Team Leader – Technical Team

About the job

Key information

• This post will be based at Taunton where the Planning Technical Team who work both in the office and remotely.
• This post attracts an annual leave entitlement of 30 days (plus bank holidays).
• This post supervises a multi-disciplinary team of Planning Technicians and reports directly to the Team Manager – Technical Teams.
• This is a permanent position.

What will I be doing?

The Somerset Planning Technical Teams are the backbone of the Planning Teams. Each Area Team, along with the Minerals and Waste Team, has its own Technical Teams that support the various Officers working in each area. The Teams are divided into four: Planning North, Planning East, Planning South and Planning West and work collaboratively to support each other. This role specifically oversees the service for Planning West and plays a crucial role in the System Administration for software development.

We’re working to improve the lives of people in Somerset – and you’ll be a key part of that. Your day-to-day work will involve:

• Managing a team of Planning Technicians and carry out regular performance reviews in line with corporate policy, coaching and directing as required to further individual’s personal development and roll out staff improvements.
• Supervising the daily workloads and address resource issues as necessary to ensure performance targets are achieved, including the organising and programming of work and the development of team members.
• Delivering a broad range of activities e.g. system administration, purchasing and procurement administration, invoicing, debt management, data collation and report generation – both statutory and ad hoc, responding to Freedom of Information Requests.
• Maintaining a thorough knowledge of technical issues of planning related matters, policies and procedures in order to advise and guide team members, and to ensure information for customers (internal and external) is accurate and up to date.
• Ensuring specific legal requirements and technical information are accurately identified and handled and legislative timescales met.

What kind of experience or qualifications do I need?

We offer ongoing support, training and guidance to help you be the best you can be. But it will really help if you:

• Educated to A-level standard or equivalent experience, with GCSE in English and Mathematics or equivalent experience.
• Knowledge of planning legislation to provide detailed advice with regard validation of planning applications including process and procedural matters.
• Knowledge of democratic processes.
• Thorough knowledge of IT packages in particular Microsoft Office, planning software, document management systems, public facing planning solutions, Sharepoint and GIS. Covering all modules for Development Management, Enforcement, Appeals and TPO’s.
• Knowledge of Access/Crystal Reporting and Database Administration.

We’re proud to be here for the people of Somerset. And that means everyone in Somerset. An important part of this is ensuring that we are as diverse and inclusive as the people and communities we serve.

We welcome applications from a diverse range of backgrounds and experiences to enrich our team. You can always contact the hiring manager for a chat if there’s anything you want to talk about before you apply.

What is in it for me?

We are proud to offer an environment that is supportive and rewarding, working as part of a team who are passionate about the work they do to improve the lives of people in Somerset.

We offer great training and development opportunities, with supportive management. As well as this, we have some fantastic employee benefits available:

• We promote a healthy work-life balance and offer flexible working arrangements wherever possible, including working from home.
• Generous annual leave allowance, with the opportunity to purchase additional leave.
• Staff discounts in gyms.
• Employee Assistance for the times you may need some support and a variety of employee wellbeing services.
• Auto enrolment onto our generous Pension Scheme and optional pension enhancement through our Additional Voluntary Contribution scheme.
• A Flexible Benefits Scheme via salary sacrifice to obtain a cycle for work and health screenings.
• My Staff Shop offering discounts in shops, online shopping, restaurants, cinema tickets, insurance benefits and more.

Supporting documents and information

The salary for the role is Grade 11, ranging from £32,597 to £36,363 per annum.

For an informal chat about the role, you can contact Vicky Parsons via email at: vicky.parsons@somerset.gov.uk or Helen Vittery at: helen.vittery@somerset.gov.uk.

When completing your application/CV please provide your full employment history and ensure that any gaps in employment are explained. Please start with your current or most recent employment.

If you have all the information you need, just hit the apply button – we can’t wait to hear from you.

Apply on the Somerset Council website

Apply now