About the job

Job summary

The Customer Service Team is a busy, small, professional team who are often the first point of contact for customers who have queries about the services that we offer at the Planning Inspectorate. As they are the first impression the customer will get of the Planning Inspectorate, successful candidates need to be polite and professional at all times. The role involves closely working with others in the team as well as other teams around the business, to answer and resolve customer queries both verbally and in writing.   

An important part of the role is answering calls to our Customer Service Helpline during our opening hours. As a Customer Service Advisor you will need to be able to talk clearly and concisely to customers on the phone, whilst listening, extracting information from the customer and thinking quickly on your feet, searching for information from a range or online resources. It is vital that you are a confident communicator with the resilience to handle difficult conversations with customers. 

Using technology is also of key importance to the Customer Service Advisor role – speaking to customers and using multiple systems, sites and databases to answer that customer’s query is quite a skill, so the role is definitely suited to those who have an aptitude for technology.

If this sounds like you, then please apply!

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. 

 

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

We are looking for someone who is a natural communicator, who is able to simplify complex subjects whilst adapting how they speak or write depending on their audience. The successful candidates will also need to be customer focussed, striving to deliver excellent service every day and have a very strong personal and emotional resilience, able to compose themselves after speaking to the most difficult of customers. 

On a typical day you will work as part of a team to review, prioritise, distribute and respond to customer queries, ensuring that our Service Level Agreements are met. 

You will be answering customer calls to our helpline, during our opening hours where you will need to create a ‘ticket’ for that customer on our system, record their query and then investigate and provide a response to the customer or you may refer the query to a different part of the organisation for a reply if appropriate.  

In addition to the phone work, you will be responsible for researching and responding to customer queries in writing, once again updating the customer’s record on our system to ensure that we have an accurate record of our customer interactions.   

Experience a day in the life at our dynamic workplace through this captivating video:

You will be required to undertake some in person training for this role, which will take a minimum of 3 weeks in our Bristol office, so please bare this in mind when applying for the role. 

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

Hybrid working 

All of our office-based roles are contractually located at Temple Quay House in Bristol. Most of our roles are able to work in a hybrid manner and you will be expected to attend Temple Quay House at least 12 days a year. Depending on your role, you may be required to attend more often than 12 days 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 Hybrid Working Policy in more detail please contact us at PINS.Recruitment@planninginspectorate.gov.uk  

Person specification

Essential 

• Experience of handling challenging customers over the telephone effectively. 
• Ability to proactively research a large volume of written information and formulate a response.  
• Experience of working as part of a team 
• Excellent IT skills including proficient use of Microsoft 365 packages 
• Excellent customer service skills  
• Ability to prioritise and manage work 

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £23,732, Planning Inspectorate contributes £6,431 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.
• A Personal Statement (1000 words max): The personal statement allows you to outline your suitability for the role in more depth, expanding on your CV evidence. It is an opportunity for you to  provide evidence against the essential criteria listed within the candidate pack on the Person Specification page and link your answers to the listed Success Profile elements we are also assessing against . 

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

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, Strength and Experience questions 

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

Other Information 

Shortlist Date: w/c 19th 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.

 Existing Civil Servants should ensure that they have an in-principle agreement for a loan prior to applying.     

All Planning Inspectorate colleagues must meet the baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window). This is a series of basic security checks to confirm identity and employment history. 

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

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.