Senior Planning Officer

Job summary

Increasing private investment, foreign and domestic, is crucial to the UK’s economic growth and the future prosperity of its citizens. Leveraging private investment is also fundamental to delivering energy transition and establishing international leadership as a science and technology driven economy.

The Office for Investment (OfI) was spun out of Downing Street in January 2021 and is now a joint unit between No.10, HMT and the Department for Business and Trade (DBT). The OfI is an exciting, creative and dynamic place to work amongst a motivated and driven team with both commercial and public sector backgrounds.

The Office works closely with Secretaries of State, Junior Ministers, No.10 and HMT to deliver the highest-value, highest profile investment propositions. The OfI’s missions are to improve the UK’s chances of landing large and impactful internationally contestable investment projects; increase the allocation of capital investment into the UK from the world’s most prolific and exciting financial investors; and give the world’s most important investors the best possible experience of investing in the UK.

Obtaining planning permission remains one of the most significant barriers to landing new investment in the UK. We are therefore seeking a candidate with a strong planning background to guide high-value investors through each stage of the planning process alongside the Head of Planning. This will require working with international investors that have no prior knowledge of the planning system and you will therefore need to be comfortable explaining key technical elements of the planning process in a clear and accessible way.

The role will involve regular engagement with key Government departments and agencies including the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, Natural England and the Environment Agency to flag and escalate priority projects. The role will also require some training and capability building across OfI, DBT and the international network on the planning process and how to avoid common barriers.

Job description

In this role you will work alongside the Head of Planning to provide professional planning advice to high-value investors. This will include:

• Using your planning expertise to carry out due diligence of investors development plans to identify potential planning barriers which could put the investment at risk
• Interpreting technical planning evidence and information and devising innovative planning solutions to technical matters
• Leading relationships with key Government departments such as the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and Statutory Consultees such as the Environment Agency and Natural England
• Leading engagement with external stakeholders and industry bodies to understand current and emerging planning barriers which could impact future investment.
• Provide training and capability building across the Office for Investment and the Department for Business and Trade on the planning process and how to avoid common planning barriers

Person specification

Essential criteria

The below criteria are essential and will be assessed at application stage.

• Has extensive experience working in planning or a related field and has developed a technical planning knowledge gained either through a professional qualification and/or experience.
• Is a chartered member of or qualifies to apply for chartered membership of the Royal Town Planning Institute via the licentiate, associate or experienced practitioner routes.
• Experience in one or more of the following disciplines: strategic planning, planning policy development, infrastructure planning and development consent orders (NSIP), development management (TCPA), or environmental permitting processes.
• Able to form strong, effective working relationships with a wide range of stakeholders including officials across Whitehall, subject-matter experts, and external bodies.
• Strong analytical skills and the ability to use data, evidence, and stakeholders’ views to outline options for policy development, and present clear conclusions.
• Comfortable working at pace and under pressure while handling challenging policy issues
• Strong verbal communication skills, including the ability to verbally brief colleagues and Ministers on relevant matters in a succinct and engaging way.
• Strong written communication skills, including the ability to translate complex technical matters into plain English, and identify options and recommendations.

Behaviours

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

• Making Effective Decisions
• Seeing the Big Picture
• Delivering at Pace

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £42,391, Department for Business and Trade contributes £12,280 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).

• Learning and development tailored to your role
• An environment with flexible working options
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
• A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

We recognise the challenges that people with (multiple) 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.

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

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

Interviews for this vacancy will be conducted virtually. We will, however, consider in-person interviews by exception.

Please ensure that you check your emails regularly as all updates from us will be sent to you this way.

To apply for this post, you will be asked to complete the following as part of the online application:

• A CV setting out your career history, with key responsibilities and achievements that relate to the role. Any gaps in employment history within the last 2 years should be explained. The CV should not exceed more than 2 x A4 pages.
• A Personal Statement of up to 750 words, setting out why your skills and experience equip you for the role, referencing the essential criteria.

Your applica