School Planning Officer

Job Title: School Planning Officer
Salary: £34,434 – £37,280 per annum pro rata
Hours: 18.5 hours per week
Location: Stevenage (hybrid)
Contract: Fixed term until 30th April 2027
Directorate: Childrens Services

About the team

The School Planning Team in Children’s Services commissions schools and school places as part of the Local Authority’s statutory duty to ensure a sufficient supply of school places across the County. It negotiates the supply and demand for school places through the adjustment of admissions numbers, expansion and contraction of school size, opening new schools as well as school closures. These ‘alterations’ require prior analysis and mapping to support strategic judgements, alongside transparent statutory processes which allow for public consultation and published decision-making by County Councillors.

About the role

This fixed term position is ideally suited to a self-starter and team player who is able to research, map and analyse a range of datasets to support the review of school place provision across Hertfordshire. You will be responsible for collating data, drawing initial conclusions from your analysis and mapping pupils and schools across the County. Mapping training will be provided. You will also play a key role in processing and delivering datasets to the wider team to inform school planning decisions.

About you

Essential criteria:

• Excel spreadsheet skills including pivot tables and the use of formulae (there will be an Excel test as part of the interview stage)
• Strong numerical and analytical skills
• Teamworking
• Excellent administrative skills
• Good written and oral communication skills
• Organisational skills

Desirable criteria:

• GIS mapping

This is a great opportunity for you to utilise your analytical, administrative and communication skills whilst also gaining a deeper understanding of the school place planning landscape in Hertfordshire.

The successful candidate will be part of a small analytical and administrative team which supports the School Planning’s team wider statutory responsibilities. You will need to have a high level of numerical competence and a good understanding of MS Office, Excel, Word and preferably GIS mapping.

We welcome applications from candidates who currently reside in the UK with established proof of right to work documentation. We are not able to offer sponsorship at this time for this role.

This job role is Level 9. Please locate the job profile here:

Job profiles - Community services

To hear more about this opportunity please contact Gary.Gant@hertfordshire.gov.uk for an informal discussion about the role.

Interview Date: 10th July

Benefits of working for us

How to apply

As part of your application, please upload your most recent CV. Ensure your CV is up to date with your employment history (including any employment gaps), and including any training/qualifications. We encourage you to include examples of where you have demonstrated the requirements/criteria in the advert / job profile to allow the panel to fully recognise your skills and abilities. You will have the opportunity to include a short covering paragraph within your application to give us a little more information about your skills, knowledge, and experiences.

Secondment
This role is open to secondments for eligible employees who work for HCC. If you wish to apply on a secondment basis, you must have your line manager’s approval before submitting your application. You will be asked to confirm this within your application form. If you are not eligible for a secondment (e.g., you are currently on a fixed‑term contract that would end before this positions ends) or you indicate that your manager cannot support a secondment, your application will be considered on a fixed‑term contract basis instead.

Additional information

Disability Confident
We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer and guarantee an interview to anyone disclosing a disability whose application meets the minimum criteria for the post.

English Fluency
The ability to converse at ease with members of the public and provide advice in accurate spoken English is essential for the post (for those whose language is a signed language the provision of a sign language interpreter who speaks English to the necessary standard of fluency will be required). Further information about the legal requirement can be found here.