Band 1 Planning Inspector

About the job 

The Planning Inspectorate has a long and proud history in ensuring a fair planning system for England. The work we do has a significant impact on people’s lives, the communities where they live and the economy.

We want our colleagues to be able to work more flexibly and more collaboratively, exploring new and innovative ways to improve the way we provide services. 

For further information on working as a Planning Inspector please view our careers page at Civil Service Careers

Job description

Not all Planning Inspectors are town planners. We have always recruited from a range of professional backgrounds, including engineering, architecture, built heritage, environmental sciences, landscape architecture and the law.

You need to be an accomplished professional with energy, relevant skills and a commitment to public service. You need to be self-confident, self motivated and self-reliant, with the ability to make independent decisions, to work alone and to travel widely across England. In return, we can offer an intellectually stimulating and challenging job, working with other independent and innovative experts in a highly regarded, trusted organisation, which embraces and encourages diversity. You will also benefit from the lifestyle flexibility that working from home can bring.

For full information on the role and assessment process please refer to the candidate pack attached. 

Person specification

Essential Criteria

• Full / Chartered Membership of a professional body* relevant to the land use planning, and related built and natural environment, work of a Planning Inspector;
• Ability to analyse and to recall large amounts of information, evidence and argument; to interpret and to apply policies; and to draw out quickly the main issues requiring your consideration;
• Ability to write clearly, accurately and concisely in order to reach logical, convincing, well-reasoned and evidence-based conclusions;
• Self-motivated and self-reliant so that you can plan, manage and deliver your work with minimal oversight;
• Effective time management skills to enable you to produce high-quality decisions within expected timescales;
• Effective interpersonal and verbal communication skills, with the ability to interact sensitively and empathetically with a diverse range of people;
• Ability to conduct fair and inclusive public events, with authority, involving those holding conflicting views about development proposals;
• A willingness and ability to travel extensively and frequently across England (notably to and within London and the South East) with some nights away from home. 

Memberships

Full/Chartered membership of relevant professional bodies. Please see candidate pack for a list of relevant professional bodies

Behaviours

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

• Making Effective Decisions
• Communicating and Influencing
• Delivering at Pace
• Leadership

Benefit

Alongside your salary of £43,508, Planning Inspectorate contributes £11,709 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

• Flexible working options, including part-time and compressed hours.
• A working culture which encourages inclusion and diversity.https://www.civilservicepensionscheme.org.uk
• 25 days annual leave increasing by 1 day per year up to 30 days after 5 years, plus 1 privilege day to mark the King’s birthday. In addition to the normal bank holidays.
• Generous family friendly policies.
• Fast and modern IT kit which utilises Windows 10 and Microsoft 365, enabling seamless working from home and collaboration across teams. 

For full information see our Benefits information pack.

Things you need to know Selection process details

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

Q&A Session

We will be holding 2 Question and Answer session on 09/07/2024 and 11/07/2024 at 11:30am. This provides you the opportunity to speak to a Planning Inspector about their experiences of working at the Planning Inspectorate. If you however, cannot make those dates, we will be happy to send you a copy of the Q&A session recording. To take up this opportunity please contact us at: PINS.Recruitment@planninginspectorate.gov.uk

Application 

Complete the online application form on Civil Service Jobs which requires the following information:

• A CV: The CV section is an opportunity for you to detail your career history. It should outline the jobs you have done, the length of time you were employed within each role and a brief description of your role, responsibilities and duties which demonstrate relevance to the role you are applying for against the essential criteria. You must type, or ‘copy and paste’ into the text box called ‘Employment History’ within the online application. You cannot attach a copy of your CV. 

Application questions: You will need to confirm that a) you have Full/Chartered membership of a relevant professional body and b) you are willing and able to travel, as required, to carry out the role. 

Shortlist

We will assess your application based on the following two essential criteria:

• Full/Chartered Membership of a professional body relevant to the work of a Planning Inspector.
• A willingness and ability to travel extensively and frequently across England ( notably to and within London and the South East) with some nights away from home.

 All shortlisted candidates will be advised of the outcome shortly afterwards.

Written Assessment:

All applicants will need to complete the written assessment, full details are attached to this advert.  The written assessment needs to be uploaded via the Civil Service jobs portal by the closing date on Sunday 21 July 2024. Written assessments cannot be accepted after the closing date.  If you have any issues uploading the written assessment please email a name blind copy with your candidate number to pins.recruitment@planninginspectorate.gov.uk.   Candidates who are successful following the assessment will be invited to interview.

Interview 

If you are shortlisted, you will:

• Be asked to attend an interview to have a more in-depth discussion about your experience and suitability for the role
• Interviews will be a blend of behaviour and strength based questions
• Need to prepare and deliver a presentation

Candidates who are successful at shortlist stage will be sent full assessment requirements with their interview invitations.

Other Information 

Shortlist Date: 6 August 2024

Interview Date: w/c 19 August until 6 September 2024  

Interviews are currently being completed remotely using Microsoft Teams. We would like to reassure candidates that the virtual interview will not be recorded (or retained) within the Planning Inspectorate, other than usual interview protocol and in line with the Civil Service jobs Privacy notice.

We encourage all candidates to make themselves familiar with the role and what we will be assessing you against which is detailed in the Person Specification.

The Planning Inspectorate is committed to finding the right person for the job. We recruit using Success Profiles and consider the criteria you will need to demonstrate to be successful for the role, by doing this we are pushing up performance, diversifying our workforce and creating an inclusive culture.

Disability Confident Interview scheme

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. We run a Disability Confident Interview scheme for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria for the job. 

To be considered for an interview under the scheme you must:

• have a disability defined by the Equality Act 2010
• provide evidence in your application that you meet the minimum criteria in the job description
• meet all of the qualifications, skills or experience defined as essential

 While we will endeavour to provide you with all the appropriate information, you are the expert on your specific requirements so if you require any adjustments, you should consider the information provided about the assessment process in the candidate pack and then:

• Complete the “Assistance required” section in the “Additional requirements” page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process. The earlier and more clearly you tell us what you need and why you need it, the more likely we are to be able to accommodate you in a timely fashion.

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

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).

Apply and further information

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 :

• Name :Funke Idisha
• Email :pins.recruitment@planninginspectorate.gov.uk
• Recruitment team
• Email :pins.recruitment@planninginspectorate.gov.uk
• Further information

  If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Principles and you wish to make a complaint, you should contact in the first instance: The Vacancy Manager via the Recruitment Team (PINS.Recruitment@planninginspectorate.gov.uk).
  If you are not satisfied with the response, you receive you should then contact, Head of HR, via the Recruitment Team (PINS.Recruitment@planninginspectorate.gov.uk).
  If you are still not satisfied with the response you receive from the Planning Inspectorate, you can contact the Office of the Civil Service Commission.
  https://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk/recruitment/civilservicerecruitmentcomplaints/
   

  Attachments 359608_Candidate Pack_Band 1 Planning Inspector Opens in new window(pdf, 641kB)
• Band 1 Recruitment Exercise Opens in new window(pdf, 2083kB) Benefits_
• Band 1 Inspectors (1) Opens in new window(pdf, 383kB)
• The Planning Inspectorate Information (2) Opens in new window(pdf, 1279kB)