemes, alongside talented and experienced colleagues.
• Undertake desk based studies, site surveys (including photography) and data collection.
• Assist in the preparation of LVIA chapters and associated technical appendices.
• Assist in the preparation of landscape character and landscape sensitivity studies.
• Assist in the assessment and management of protected landscapes.
• Liaise with clients and other specialists to ensure delivery of projects to time and budgetary constraints.

The role includes the opportunity to share and participate actively in the management and ownership of the business through the Employee Ownership Trust, which places full ownership of the company with the employees.

A full-time role is based on 37.5 hours per week (Monday to Friday). However, LUC has a strong track record in flexible working and we have been recognised for our flexible working culture. We are happy to discuss a range of flexible working options for this role including part time hours (minimum 30 hours per week) if desired.

This role would be based in our Manchester office and our hybrid model has an expectation of two days per week in the office for full time employees (more if you prefer). Travel will sometimes be required for site work and visits to other offices.

The Manchester office is moving! We’ll soon be based in a newly renovated historic building in the thriving Northern Quarter, close to Manchester Piccadilly Rail Station and the Metrolink stations at Piccadilly, Piccadilly Gardens, Market Street and Shude Hill.

Salary range: £25,000 - £31,000 FTE dependent on experience.

About You:

The successful candidate will be a strong Landscape Planner/Landscape Architect with good all round skills including high quality reporting, presentation, verbal and written communication. An organised and efficient approach to completing work within tight deadlines is important, as is the ability to build effective relationships with colleagues and clients.

Experience and Qualifications:

Essential
• Good written, graphic and verbal communication skills.
• Pro-active approach and strong organisational skills.
• Ability to build effective working relationships with clients and colleagues.
• Educated with a relevant landscape related qualification at degree or post graduate level, or an equivalent level of skills and knowledge gained professionally.
• Proficiency in the use of computer software to prepare high quality reports and tenders including Word and Excel, and the Adobe Creative Suite.
• Have a driving licence.
• Appetite for continuous learning and professional development.

Desirable
• Have experience or an enthusiasm to undertake field work including site photography. Competent photography skills would be beneficial.
• Proven experience or involvement in, and/or a willingness to undertake, LVIA work and related aspects.
• Ideally have some experience within the renewable and/or electricity grid sectors, or working with local authorities and government agencies.

Candidates must be eligible to live and work in the UK.

Please apply by uploading your CV and covering letter via the link above.

LUC is committed to equality, diversity and inclusion and we actively encourage applications from under-represented groups. We value the differences, needs and contributions a diverse workforce represents, and we strive to embed equality, diversity and inclusion in all our people related activities.

About LUC:

LUC is a planning, impact assessment, landscape design, ecology and geospatial consultancy, working primarily across the UK but also internationally.

With a track record spanning almost 60 years and a team of more than 250 skilled professionals, we bring great depth of knowledge and experience to our work across both the private and public sectors.

We became a fully employee-owned business in January 2020, sharing profits on an equal basis and involving everyone in key decisions. This helps secure our continued independence as well as aligning our governance structure with our culture and values.

Our people are united by a determination to achieve sustainable development on behalf of our clients. With the current climate emergency in mind, we ensure that all our work promotes climate change mitigation and resilience.

We pride ourselves on being at the forefront of innovative thinking, successfully resolving even the most complex of issues. We care about the legacy we leave and hope to make a real difference through the work we do.

Whether we’re advising a commercial developer, Government agency, local authority, utility company or voluntary organisation, we take a collaborative approach. We also put our client and our ‘invisible client’, the environment, at the heart of the process.

Our approach has delivered a healthy financial position, high client and employee satisfaction and numerous industry and employer awards.

Job Types: Permanent, Graduate

Salary: £25,000.00-£31,000.00 per year

Benefits:
• Additional leave
• Casual dress
• Company events
• Company pension
• Flexitime
• Life insurance
• Profit sharing
• Referral programme
• Sick pay
• Wellness programme
• Work from home

Schedule:
• Flexitime
• Monday to Friday

Supplemental pay types:
• Yearly bonus

Ability to commute/relocate:
• Manchester: reliably commute or plan to relocate before starting work (required)

Education:
• Bachelor's (preferred)

Experience:
• Landscape Architecture: 1 year (preferred)
• Designing: 1 year (preferred)
• Landscape Design: 1 year (preferred)

Work Location: In person

Reference ID: Ref 2023-29
Manchester UK

Salary Criteria