Planning Professional

The brief

We tried to write a straightforward job description for this role. We failed, because the role itself isn’t straightforward; and the person we’re looking for likes to keep things interesting.

It's the experienced planner who kicks off the week launching an appeal for a Permanent Plantation in the Wet Tropics of FNQ, then pivots into a meeting with the Designations team about a new school in SEQ, while also nudging along a couple of subdivisions, balancing some strategic planning on the side and somehow still smiling at a client lunch on a Friday.

If you're the kind of planner who gets a genuine kick out of variety, keep reading. If your idea of a good week is narrow and predictable, or planning is ‘just a job’ to you – then this probably isn't your ad.

wildPLAN isn't your typical planning consultancy. We're a creative, industry-leading team that treats planning as an artform, not a box-ticking exercise.

Whilst we pride ourselves on providing robust planning advice, our role is not simply to echo client preferences just to get an approval, but to position projects for success beyond the approval. We work collaboratively and with integrity to become trusted development allies for our clients.

Our reputation stands on our high success rate and proven track record of getting complex projects across the line — and to us, the stakes (and the satisfaction) are genuinely high.

We’re focused on finding the right person with the right attitude – and we’re prepared to shape the role around the right persons strengths, interests and professional trajectory.

What you'll actually be doing

• Running development applications across Queensland — including in the sectors of tourism, education, residential, commercial, industrial, rural — bonus points if you are an education or indigenous land use planning specialist

• Option to lead various strategic projects, including return to country projects, master planning and strategic (including planning scheme amendment) projects on behalf of government

• Providing planning advice that's honest and leads to shovel ready results

• Getting involved where needed – we position ourselves as development allies to our clients and we don’t hesitate to jump in, to help get things across the line

What you'll bring

• Tertiary qualifications in urban/town planning (or equivalent), with QLD/PIA credentials

• Solid runs on the board in navigating exceptional results (we want to hear about this)

• Confidence dealing with Councils, state referral agencies and clients who expect straight answers, not planner-speak

• Genuine technical chops — you know your Regs, you can pick up and understand any planning scheme, you are a pro at interpretation and you know when a yes should be a yes (and also when to push back)

• An eye for detail – our standards are high.

Why Cairns - why wildPLAN?

We built this firm on a fairly simple idea: do exceptional technical work, and the reputation looks after itself. It has. We're known for the projects we get across the line, the advice clients trust without needing to double-check, and the standard we hold ourselves to when nobody's watching.

• Technical excellence as a genuine standard — we invest in getting it right, not just getting it done.

• A team that will back you yet challenge you, making you better than when you arrived

• Flexible, senior-level autonomy on projects that matter

• A reputation that opens doors — you'll be trading on a name (wildPLAN) that clients, councils and colleagues already respect, not building credibility from scratch

• A genuinely creative culture — we back bold thinking and creative solutions

• Professional set up and glossy, ‘artful’ office – supported by the latest in project management software, managed IT, only the best IT equipment and great coffee

• Benefits that suit you.

If the above sounds interesting to you, we’d love to meet you. Relocation assistance available for the right person. Salary negotiable on experience.

Apply now with your CV and a short note on the projects you're proudest of, and no AI (please - we can smell it a mile away).