TWA Casework manager

Job summary

Have you got knowledge and experience of engaging with transport planning legislation, planning policy and environmental requirements?

Can you analyse complex reports to ensure these are acceptable in legal and policy terms?

If so, we’d love to hear from you!

DfT is a high-profile department at the heart of UK government. We work with agencies and partners to support the transport network that helps businesses and gets people and goods travelling around the country. We plan and invest to make journeys better.

We have a fantastic opportunity for a Casework Manager to join the Transport Infrastructure Planning Casework Unit (TIPCU). 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 be supported in creating new ones?

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

Our team’s role is to provide Ministers with the advice they need when they are deciding whether or not to grant planning consent and other powers which are necessary for the delivery of new infrastructure.

Job description

The role is central to the delivery of the team’s objectives. You will support the team leader by handling a portfolio of applications for Transport and Works Act Orders (TWAO’s), developing familiarity with the issues raised by each one and ensuring that they are progressed expeditiously and in line with legal requirements. This will involve assessing the merits of schemes against planning, transport and environmental policies and advising potential applicants on the process as well as drafting the formal decision letters and submissions to Ministers where required.

The post also requires you to gain an understanding of legal principles, ensuring applications are taken forward and decisions made in line with the relevant legislation. You will be required to review draft Statutory Instruments and apply legal and policy requirements. However, you are not required to have any legal qualifications or prior experience for this post as the team works closely with DfT Legal Advisers and full training will be provided.

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

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

• To manage the procedural stages of applications for Transport and Works Act ("TWA") Orders in line with statutory Rules and published guidance, impartially and in a timely manner.
• To ensure that all TWA Orders are consistent with Government policy, are legally acceptable and meet the required drafting standards for Statutory Instruments.
• To assess the representations made about transport projects and evaluate reports from the Planning Inspectorate to make recommendations to Ministers about the proposed decisions. This will require you to assimilate, understand and distil large volumes of detailed information and complex arguments.
• To draft decision letters on applications for TWA Orders that are soundly reasoned, sufficiently robust to withstand legal challenge and delivered in a timely way.
• To provide scheme promoters, members of the public and other stakeholders with clear, accurate and appropriate advice about the consenting processes which the team operates.
• To drive forward and manage the process for TWA applications to ensure decisions are issued as efficiently as possible.
• To monitor the operation of the TWA process and to propose practicable measures to improve efficiency through changes to office practice, guidance and legislation as appropriate.
• Support the development of a new full digitalisation system to enhance and improve the functionality TWA applications and the wider directorates applications.
• Contact for FOIs, MC and TOs for current/historic TWA applications.
• Provide support and other ad-hoc duties to the Team Leaders and colleagues.

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:

• Knowledge of and experience engaging with transport planning legislation, planning policy and environmental requirements.
• Experience of analysing complex reports to ensure these are acceptable in legal and policy terms.
• Excellent experience oral and written communication skills. Experience of drafting extensive technical detail for a non-technical audience ensuring attention to detail.
• You can proactively forward plan and track ongoing work, ensuring the delivery of high-quality outcomes, showing resilience and tenacity to manage changing priorities and recognise key areas of work that will need urgent attention.
• You enjoy working closely with other team members, collaborating with others to achieve a common goal.
• Experience of planning casework in transport

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.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkR_okX2T1U

Working hours, office attendance and travel requirements

Full time roles consist of 37 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
• Communicating and Influencing
• Working Together

Technical skills

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

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

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £35,663, Department for Transport contributes £10,331 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).

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.

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 skills, and potential fit within our organisation.

The selection process for this role will be:

Stage 1: Sift of CV and personal statement. Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.

Stage 2: Interview & Assessment

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:

1. Knowledge of and experience engaging with transport planning legislation, planning policy and environmental requirements.
2. Experience of analysing complex reports to ensure these are acceptable in legal and policy terms.

The sift will take place between Monday 6th & Wednesday 8th July 2026.

Stage 2: Assessment & Interview

As part of stage 2, you will be invited to complete a written policy exercise. The assessment will take place online via Microsoft Teams prior to your interview. You will be assessed against the following Success Profile elements:

Technical:

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

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

Assessments are scheduled to take place on Tuesday 21st July 2026.

Following the assessment, you will be invited to an Interview where you will be assessed against the following Success Profile elements:

• Behaviours – Making Effective Decisions, Communicating & Influencing & Working Together
• Strengths

Interviews are scheduled to take place on Wednesday 22nd July & Thursday 23rd July 2026. Further details will be provided to you should you be selected.

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.

If your application is successful but you have been dismissed from the Civil Service, your application could be removed at the pre-employment checking stage depending on the nature of the dismissal.

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

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 are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert or the information on our website, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section.

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.

If your application is successful but you have been dismissed from the Civil Service, your application could be removed at the pre-employment checking stage depending on the nature of the dismissal.

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, 249kB)