Senior/Principal Transport Planner

AWP (Exeter) LLP; Exeter; Hybrid; GBP 35,000 - 55,000; Full time

Job summary

A regional consultancy in Exeter is seeking a Senior/Principal Transport Planner to enhance operations. This role involves leading transport projects, ensuring quality and financial performance, and mentoring junior staff. Candidates should have a degree in a relevant field and substantial experience in development planning and transport services.

Benefits

Minimum 25 days annual leave

Profit-related bonus scheme

Health scheme membership

ICE accredited training scheme

Qualifications

• Experience in development planning, ideally in private sector.
• Experience in using CAD is advantageous.
• Familiarity with the NPPF and planning system.

Responsibilities

• Lead and deliver transport and multi-disciplinary projects.
• Represent AWP in public consultations and negotiations.
• Provide training and mentoring of junior staff.

Skills

Organisational skills

Time management

Problem solving

Good numeracy and analytical skills

Good English

Education

Minimum 2:1 in Civil Engineering, Geography or relevant subject

MSc Transport Planning (advantageous but not essential)

Tools

ARCADY

PICADY

LINSIG

GIS

Excel

Job description

We are recruiting a Senior/Principal Transport Planner to assist with our expanding operations.

Job Description

About AWP

AWP is an award-winning regional consultancy, providing specialist development planning and infrastructure services to the property industry. We are seeking to recruit an enthusiastic and experienced person to join our transport planning team, at a salary and grade reflective of capabilities, to support our growing workload through 2025 and into 2026.

AWP has a team of over 40 engineers, transport planners and technicians, and we believe this makes us the largest team specialising in our field of the industry operating in the region. We all have ties with Devon and the Exeter area, and we are very proud to be a part of the dynamic community in the city.

We are based at our office at Pynes Hill, which has easy access to local residential areas by foot, the Exeter wide cycle network, as well as bus and rail links into the city centre and out into East Devon. It is also very handy for the M5 and A30.

Our office has desk space for everybody, as well as numerous meeting rooms and break-out space for collaboration with colleagues. However, we embrace the opportunities of Agile Working and the advantages that can offer in terms of work-life balance, and we are fully set up for remote home working as well.

We have been awarded Investors in People Gold Standard three times in a row, with the staff survey score at our last review in 2025 being significantly ahead of the IIP average for all organisations and those operating within our industry. The IIP Examiner also commented that “People also presented examples demonstrating how they are made to feel valued and receive appreciation for the work they do, referencing your benefits package, employee awards and the support, feedback, and encouragement they receive from managers. Skill and career development is something you continue to do well.”

Purpose of the role

To undertake a Project Manager role within the busy Transport Team, independently leading and delivering a number of typical transport and multi-disciplinary AWP projects simultaneously. This would include the following tasks:

• Represent AWP within wider project teams/public consultation/highway authority negotiations etc.
• Responsibility for financial performance of assigned projects, including fee proposals, change control and invoicing etc.
• Co-ordinating inputs from other AWP teams when required and ensuring projects are delivered in line with agreed deadlines.
• Leading the development of technical solutions, maintaining quality and ensuring that transport planning inputs are completed in line with AWP Best Practice.
• Training & Mentoring of junior staff, including some line management responsibility in the future.
• Provide technical support to senior management.

The candidate will need to have sufficient experience to drop into the team and undertake the role from day 1, with additional support from the Transport Team Leader and Senior Partners where required for particularly large and/or complex projects.

Job Grade

Senior or Principal Transport Planner (depending on experience)

Qualifications/Experience

• Minimum 2:1 in Civil Engineering, Geography or other relevant subject.
• MSc Transport Planning advantageous, but not essential.
• Professional qualification or able to demonstrate progress towards securing professional qualification (i.e. IEng, CEng through ICE or CIHT, or TPP).
• Ideally around 5-10 years’ experience working in development planning, ideally in private sector, in order to demonstrate the experience in the type of workload and PM/client care that we would require.
• Experience in undertaking work associated with our core transport planning services; (i.e. feasibility studies, access strategy, Transport Assessment, Travel Planning, S106 negotiations, preliminary highway design etc)
• Proactive character with good organisational & time management skills.
• Experience in planning and driving forward typical projects independently.
• Familiarity with the NPPF and the “planning system”.
• Experience in contributing to appeal work and knowledge of the appeal process is advantageous but not essential.
• Comprehensive knowledge and understanding of current highway design guidance and methodologies (MfS, DMRB etc).
• Good numeracy and analytical skills.
• Problem solving skills; able to develop and evaluate options for solutions, both in terms of design and strategies to move projects forward.
• Good English and report writing.
• Experience in using CAD advantageous, but not vital. Experience in checking drawing work of others essential.
• Excellent working knowledge of key software, including ARCADY ,PICADY, LINSIG, GIS, Excel etc.
• Some experience in BD activities.

Salary & Package

• Salary dependent on experience and grade
• Membership of AWP’s profit-related bonus scheme
• Minimum 25 days annual leave (plus the English Bank Holidays)
• AWP contributions to group pension scheme
• Life cover
• Membership of the AWP Group Health Scheme
• Enhanced parental leave provision
• Benefiz Flexipot scheme (to spend on other company benefits such as the cycle purchase scheme, medical screening services, additional life/health insurance, Gym-flex membership etc.)
• ICE accredited training scheme, and support for professional qualifications through IEng, CEng or TPP
• Annual subscriptions of professional institutions