Senior Planning Casework Manager

Job summary

We have a fantastic opportunity for a Senior Planning Casework Manager to join the Transport Infrastructure Planning Unit (TIPU).

Do you have experience of planning?

Do you want to play a crucial role in delivering the new transport infrastructure the country needs?

Are you a team player?

Do you have attention to detail?

Are you looking for an excellent opportunity to boost your existing skill set and learn more about the planning process?

Then this is the role for you in a friendly and supportive team.

TIPU provides advice to Ministers on whether to approve applications to build infrastructure, submitted under various pieces of legislation most notably:

• Planning Act 2008 on Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIP), such as development of strategic roads, aviation and major harbour projects;

This exciting, interesting role provides an opportunity to work on NSIPs and build on your skills and knowledge of the planning world. As one of our Senior Planning Case Officers, you will:

• Have some knowledge of planning casework, policy and or legislation.
• Be comfortable analysing lengthy, technical reports, interpreting legislation and drafting detailed decision letters.
• Have strong organisational skills to balance multiple projects/areas of work simultaneously to ensure they remain on track. Planning ahead to deliver your work effectively, balancing a range of sometimes complicated priorities to ensure delivery to multiple tight statutory timescales.
• Be able to communicate and present an insightful background and reasoning behind a decision or recommendation. Have the ability to write in a clear and concise way, summarising technical information in a non-technical way. Convey that information so that it is understandable to a diverse audience

Joining our department comes with many benefits, including:

• Employer pension contribution of 28.97% of your salary. Read more about Civil Service Pensions here

• 25 days annual leave, increasing by 1 day each year of service (up to a maximum of 30 days annual leave), plus 8 bank holidays a privilege day for the King’s birthday

• Flexible working options where we encourage a great work-life balance.

Read more in the Benefits section below!

Find out more about what it's like working at Department for Transport Central - Department for Transport Careers

Job description

We have a fantastic opportunity for a Senior Planning Casework Manager to join the Transport Infrastructure Planning Unit (TIPU).

TIPU provides advice to Ministers on a range of planning applications including for Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIPs) submitted under the Planning Act 2008 such as development of strategic roads, aviation and major harbour projects. These Applications grant powers critical to the delivery of such projects that are central to the Government's policies for economic growth.

The post holder will work in a friendly team responsible for ensuring that a robust and timely advice is provided 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.

Your responsibilities will include, but aren’t limited to:

1. Assess the merits of applications for Development Consent Orders made under the Planning Act 2008 seeking consent for projects including strategic roads, aviation and major harbour projects.
2. Identify issues from often lengthy recommendation reports and lead on resolving these with guidance from managers and lawyers.
3. Assess applications against planning, transport and environmental policies and legislation.
4. Confidently draft well-argued and legally robust decisions and advice to ministers to strict statutory deadlines.
5. Work closely with our environmental manager and lawyers to ensure advice to minsters and final decision documents are robust managing their input to ensure statutory deadlines are met.
6. Respond to briefing requests, correspondence, FOIs and press queries relating to your cases.

For further information on the role, please read the role profile. Please note that the role profile is for information purposes only - whilst all elements are relevant to the role, they may not all be assessed during the recruitment process. This job advert will detail exactly what will be assessed during the recruitment process.

Person specification

Required experience:

To be successful in this role you will need to have the following experience:

1. Have experience and / or knowledge of planning, planning legislation and/or planning policy.
2. Proactively forward plan and track ongoing work, ensuring the delivery of high-quality outcomes.
3. Prioritise and recognise key areas of work that will need urgent attention.
4. Have excellent written communication skills. Experience of drafting technical detail for a non-technical audience ensuring attention to detail.

Additional Information

Operational Delivery Profession (ODP) is the largest and most diverse professional community across the Civil Service. Many of us will have an association with several professional communities or specialisms, ODP applies to all public facing roles / or a role that is primarily aligned to supporting the work of those with public facing roles. All critical to the delivery of UK public services.

Working hours, office attendance and travel requirements

Full time roles consist of 37 hours per week.

Whilst we welcome applications from those looking to work with us on a part time basis, there is a business requirement for the successful candidate to be able to work at least 22 hours per week.

This role is suitable for hybrid working, which is a non-contractual arrangement where a combination of workplace and home-based working can be accommodated subject to business requirements.

The expectation at present is a minimum of 60% of your working time a month will be spent at either your designated workplace (one of the locations cited in the advert) or, when required for business reasons, in another office/work location/visiting stakeholders. Your designated workplace will be your contractual place of work. There may be occasions where you are required to attend above the minimum expectation.

Visa Sponsorship

DfTc does not offer Visa Sponsorship for this role.

Behaviours

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

• Making Effective Decisions
• Delivering at Pace
• Working Together
• Communicating and Influencing

Technical skills

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

• 1. Strategy - 1.1. Policy Context and Purpose - Level 1: Developing
• 2. Democracy - 2.1. Working with Ministers - Level 1: Developing

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £44,241, Department for Transport contributes £12,816 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

Being part of our brilliant Civil Service means you will have access to a wide range of fantastic benefits:

• Employer pension contribution of 28.97% of your salary. Read more about Civil Service Pensions here
• 25 days annual leave, increasing by 1 day each year of service (up to a maximum of 30 days annual leave).
• 8 Bank Holidays plus an additional Privilege Day to mark the King’s birthday.
• Access to the staff discount portal.
• Excellent career development opportunities and the potential to undertake professional qualifications relevant to your role paid for by the department, such as CIPD, Prince2, apprenticeships, etc.
• Joining a diverse and inclusive workforce with a range of staff communities to support all our colleagues.
• 24-hour Employee Assistance Programme providing free confidential help and advice for staff.
• Flexible working options where we encourage a great work-life balance.

Find out more about the benefits of working at DfT and its agencies (opens in a new window).

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, Strengths, Experience and Technical skills.

How to apply:

Our selection process ensures a comprehensive assessment of each applicant's qualifications, skills, and potential fit within our organisation.

As part of the application process, you will be asked to complete a CV and personal statement. Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.

The selection process for this role will be:

Stage 1: Sift of CV and personal statement

Stage 2: Interview and Assessment- Policy exercise

You must be successful at each stage to progress to the next stage.

Stage 1: Sift

At sift, you will be assessed against the following Success Profile elements:

• Experience – you will be asked to provide a CV (unlimited wordcount) and personal statement (750-word count). Please provide evidence of your Experience of the following:
• You will need to show your experience and / or knowledge of planning, planning legislation and/or planning policy.
• You can proactively forward plan and track ongoing work, ensuring the delivery of high-quality outcomes.
• Prioritise and recognise key areas of work that will need urgent attention.
• Excellent written communication skills. Experience of drafting technical detail for a non-technical audience ensuring attention to detail.

The sift will take place between 23 - 24 February 2026.

Stage 2: Interview and Assessment

At interview stage, you will be assessed against the following Success Profile elements:

• Behaviours - Making effective decisions, Delivering at pace and Communicating and Influencing.
• Strengths

At assessment stage, you will be invited to complete a written policy exercise. The assessment will take place online via Microsoft Teams. You will be assessed against the following Success Profile elements:

Technical

• • 1. Strategy 1.1. Policy Context and Purpose Level 1: Developing

Define the sought impacts and outcomes of a policy.

• Recognises the importance of understanding the question that underpins the problem to be solved.
• Understands the policy outcomes and what successful delivery of the policy would look like.

• • 2. Democracy 2.1. Working with Ministers Level 1: Developing

Deliver effective internal communication. Write for different audiences and purposes, including scrutiny.

• Understands that information needs to be presented according to its audience and possible application
• Selects and presents it so that someone else can understand a particular subject quickly (“briefing”).
• Demonstrates the ability to write accurately, briefly and clearly, using correct grammar and punctuation.

For further explanation on these descriptors, please refer to the Policy Profession competency framework.

The interview and assessment stage will take place 09 - 10 March 2026

Guidance will be provided if you are invited to the assessment.

Candidates successful at assessment stage will be invited to interview.

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

You can find out more about our hiring process, how to apply, and application and interview guidance on our careers site (opens in a new window).

Please note that we will try to meet the dates set out in the advert. There may be occasions when these dates will change.

Further information on the selection process

We will also hold a 12-month reserve list for this role, which may lead to potential opportunities beyond the role you applied for. You can read more about our reserve lists here.

For further information on the role, please read the role profile. Please note that the role profile is for information purposes only - whilst all elements are relevant to the role, they may not all be assessed during the recruitment process. This job advert will detail exactly what will be assessed during the recruitment process.

Reasonable Adjustments

As a Disability Confident Leader employer, we are 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 dftrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk 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 DRGComms@dft.gov.uk for assistance.

Further Information

For more information about how we hire, and for useful tips on submitting your application for this role, visit theHow 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.

All External applicants and current employees of accredited non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) will be required to undergo a Social Media Check. A Social Media Check is a review of your publicly available online activity, typically across platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, and others. The purpose is to identify any public posts or content that could raise concerns for employers, such as:

Hate speech or discriminatory behaviour

Threats or acts of violence

Illegal activity or substance misuse

Sexually explicit material

Extremist views or affiliations

Importantly, this check does not involve hacking into your accounts or accessing private messages. It only considers content you have chosen to make public.

Employers use this kind of screening to help ensure their workplace remains safe, inclusive, and aligned with company values. It’s not about judging your personality or lifestyle—it’s about checking for potential red flags that might affect the role or company culture.

If you have questions or concerns about the social media check, we would be happy to explain in more detail what’s being looked at and how your data is handled securely and fairly.

Feedback

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 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.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 : Rachel Dominey
• Email : rachel.dominey@dft.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : dftrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

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: dftrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk
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 Here

Attachments

role profile Opens in new window (pdf, 202kB)