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Head of Planning Casework

  • Public sector
  • Birmingham
  • 06/05/2025
  • £54857.00 /yearly
  • Permanent
Job expired!

Job Overview

Location

Birmingham

Job Type

Permanent

Salary

£54,857 yearly

Date Posted:

06/05/2025

Expiration date:

15/05/2025

Additional Detail

Job ID

25919

Work Location

Remote and/or Onsite

Job Description

Location: Birmingham, Leeds, London
 
We recognise the challenges that people with protected characteristics may experience on the job market and in their career progression. We are fully committed to being an inclusive employer and ensuring equal opportunities. We are keen to make our workforce as diverse as possible, and we hope to attract applications from underrepresented groups, including ethnic minorities, people with a disability, and people with gender diverse identities.
 
Have you got a proven background in Planning legislation and policy?
 
Do you have an exceptional eye for detail and thrive working within a fast-paced environment?

If so, we'd love to hear from you!

Job overview

We are looking for a passionate and motivated planning lead to join the Transport Infrastructure Planning Unit in DfT with knowledge of UK planning legislation and environmental legislation.

The Transport Infrastructure Planning Unit provides advice to Ministers on applications for Development Consent Orders (DCO) for Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIPs) submitted under the Planning Act 2008. These Applications grant powers critical to the delivery of airport, railway, strategic road and major harbour projects that are central to the Government's policies for economic growth.

The post holder will work collaboratively alongside three other Grade 7s and jointly be responsible for ensuring that the team provides robust and timely advice to Ministers on such applications. This involves assessing the merits of projects against planning, transport and environmental policies and legislation, preparing formal, legally robust decision letters and making recommendations to Ministers and maintaining the propriety of the decision-making process. 

Responsibilities include but are not limited to:

  • Ensuring all applications for Development Consent Orders are taken forward promptly, impartially and in line with relevant legislation and guidance, so as to deliver a high-quality service.
  • Provide direction on each case to ensure decisions are robust, evidence based and comply with the relevant legislation. This includes responsibility for the coaching and development of specialist skills and knowledge in the team, working closely and accurately with detailed legislation, planning policy statements and large volumes of factual case papers.
  • Ensuring a coherent approach in tackling common issues and in developing solutions to challenges by engaging with lawyers, policy teams across DfT and other Departments.

For further information, please see the attached Role Profile

Person specification

To be successful in this role you will:

  • Have excellent written, communication and analytical skills, and be able to work in an environment where information is sometimes unclear and complex.
  • Experience of planning, transport and environmental legislation and policy.
  • Have an understanding of planning and environmental matters Proactively seek to keep your knowledge and skills up to date and be comfortable working closely with lawyers.
  • Be able to present persuasively both in writing and verbally and be comfortable working to tight statutory deadlines.
  • Strong leadership and management skills and responsibilities, with the ability to support a geographically dispersed team, to develop and thrive in their roles.
  • Be confident and professional when dealing with senior stakeholders.

Additional Information 

A minimum 60% of your working time should be spent at your principal workplace, although requirements to attend other locations for official business, or carry out detached duty in another DfT workplace, will also count towards this level of attendance.  

Occasional travel to other DfT offices will be required. 

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

  • Delivering at Pace
  • Leadership
  • Making Effective Decisions

Alongside your salary of £54,857, Department for Transport contributes £15,892 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

Please note, the above example is based on the National minimum salary. The employer pension contribution will be 28.97% of your specific salary.   

Being part of our brilliant Civil Service means you will have access to a wide range of fantastic benefits. We offer generous annual leave, attractive pension options, flexible working, inclusive working environments and much more to support a healthy work/life balance. 

Find out more about what it's like working at the Department for Transport.

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours and Experience.

When considering applying please look at how your experience relates to the role, and within your CV and Personal Statement please provide detailed evidence of your experience of the following: 

  • Experience and / or knowledge of planning casework and/or environmental planning legislation and policy.
  • Understanding of the environmental impacts of transport infrastructure such as roads, rail and aviation.
  • Experience of accurately summarising large volumes of factual documents verbally and in writing.
     

Please fully utilise the 750-word count when completing your personal statement.

The sift is due to take place 16 - 19 May 2025.

Interviews are likely to be held from 28 May 2025.

We will try to meet the dates set out in the advert. There may be occasions when these dates will change. You will be provided with sufficient notice of the confirmed dates.

The selection process will be designed specifically for the role. As a result, your assessment will include:

  • An interview
  • A presentation

This interview will be conducted online via MS Teams. Further details will be provided to you should you be selected for interview.

You're encouraged to become familiar with the role profile, as you may be assessed against any of the criteria recorded within.

The Department for Transport alongside other Government Departments recruit using Success Profiles. This means for each role we consider what you will need to demonstrate in order to be successful. This gives us the best possible chance of finding the right person for the job, drives up performance and improves diversity and inclusivity.

For further information on Success Profiles visit our Careers website.

Reasonable Adjustments 

As a Disability Confident Leader employer, DfT is committed to ensuring that the recruitment process is fair, accessible and allows all candidates to perform at their best. If a person with a visible or non-visible disability is substantially disadvantaged, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes. 

Complete the 'Assistance required' section in the 'Additional requirements' page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need during the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at an interview, or if you're deaf, a Language Service Professional. 

If you need a reasonable adjustment so that you can complete your application, you should contact Government Recruitment Service via [email protected] as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs. 

Document Accessibility

If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section.

This job advert contains links to the DfT Careers website. Our website provides useful guidance and information that can support you during the application process. If you cannot access the information on our website for any reason, please email [email protected] for assistance.

Further Information

For more information about how we hire, and for useful tips on submitting your application for this role, visit the How We Hire page of our DfT Careers website. You can find detailed information about the recruitment process and what to expect when applying for a role.

Pre-employment Checking 

Applicants who are successful at interview will be, as part of pre-employment screening, subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database (IFD). This check will provide information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences. This check also applies to employees who resign or otherwise leave before being dismissed for fraud or dishonesty had their employment continued. Any applicant's details held on the IFD will be refused employment. 

A candidate is not eligible to apply for a role within the Civil Service if the application is made within a 5-year period following a dismissal for carrying out internal fraud against government.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.
 
People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

  • UK nationals
  • nationals of the Republic of Ireland
  • nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
  • nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
  • nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
  • individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
  • Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service
Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).
 
The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.
 
The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).
 
This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.
 
The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window).
 
Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job contact

Recruitment team

Further information

If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles and you wish to make a complaint, in the first instance, you should contact Government Recruitment Services via email: [email protected]
 
If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Department, you can contact the Civil Service Commission: Visit the Civil Service Commission website at https://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk

Attachments

Role Profile Opens in new window (pdf, 118kB)

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