Chief Executive Officer - Planning Inspectorate

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

Bristol City, Bristol, UK

Hybrid

Full time

£130,000 - £149,000 per year

Job summary

The Chief Executive of PINS is a pivotal leadership role, responsible for the overall success, strategic direction, and operational delivery of the organisation. Working closely with the PINS Board and MHCLG, the Chief Executive ensures the Inspectorate delivers its mission, supports government priorities, and provides high-quality, impartial services to customers and stakeholders.

In doing so, the CEO leads a highly skilled workforce, ensuring the Inspectorate is a modern, confident, customer‑focused organisation capable of delivering at pace while maintaining professional integrity – with an increasing focus on taking a collaborative approach to engagements with local and strategic authorities. As the Inspectorate’s most senior executive, the CEO is responsible for ensuring the organisation delivers an effective and efficient service that underpins the Government’s ambitious agenda for planning reform. This includes making sure that the Inspectorate’s services reflect and implement the significant changes the Government has and continues to make to national planning policy, and to the structure and process of development plans, as part of the Government’s growth mission.

As Accounting Officer, the CEO is responsible for the highest standards of financial administration and best utilisation of public assets. This includes providing robust leadership to the Executive Team and working closely with the PINS Board to deliver effective corporate governance.

Job description

Strategic Leadership: Set and communicate a clear vision for PINS, aligning the organisation with evolving government policy and the needs of a modern planning system.
Organisational Alignment: Lead the organisation to deliver efficient, timely, and high-quality services against targets, while, promoting inclusivity and diversity.
System Collaboration: Build and maintain effective partnerships across government, local authorities, industry, and community stakeholders.
Digital Transformation: Drive innovation and digital transformation to enhance service delivery and customer experience, in particular through the incorporation of AI tools.
Governance and Accountability: As Accounting Officer, ensure robust financial management, risk control, and compliance with statutory requirements.
Change Management: Lead and inspire the organisation through change, embedding a growth and continuous improvement mindset.
Professional Renewal: Foster a culture of continuous professional development, reflective practice, and cross‑disciplinary collaboration

Person specification

We are seeking an accomplished leader with proven experience guiding large, complex organisations or teams at a senior level. The ideal candidate will demonstrate the ability to set strategic direction, drive organisational transformation, and deliver technology-enabled change and business improvement. They will possess exceptional communication and interpersonal skills, with the credibility to represent PINS externally, alongside strong commercial awareness, risk management expertise, and financial acumen to fulfil Accounting Officer responsibilities. A commitment to professional development, inclusivity, collaboration, and adherence to Civil Service values is essential.

Essential Criteria:

Experience and track record of successfully leading organisations and/or operations of a comparable scale and complexity, in a customer focused environment with the ability to inspire colleagues at all levels of the business
Successful track record of devising strategy and effectively translating it into deliverable actions that have made a demonstrable difference to business performance.
Credibility and experience of building long term, sustainable partnerships with a diverse range of stakeholder and board level operators across a complex and multi-disciplinary environment
Successful experience of leading significant transformational change programmes that have delivered continuous improvements to the business operation, with the ability to take people at all levels on that transformational change journey where innovation can be embraced and fostered
Track record of experience that will enable you to add a valuable perspective to the UK planning system, which critically, involves the ability to build credibility with subject matter experts

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £130,000, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government contributes £37,661 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

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%

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

Apply: To apply you will need to submit a CV and Statement of Suitability at the following link: http://www.gatenbysanderson.com/job/GSe131533

Your CV (up to two pages) should set out your career history, with key responsibilities and achievements. Please ensure you have provided reasons for any gaps within the last two years.
Your Statement of Suitability (up to two pages) should explain how your personal skills, qualities and experience provide evidence of your suitability for the role, with reference to the essential and desirable criteria for the role.

Should you have any questions regarding the application process, please contact Devon.Coates-Leaning@gatenbysanderson.com

Your CV and Statement of Suitability will be assessed against the essential criteria, which will also form the basis of the panel’s final interview questions.

Guaranteed Interview Schemes: PINS is a Disability Confident employer and is committed to protecting and promoting the physical and mental health of all colleagues and applicants. We also operate the Great Place to Work for Veterans and Redeployment schemes. Applicants applying under these schemes who meet the essential criteria will be guaranteed an interview.

The Panel: Chris Pilgrim, Civil Service Commissioner and Panel Chair, Trudi Elliott, PINS Chair, Jo Key, MHCLG Director General and Adrian Penfold, PINS NED, form the selection panel.

Longlisting and Shortlisting: Applications will be reviewed after the closing date, with longlisting commencing w/c 18 May. Candidates who meet the initial requirements
will be invited to preliminary interviews on w/c 25 May. Following this stage, shortlisting will take place w/c 1 June, and shortlisted candidates will be invited to the next phase of assessment and final interview.

Assessment: Candidates may also be invited to meet with a Senior Stakeholder. This is not a formal part of selection, but an informal chance to find out more about the role and organisation. Shortlisted candidates may also be invited to give a short presentation or complete an exercise at interviews - further details will be provided when invited to interview.

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

Expected Timeline:*
Advert close: Monday 11 May
Longlist meeting: w/c 18 May
Preliminary Interviews: w/c 25 May
Shortlist meeting: w/c 1 June
Candidate assessments: w/c 15 June
Panel interviews: w/c 15 June
* Please note that we try and offer flexibility where possible, but it may not always be possible
to offer alternative interview dates

Additional information:

Salary

For external appointments, remuneration for this role is expected to be between £130k–£149k per annum dependant on the skills and experience of the individual. There are bonus opportunities depending on performance (within the normal Civil Service pay arrangements) and attractive pension.

For existing civil servants, the usual policy on level transfer and promotion will apply. If appointed on promotion, you would receive the higher of a 10% uplift or the new minimum for SCSPB2 (Director) – £100k. Please also note that any existing specialist allowances you currently receive will not automatically transfer or be retained upon moving to this role.

For all candidates, future pay awards/increases will be made in line with current SCS performance-related pay arrangements.

Security Clearance

All PINS roles require candidates to meet the Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) to confirm identity and employment history. Senior Civil Service (SCS) appointments must also hold Security Check (SC) clearance, which can take up to eight weeks. All offers are conditional on successful completion of the required checks, and candidates should not resign from their current role until clearance is confirmed. Further information is available in the Cabinet Office HMG Personnel Security Controls.

Location

Based at our modern office close to Bristol Temple Meads train station, and with a flexible approach to office attendance. To provide senior leadership visibility and work with colleagues, you can expect to be in the office at least twice a week. You will also need to meet colleagues and stakeholders in other parts of the country.

Contacts

Should you have any queries about the role, please contact Khadeeja.Khalid@gatenbysanderson.com
Please direct any questions regarding the recruitment process to scs.recruitment@communities.gov.uk

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.This role has a minimum assignment duration of 3 years. An assignment duration is the period of time a Senior Civil Servant is expected to remain in the same post to enable them to deliver on the agreed key business outcomes. The assignment duration also supports your career through building your depth of expertise.

As part of accepting this role you will be agreeing to the expected assignment duration set out above. This will not result in a contractual change to your terms and conditions. Please note this is an expectation only, it is not something which is written into your terms and conditions or indeed which the employing organisation or you are bound by. It will depend on your personal circumstances at a particular time and business needs, for example, would not preclude any absence like family friendly leave. It is nonetheless an important expectation, which is why we ask you to confirm you agree to the assignment duration set out above.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check (opens in a new window).

See our vetting charter (opens in a new window).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 theCivil 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.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

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Salary range

£130,000 - £149,000 per year