THE PLANNING INSPECTORATE

LAWYER AND LEGAL MANAGERPOST

POST REFERENCE: T-49-12

GUIDANCE NOTES FOR APPLICANTS

(These notes are not a contract of employment)

The Planning Inspectorate is registered under the Data Protection Act to hold personal data supplied by you

CONTENTS

1.General information

2.The Vacancy

3.Qualifications & Attributes

4.Application and selection procedure

  1. Terms of appointment
  2. Returning your application

7. Complaints

If you require this information in large print, Braille or on audiotape please contact us on telephone number 0117 372 6007

1.GENERAL INFORMATION

The Planning Inspectorate (PINS) is an Executive Agency in the Office of the Department for Communities and Local Government and the National Assembly for Wales.

Our mission for the Inspectorate is to deliver an outstanding national planning and appeals service which enjoys the confidence and respect of Ministers, the public and all stakeholders

The work of the Planning Inspectorate includesnational infrastructure planning under the Planning Act 2008 process as amended by the Localism Act 2011; processing planning and enforcement appeals; holding examinations into local plans and community infrastructure levy charging schedules. The Inspectorate also deals with a wide variety of other planning related casework including listed building consent appeals, advertisement appeals, and reporting on planning applications called in for decision by the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG), or, in Wales, The Welsh Government.

Our headquarters are based in Bristol where the bulk of the senior management and around 500 administrative staff are based. There is a small office in Cardiff, of around 25 staff, which deals with casework arising in Wales.

In addition there are around 250 Salaried Planning Inspectors working from home, conducting public inquiries and carrying out site visits into a wide range of matters under town and country planning and allied legislation. We also offer work to around 100 Inspectors on a contract basis.

For more information on the work we do visit our web-site at

TempleQuay House – The Inspectorate’s headquarters Bristol

2. THE VACANCY

DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES:

  • To manage the delivery of timely and accurate legal advice and services in a specified area of the business unit including being responsible for optimal resource allocation following consultation with other G6 lawyers/legal managers
  • To provide accurate, high quality, timely and concise legal advice on all matters undertaken by PINS taking into account risk and reputational impact
  • To lead the development of legal knowledge in a specified area of PINS legal service and ensure effective liaison with Head of Service of Quality and Knowledge, relevant Group Managers and Casework Heads of Service to agree appropriate methods to disseminate knowledge
  • To supervise advice given and act as mentor to lawyers and other legal services staff
  • To line manage lawyers and other staff within a specified area of legal services
  • To provide regular verbal and written reports to the Director of Law and Quality on the delivery of services and on significant legal issues arising in specified area of responsibility
  • To assess the need for and procure necessary external legal services in compliance with relevant procedures and after consultation with the Director of Law and Quality
  • To provide legal support to Inspectors at hearings where required
  • To deliver regular oral briefings and to write or review as appropriate external and internal guidance notes to increase knowledge of Inspectors and staff on the more complex legal matters of relevance to PINS functions

3.QUALIFICATIONS AND ATTRIBUTES

ESSENTIAL CRITERIA:

  • Qualified solicitor or barrister 8 yrs+ pqe as planning lawyer or possibly less if particularly relevant legal experience.
  • In depth knowledge and practical experience of planning law, including compulsory purchase orders, and related areas such as highways and environmental law.
  • Ability to provide advice that may be contentious, sensitive and challenging to deliver, in an untested statutory framework.
  • Wide experience of and ability to draft complex legal documents.
  • Influencing and negotiating skills.

DESIRABLE CRITERIA:

  • Experience of managing legal staff.

PROFESSIONAL SKILLS FOR GOVERNMENT (PSG)

As well as the qualities and skills above, the post-holder will need to demonstrate the following skills and behaviours, based on the Government Professional skills for Government (PSG).

We will want you to give examples of how you have demonstrated those behaviours.

Communication

  • Champions a culture of effective communication and exceptional customer care
  • Effectively communicates at all times and at all levels to achieve business outcomes
  • Establishes long-term relationships with key customers that consistently achieve best value
  • Challenges negative attitudes to customers in order to get best value from customer-staff relationships
  • Removes organisational barriers to excellent customer service

Resource Management:

  • Champions a culture of providing value and sharing information
  • Develops strategy to provide technological solutions to information-related issues
  • Leads on effective resource management to deliver significant business impact
  • Leads on the development of processes that enable knowledge- and information-sharing throughout the organisation

Delivering Results:

  • Champions a culture in which successful delivery is valued
  • Creates excitement and momentum about delivering results
  • Translates strategic objectives into operational plans
  • Assesses the environment and develops a business case to deliver organisational benefits
  • Leads the coordination of activities across work streams

Problem Solving & Decision Making:

  • Champions a culture of effective decision-making
  • Analyses trends in workload and management information to anticipate future demands
  • Makes decisions that have long-term and strategic consequences on the business
  • Creates understanding from ambiguous data and limited information to make effective decisions
  • Explores tough options to ensure the best decision is made

Business Focus:

  • Champions a culture in which staff consider strategic issues
  • Leads on the development and implementation of the work area’s strategy and involves others in this
  • Takes personal responsibility for ensuring that all staff can link their individual objectives to the strategy
  • Drives innovation and removes barriers to progress and change
  • Identifies patterns and trends at a strategic level that may impact on decisions

Management & Leadership:

  • Champions a culture in which people take personal responsibility and deliver excellent performance
  • Communicates the corporate values and leads by example
  • Devises and communicates a clear vision for the work area
  • Effectively utilises staff with diverse skills to achieve a better outcome
  • Leads by example by taking on very stretching challenges others may back away from

4.APPLICATION AND SELECTION PROCEDURE

Please complete the application form. Please pay particular attention to section10 on ‘Knowledge and Experience’, focussing particularly on evidence in how you have demonstrated the essential criteria.

The initial sift will be based on your demonstration of these essential criteria in your application.

Advice on completing the application form

As well as assessing your knowledge and experience, our selection process is competence based, using the PSG skills. When completing the application form, please provide specific examples to demonstrate how you meet the skills listed at Part 3 of these Guidance Notes.

Please pay attention to any word restrictions on the application form. Any words exceeding the limit will be removed and not considered.

  • Within your examplesbe precise about what you did and the part you played in the activities you describe,please explain whatyou did, howyou did it and what the outcome was.
  • Describe the outcome or result of your actions.
  • Give recent examples for each PSG heading– probably from the last 2-3 years.
  • Where possible, use examples from the work place. However, you may give examples from outside work.
  • If possible give different examples for each heading and ensure your examples are relevant and strong.
  • Be concise. Too much information makes it difficult for the panel to assess your application and may count against you.
  • Use clear language, and avoid jargon.

A useful guide might be S.T.A.R:

Specific – give a specific example.

Task - briefly describe the task/objective etc.

Action – tell us what action you took.

Results – describe what results were achieved.

Your examples may be referred to at interview and you may be asked to expand further on some of them.

Selection procedures

Stage 1 – sift of applications

Completed application forms will be assessed in accordance with the criteria as stated within these notes in Part 3

Stage 2 – Interview

Those applicants successful at stage1will be invited to undertake an interview in our office in Bristol. This will take place duringw/c 23 July.

Start date The start date for the post will be negotiated with the successful candidate.

Conflict of interest

On the application form you are asked to indicate if you are related to (or know personally) any member of the Planning Inspectorate – this is to ensure that anyone you know is not directly involved in the assessment of your application.

Disabled candidates

As a two ticks employer we operate a guaranteed interview scheme for any disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for the position as detailed in Part 3 of these Guidance Notes. If you consider yourself disabled and wish to take advantage of this opportunity, please indicate at the appropriate section of the application form.

If you have any difficulty with the application process, please contact us to discuss how we can help you.

Security checks

Any successful appointment will be subject to health and satisfactory security checks. These will cover aspects of Identity, Nationality, Employment history and Criminal record.

In general, we can accept applications for posts only from British or Commonwealth citizens, British Protected persons, citizens of the IrishRepublic, or EU Nationals.

If you are not sure if you fall within one of the above categories but wish to apply, please phone us on 0117 372 6007giving full details of your nationality. If you do not fall within our nationality requirements, your application will be deemed invalid.

If you are invited to interview you will need to produce proof of your identity by providing the following:

  • a full 10-year passport or two of the following:
  • British driving licence;
  • P45;
  • birth certificate; or
  • recent proof of residence (utilities bill).

A more detailed list of acceptable proof will be sent with your invitation.

Please complete the enclosed forms about Nationality status and Criminal record declaration form.

With regard to Employment history, we will wish to verify the information you give us at Part 8 or at Part 7 for Academic history if you have not worked. We will therefore approach your current or last employer, or academic institution to verify your circumstances for the past 3 years. If you were previously self-employed, we will approach HM Revenue and Customs, and/or a professional who was connected with your business. By signing Part 13 of the application form, you will be giving us consent to approach the Employer, Academic institution, HM Revenue and Customs, or other party to verify your previous employment or academic history for the last 3 years.

Under the Data Protection Act (1998) the information you provide us will be defined as ‘personal data’ as defined by the Act. It will be supplied to the appropriate HR or Security authority exclusively for the purpose of the Baseline Personnel Security Standard. The HR or Security authority must protect the information provided and ensure that it is not passed to anyone who is not authorised to see it.

5.TERMS OF APPOINTMENT

Salary

This post is atG6Grade on a salary range from £57,500 - £68,293per annum. The successful candidate will start on £57,500per annum (pro rata for parttime staff) which is the minimum of the salary scale range.

Your future pay increases will depend on your performance, as assessed each year by your line managers. Salaries are reviewed on 1 August each year.

If you are an existing Civil Servant at this grade level, your salary may be calculated on a different basis.

Hours of work and annual leave

Inspectorate staff normally work a 5-day week of 42 hours, which includes a daily

1-hour lunch break. A flexible working hour’s scheme is available with core working hours between 10am and 12pm and 2pm and 4pm.

The current annual leave allowance is 30 days (pro rata for parttime staff). In addition Inspectorate staff are entitled to 10½ days public & privilege holidays.

Part time working

We welcome applications from candidates who wish to work on a parttime basis. If you are successful we will do our best to accommodate the working pattern you require, although we cannot guarantee this.

Although we operate a flexible working hour’s scheme it would help if you could indicate your preferred working pattern in the application form.

Childcare vouchers

In conjunction with Computershare Voucher Services, we offer a childcare voucher scheme. Childcare Vouchers can be used to pay for most forms of childcare including nurseries, a childminder, after school schemes, and holiday schemes. More information can be found on their website:

For further information please contact HR Advice Team (0117 3726007),

Other benefits

The Planning Inspectorate is based in Temple Quay House. The office is located just a couple of minutes walk from TempleMeads railway station. It is a 10-minute walk to Broadmead and the Galleries shopping centre.

Interest free bus/train season ticket loans are available after you have completed 2-months service. Loans can also be agreed for cycle purchase.

Diversity

The Planning Inspectorate is committed to ensuring equality of opportunity and that all our systems are fair, open and objective and visible to those inside and outside the organisation. We endeavour to promote this approach in those with whom we come into contact. Also we believe that we are all responsible for ensuring that the highest principles of equal opportunities policy are put into effect.

As an equal opportunities organisation we make no distinction between people on grounds of their race, sex, disability, ethnic or national origin, age, part-time status, religion, marital status or sexual orientation.

6.RETURNING YOUR APPLICATION

Please complete and return the following forms.Please do not enclose a CV.

Application Form

Criminal Records Form

National and Immigration Status Form

Equal Opportunities Form

Disability-related Requirements Form (optional)

You may complete the application form by hand, but we encourage applicants to complete and return the form electronically, if possible.

Your completed application must be returned by13 July 2012to thefollowing address:

Email:

The Planning Inspectorate

Recruitment Team - RefT-49-12

Room 4/20, Hawk Wing

TempleQuay House

2 The Square

Bristol BS1 6PN

Telephone: 0117 372 6007

Fax: 0117 372 8167

We will acknowledge receipt of your application. If you have not received this within a week of submitting your application, please contact us.

7. COMPLAINTS

The Planning Inspectorate’srecruitment processes are underpinned by theprinciple of selectionfor appointment on merit on the basis of fair and open competition as outlined in the Civil Service CommissionRecruitment Principleswhich can be found at

If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Principles and you wish to make a complaint, you should contact the HRRecruitment Manager, Planning Inspectorate, Room 4/20, TempleQuay House, 2 The Square, TempleQuay, BRISTOL BS1 6PNin the first instance. If you are not satisfiedwith the response you receive from the Planning Inspectorate, you can contact the Office of the Civil Service Commission.

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