About the job

Job summary

As Correspondence Officer you will co-ordinate the Planning Inspectorate’s timely and accurate response to Ministerial/Official Correspondence and Parliamentary Questions. You will oversee the process from when correspondence is received through to submitting the response. This will involve assigning it to the relevant area of business for drafting, checking for editorial quality and gaining the necessary approvals. You will promote excellent customer service and ensure correspondence is accurate and up to date by supporting insights analysis, preparing lessons learned and staying aware of key issues in the organisation and sector.

The Corporate Strategy and Reporting Team ensures the Planning Inspectorate has effective strategy management in place, underpinned by delivery plans and reporting processes. The team support decision-making to facilitate service delivery across the organisation.

The Planning Inspectorate has a long and proud history in ensuring a fair planning system for England. The work we do has a significant impact on people’s lives, the communities where they live and the economy.

We want our colleagues to be able to work more flexibly and more collaboratively, exploring new and innovative ways to improve the way we provide services.https://www.civil-service-careers.gov.uk/departments/pins-hub/

For further information on the Planning Inspectorate, please see the information pack attached. You can also view our careers page at Civil Service Careers

Job description

The role of Correspondence Officer suits a motivated and focused individual who enjoys working collaboratively with others. You should be able to work to tight deadlines, have effective organisational skills and be confident communicating with a variety of different colleagues and external stakeholders. You should be curious and inquisitive about the organisation and be able to quickly match correspondence with the right stakeholders. This role suits an individual who can work independently and make decisions on when to follow up on issues directly, and when to escalate them.

On a typical day, the successful candidate will review the status of all correspondence and determine the appropriate course of action, maintaining a record of any action taken and progress made. They will also spend time liaising with colleagues in other Planning Inspectorate teams, as well as the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) to ensure the timely delivery of our organisations contributions and responses, enabling ministers to meet their targets for responding to correspondence received to their offices.

This is a part time role, your hours will be 18.5 hours per week split over, ideally 5 days per week (although 4 days per week may be considered).  

For full information on the role and assessment process please refer to the candidate pack attached.

Office Attendance

All of our office-based roles are contractually located at Temple Quay House in Bristol. We encourage office attendance to foster collaboration, conversation, group creativity and employee wellbeing. You will be expected to attend Temple Quay House at least 12 times a year. Depending on your role, you may be required to attend more often than 12 times a year either permanently or temporarily to ensure we deliver our services in the most efficient and effective way for our customers. If you would like to discuss our Office Attendance in more detail, please contact us at PINS.Recruitment@planninginspectorate.gov.uk  

Person specification

Essential Criteria

• Effective organisational skills, working quickly and accurately
• Experience of working to tight deadlines and managing competing demands, using initiative and professional judgement to determine priorities
• Experience of building effective working relationships with internal and external stakeholders. Be curious and inquisitive about the organisation and able to quickly match correspondence with the right stakeholders
• Ability to work independently and make decisions on when to follow up on issues directly and when to escalate to your manager
• Excellent communication (written and verbal) and influencing skills with stakeholders at all levels
• Experience of handling sensitive information, including awareness of information management legislation

Desirable Criteria

• Broad understanding of the work of the Planning Inspectorate
• Experience of either implementing new working procedures/processes or adapting and updating existing processes

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £28,288, Planning Inspectorate contributes £7,666 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

Things you need to know

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Strengths and Experience.

Application 

Complete the online application form on Civil Service Jobs which requires the following information:

• A CV: The CV section is an opportunity for you to detail your career history. It should outline the jobs you have done, the length of time you were employed within each role and a brief description of your role, responsibilities and duties which demonstrate relevance to the role you are applying for against the essential criteria. You must type, or ‘copy and paste’ into the text box called ‘Employment History’ within the online application. You cannot attach a copy of your CV. You will also be asked to detail your previous skills and experience which will enable you to demonstrate your experience against the essential criteria.

• APPLICATION QUESTIONS: You will be asked 2 application questions which relate to the essential criteria with a word limit maximum of 500 words per question.

We will assess your application on the evidence you have provided against the Essential Criteria detailed in the Person Specification in the candidate pack.

In the event of a large number of applications, a lead sift may take place.  The following point will be used as the lead criteria when shortlisting if this happens, and if you do not meet the minimum standard the rest of your application will not be assessed.

• Experience of building effective working relationships with internal and external stakeholders. Be curious and inquisitive about the organisation and able to quickly match correspondence with the right stakeholders.

All shortlisted candidates will be advised of the outcome shortly afterwards.

Interview 

If you are shortlisted, you will:

• Be asked to attend an interview to have a more in-depth discussion about your experience and suitability for the role
• Interviews will be a blend of behaviour and strength, questions

Candidates who are successful at shortlist stage will be sent full assessment requirements with their interview invitations.

Other Information 

Shortlist Date: w/c 12th February 2024

Interview Date: w/c 26th February 2024  

Interviews are currently being completed remotely using Microsoft Teams. We would like to reassure candidates that the virtual interview will not be recorded (or retained) within the Planning Inspectorate, other than usual interview protocol and in line with the Civil Service jobs Privacy notice.

We encourage all candidates to make themselves familiar with the role and what we will be assessing you against which is detailed in the Person Specification.

The Planning Inspectorate is committed to finding the right person for the job. We recruit using Success Profiles and consider the criteria you will need to demonstrate to be successful for the role, by doing this we are pushing up performance, diversifying our workforce and creating an inclusive culture.

ID and Documents

If specific qualifications/memberships are essential for the role and you are successful, you will be asked to provide accurate scanned or photographed images of the qualifications/memberships that you listed on your application prior to your start date.

We must check that any successful candidates are allowed to work for the Civil Service before we employ them. If successful, you will be asked to do a right to work check using identity document validation technology (IDVT) through the services of an Identity Service Provider (IDSP), Civil Service Jobs.  If we are unable to confirm your right to work and through the IDVT we will need to do a manual right to work check using original documents with you in person.

Visa Sponsorship

The Planning Inspectorate cannot offer Visa sponsorship to candidates, we do not hold a Visa sponsorship licence.

Disability Confident Interview scheme

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. We run a Disability Confident Interview scheme for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria for the job.

To be considered for an interview under the scheme you must:

• have a disability defined by the Equality Act 2010
• provide evidence in your application that you meet the minimum criteria in the job description
• meet all of the qualifications, skills or experience defined as essential

While we will endeavour to provide you with all the appropriate information, you are the expert on your specific requirements so if you require any adjustments, you should consider the information provided about the assessment process in the candidate pack and then:

• Complete the “Assistance required” section in the “Additional requirements” page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process. The earlier and more clearly you tell us what you need and why you need it, the more likely we are to be able to accommodate you in a timely fashion.

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.