Planning Assistant

Would you like to join a small friendly team and get involved in bringing in developer funding for community infrastructure?  We are looking for a Planning Assistant to join our Infrastructure & Delivery Planning Team.

Your key area of work will be supporting our Community Infrastructure Levy Officers with the processing and administration of the Levy payments.  The Community Infrastructure Levy (or CIL) is a charge that developers pay towards the provision of local infrastructure and we will be looking for someone who will gain particular knowledge and expertise in this area of work and be able to deal with detailed questions.

The work will include responding to queries from customers, checking planning application and building control records to make sure we are asking for payments at the right times, measuring plans to determine the amount of payment due, and monitoring parish council CIL payments.

To join us, you’ll need to be confident with IT, spreadsheets and data, with good attention to detail, a thorough approach and the ability to follow precise instructions.  Ideally you will have some knowledge or understanding of the planning process, but you don’t have to be a qualified planner and you will be able to learn on the job.  You will be educated to at least GCSE level and be able to learn new systems quickly. 

You will also need a gift for clear communication and affinity with our values: Responsibility, Respect, Recognition and Collaboration.

We’re passionate about making Dorset a great place to live, work and visit. Working for us should be no exception.

At Dorset Council we:

• provide more than 450 services to over 300,000 residents
• have ambitious aspirations
• are excited about our future
• care about Dorset and all the people who live here
• know that all roles make a difference and that our employees are key to our success

You will:

• have access to a range of employee benefits 
• be part of an organisation that supports each other to grow and succeed
• have access to range of training opportunities which will help with your personal development and career progression

We are challenging ourselves to become a more diverse and inclusive organisation.

We recognise that recruitment and inclusion of individuals with diverse skills, perspectives and backgrounds will bring real strength to the council and our communities. We have a commitment to equality and welcome applications from everyone.

We are proud to be a Disability Confident Employer. We offer an interview to everyone who declares a disability and meets the essential criteria for the role.

We are keen to make our interviews accessible. Let us know on your job application if you have a disability and need any reasonable adjustments.

We also look for applicants who share our commitment to our behaviours. We will ask you to evidence when you have demonstrated them as part of the selection process.

If appointed, the personal information we collect from you will be shared with Cifas who will use it to prevent fraud, other unlawful or dishonest conduct, malpractice, and other seriously improper conduct. If any of these are detected, you could be refused certain services or employment. Your personal information will also be used to verify your identity. Further details of how your information will be used by us and Cifas, and your data protection rights, can be found at https://www.cifas.org.uk/fpn.

This role is UK based and we will need to establish your Right to Work as part of the appointment process.

We use generic job descriptions and person specifications. This means the job title on any attachments may differ from the job title in the advert. We may provide specific information in a context statement if relevant.

Find out more about how to apply.