Planning Coordinator

About Strathbogie Shire Council

Strathbogie Shire Council is a progressive regional municipality encompassing communities including Euroa, Nagambie, Avenel and Violet Town, ideally positioned between Melbourne and Shepparton.

Council is committed to delivering responsive, consistent and customer-focused planning services while supporting the sustainable growth and development of the Shire.

With a capable team in place and several significant planning matters progressing across the municipality, this is an opportunity to provide experienced leadership, strengthen internal capability and help shape the continued development of Council’s planning function.

About the Role

Reporting to the Manager Planning and Investment, the Planning Coordinator will lead Council’s statutory planning function while contributing to strategic planning projects, planning scheme amendments and broader service improvement initiatives.

This is a hands-on leadership position. You will provide clear direction and technical guidance to a developing team while personally managing complex and sensitive planning applications, including major subdivisions and proposals attracting significant community or Councillor interest.

You will oversee workloads, priorities and service standards, review technical assessments and reports, and support planners to develop their judgement, confidence and understanding of the Victorian planning system.

The role will work closely with applicants, internal stakeholders, referral authorities, community members and Councillors. You will prepare and present reports directly to Council, brief Councillors on significant planning matters and represent Council at VCAT, panel hearings and other planning forums when required.

While the role is weighted toward statutory planning, exposure to strategic planning will be highly regarded. You will also support policy development, planning scheme amendments and longer-term growth initiatives, enabling the Manager to focus more broadly across the performance and strategic direction of the unit.

About You

You are an experienced statutory and strategic planning professional ready to take genuine ownership of a small and important planning function.
You bring strong technical knowledge of the Planning and Environment Act, the Victorian Planning Provisions and contemporary local government planning practice. You are confident assessing complex applications, preparing defensible recommendations and navigating matters involving competing stakeholder, community and political interests.

Just as importantly, you are a capable people leader. You can set expectations, manage performance and workloads, develop emerging planners and create a culture of accountability, collaboration and support. You enjoy sharing your knowledge but also understand that leadership is about enabling others to perform rather than simply providing technical answers.

You are comfortable operating with autonomy and do not require significant day-to-day direction. You can identify issues early, exercise sound professional judgement and provide your Manager with the confidence that the statutory planning function is being effectively led.

Customer service is central to your approach. You communicate clearly, manage difficult conversations constructively and understand the importance of helping applicants and community members.

Most importantly, you are motivated by the opportunity to lead, support a developing team and build a high-performing planning service within a growing regional municipality.

Application Process

Public Sector People is partnering with Strathbogie Shire Council to recruit this important leadership opportunity.

For a confidential discussion or to request a copy of the Position Description, please contact Marcel Lafontaine at Public Sector People -
marcel@publicsectorpeople.com.au.

To apply, please submit your CV and a brief cover letter via the link.
Applications close - Wednesday October 14th 2026