Local Plan Delivery and Intervention Senior Advisors

Having an effective, up to date Local Plan is essential to planning for and delivering the homes and infrastructure the country needs; in ways that make good use of land and result in well-designed and attractive places to live. It is a priority of the Secretary of State to see universal coverage of ambitious Local Plans as soon as possible.
There are three exciting opportunities for SEOs or SPTOs in the Local Plans division. These are fast paced and challenging roles which will see the successful candidate working with Local Planning Authorities (LPAs), other Government departments (OGDs) and a range of other stakeholders to ensure Local Plans are put in place across the country., Two of the three roles are for Geographical Leads, this involves leading on a range of Local Plan work across a specific geographic area including:
+ Meeting and developing relationships with LPA officers in their geographical area to discuss Local Plan progress and provide support.
+ Advising Ministers about Planning Inspectors’ letters and Inspector’s Reports under the Planning Inspectorate’s (PINS) 48-hour protocol.
+ Responsibility for Local Plan delivery casework such as providing timely advice to Ministers at pace, for example, on requests to exercise the Secretary of State’s powers to intervene in plan making.
+ Leading on correspondence on LPAs in their geographical area.
+ Writing responses to Parliamentary Questions and providing material for speeches and briefings for ministerial meetings and debates.
+ Providing input on planning reform and ensuring wider policy changes are implemented in a way that supports the preparation of Local Plans.
+ Forming constructive working relationships with external stakeholders and representing the Department at external meetings and events.
+ Working closely with legal colleagues, LPAs, PINS, PAS, OGDs and the wider Department on removing barriers to Local Plans being put in place.
The third role is the Briefing and Engagement Lead, whose responsibilities include:
+ Ensuring the team’s engagement with LPAs supports Local Plans being adopted as we transition into the reformed plan making system.
+ Supporting the Secretary of State’s programme of intervention where Local Plans are significantly out of date.
+ Working with PAS to deliver plan making support to LPAs during the transition to a new planning system. This includes determining the scope of support and obtaining ministerial agreement as needed, developing and agreeing the performance management structure with PAS and working on annual grant agreements and budgets.
+ Managing the division’s briefing and correspondence function ensuring that quality information and intelligence on Local Plans is fed into a variety of commissions such as briefings, meetings, debates, speeches and letters.
+ Line managing one HEO planner., As part of our pre-employment checking process we will be using your CV to confirm your job history. Please note that by providing us with your CV you are consenting to us using the information enclosed as part of the checking process.
CV and Cover Letter Declaration
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Most of our campaigns utilise multiple assessors and so it is possible that your application would be viewed by different assessors.
At sift, through your CV and covering letter we will be assessing:
Examples, There may be opportunities for candidates to work flexibly depending on the business needs. This will be discussed with the vacancy manager on a case-by-case basis if you are successful for the role.

• Please note: The Darlington Economic Campus is a pioneering new cross-government hub which will bring together people across departments and public organisations to play an active role in the most important economic issues of the day. The work of the Campus will make a real difference to people both across the UK and internationally. There will be substantial career opportunities and exciting prospects - a career at the Campus means you will be working at the heart of Government, with access to the benefits and fantastic opportunities offered by the civil service.

For further information on the DEC, please take a look at the attached DEC candidate pack.
At present, a minimum of 60% of your working time will be spent in your contractual office location. Requirements to attend other office locations or off-site meetings will be counted towards this. You will be asked to express a location preference during the application process. There may be opportunities for candidates to work flexibly depending on the business needs. This will be discussed with the vacancy manager on a case-by-case basis, if you are successful for the role.
Sift and Interview dates
Sifting is envisaged to take place W/C 30th September 2024 with interview dates to be confirmed. All interviews are currently being held remotely via videocall.
Reserve List
In the event that we identify more appointable candidates than we currently have posts available, we will hold applicant details on a reserve list for a period of 6 months from which further appointments can be made. This may include roles at a lower grade. Candidates placed on a reserve list will be informed of this. Those candidates who do not wish to remain on the reserve list should contact recruitment@communities.gov.uk to be removed from the reserve list.
Before starting your application it’s very important to make sure that you are eligible to apply and meet the Civil Service nationality requirements. All candidates are expected to read the information provided in the MHCLG candidate pack regarding nationality requirements and rules
Candidate Pack Information
Please see attached Candidate pack for further information.
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Nationality requirements
This job is broadly open to the following groups:
o UK nationals
o nationals of the Republic of Ireland
o nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
o 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)
o 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)
o individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
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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.

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+ Are self-starters able to lead the preparation of submissions and engagement with key LPA stakeholders.
+ Can work flexibly to deliver competing priorities in a fast paced and challenging environment, working at pace to tight deadlines.
+ Can demonstrate strong communication skills (both written and verbal) including being able to translate technical planning language into plain English with a clear concise style.
+ Can develop constructive working relationships with internal and external stakeholders.
+ Can work across the Division and planning policy teams, feeding into submissions, policy development and planning reform work.
+ Can analyse evidence and use it to draw clear conclusions.
+ Have excellent attention to detail.
Desirable Criteria:
+ An understanding of the Local Plan process as well as a wider understanding of planning and how different policy areas interact with Local Plans.
+ A substantial amount of experience of working in planning or a related field and developed technical planning knowledge gained either through a professional qualification and/or experience.

Alongside your salary of £38,732, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government contributes £11,220 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%, 1. How your experience meets the criteria in the person specification.
2. Your preference between Geographical Lead roles and Briefing and Engagement Lead role (if applicable).
The interview will be of a blended nature consisting of behaviour and strength based questions as listed in the advert. The strength based questions will require natural responses from the candidates.
Candidates will be expected to complete a written test at interview stage, further details would be provided upon invitation.
In full the campaign will test the below Success Profile Elements:
Experience: Yes - Experience questions will be based around the essential skills and criteria as listed in the job description
Strength: Yes
Behaviours: Working Together, Seeing the Big Picture, Making Effective Decisions
Please contact the vacancy manager if you have any questions about the role.
We do not consider direct CV applications – you must apply for this role via the application link on Civil Service Jobs:
Please note that near miss offers may be made at the lower grade to candidates who do not meet the grade criteria for this campaign
SEO salary
+ The salary for this role is £38,732 (National).