Director of planning

Pay in the destination countries

Monthly, in US dollars. Each country is an Imora admission package — open one for that route's fees, language requirement and deadline.

What does the day look like?

Your day starts in the office: email, client correspondence, evidence checks, fee and resourcing decisions, compliance checks on land use data. You prepare graphic and narrative reports on land use, zoning, housing, community facilities and transport, advise planning officials on feasibility and regulatory conformance, recommend approval or refusal of proposals, supervise planning technicians, hold public meetings with officials, developers and community groups, and mediate disputes over contested proposals. You work in ESRI ArcGIS, Autodesk AutoCAD, Microsoft Project, Microsoft Excel, Adobe InDesign and Adobe Illustrator, plus permit systems such as Accela, through the relevant authority planning portal and document systems.

At director level you lead the planning practice, win major infrastructure and development commissions, act as lead director on key client accounts, oversee commercial performance and risk, mentor teams across offices, and work with environment, engineering and design teams, alongside site visits, committee sessions and evening public consultations. Drawing the future city is a small share of the week; reports, evidence, client correspondence and meetings with authorities, lawyers, consultants and residents take the large share. There is no routine shift pattern and no regular night work, though inquiries, examinations and submission deadlines create intense periods.

Where does this lead?