Principal Environmental Planner (Fixed-Term contract)

Job Title: Principal Environmental Planner 

Department: Environmental and Social Planning

Location: Sydney, Australia               

Reporting to: Head of Planning, Australia and New Zealand

We are Lightsource bp – and we’re on a mission to become a global leader in onshore renewables, anchored by our proven track record in solar development.

For over a decade we’ve been actively working to diversify the way our world is powered with sustainable and responsible renewable power. We work to safely deliver affordable, reliable, large-scale onshore renewable and energy storage solutions to help the world decarbonise.

Our growing business is constantly innovating and investing to help drive the energy transition. Our people and projects are focused on supporting long-term sustainable growth and energy security.

Lightsource bp operates with five core values: Safety, Integrity, Respect, Sustainability, and Drive.

We seek to attract and hire individuals who share our commitment to creating a safe workplace, uphold the highest standards of integrity, and demonstrate respect for colleagues, communities, and the environment. Our recruitment process promotes sustainability by valuing long-term growth and responsible practices, while seeking candidates with the drive to innovate and lead in the global energy transition.

Together, these values shape how we engage, assess, and welcome talent to join us in delivering transformational solar power solutions worldwide. 

Lightsource bp was fully acquired by bp in 2024.

What you’ll do (the role)

Summary

We are looking for a Principal Environmental Planner (15 month contract) with a bit of spark and drive, keen to work client side in the renewable energy industry in Lightsource bp’s in-house Planning Team. You will lead on all planning aspects of a project’s life cycle, from initial site selection, planning application preparation, local authority liaison, stakeholder engagement, pre and post construction work.

We encourage close collaboration across teams and you will work closely with other internal teams, including business development, design, construction, asset management and structured finance.

You will also be part of the wider global environmental planning community at Lightsource bp, with the opportunity to get involved in company level initiatives that interest you

Responsibilities of the Role

• Comprehensive working knowledge of the federal, state and local planning systems across Australian jurisdictions, proactively providing guidance on this to other team members and other teams.
• Experience in planning (7+ years) – ideally with in house or consultancy experience.
• Exceptional interpersonal skills, and an ability to build relationships and trust with a wide variety of stakeholders.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Commercial acumen and entrepreneurial values.
• Ability to manage complex project issues, managing time, setting priorities and organising the complex logistics of planning activities and outputs.
• Experience in ground mount solar PV, wind and/or other renewable energy/infrastructure projects, including BESS.
• Solid understanding of the project development life cycle from early stage to COD.

Why you’ll make a great member of the team

Experience & Knowledge Required

• Comprehensive working knowledge of the federal, state and local planning systems across Australian jurisdictions, proactively providing guidance on this to other team members and other teams.
• Experience in planning (7+ years) – ideally with in house or consultancy experience.
• Commercial acumen and entrepreneurial values.
• Ability to manage complex project issues, managing time, setting priorities and organising the complex logistics of planning activities and outputs.
• Experience in ground mount solar PV, wind and/or other renewable energy/infrastructure projects, including BESS.
• Solid understanding of the project development life cycle from early stage to COD.

Skills Required)

• Excellent technical, project management and communication skills with experience working with multi-disciplinary project teams.
• Exceptional interpersonal skills, and an ability to build relationships and trust with a wide variety of stakeholders.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Driven with a hands-on proactive approach to business, and the ability to be flexible and adapt rapidly.
• Valid driver’s license and ability to travel.
• Fluent English.

Education Required

• Degree level planning qualification, or equivalent, required.
• MPIA an advantage.

Why you’ll want to work for us

Our company is a place where you can be yourself and grow, a place where your ideas and opinions matter.

Be you: We pride ourselves on being an inclusive community, where every individual is valued and treated with respect.

Be responsible: Our culture is driven by our core values – from operating safely to ensuring our projects are responsible. 

Be recognized: Alongside a competitive salary, we offer a variety of benefits including annual bonus, retention bank, health insurance, pension and other local benefits.

Be inspired: Beyond your day-to-day working life at Lightsource bp, there’s a variety of initiatives that will contribute to your own personal development. These include our charitable causes, supporting our solar honey project, or volunteering on our VIBES committee to name a few.

Our core values: Lightsource bp truly cares about creating a sustainable future through safe, responsible and meaningful low carbon energy projects. Our core values of Safety, Integrity, Respect, Sustainability and Drive are the guiding principles for everything we do. 

For further information on our career opportunities and life at Lightsource bp, please visit https://www.lightsourcebp.com/careers/