Job summary
We are seeking a Senior Business Manager within the Planning Casework Unit (PCU) which coordinates administrative, reporting and corporate functions across the team to ensure that it undertakes its work appropriately and efficiently.� This post will report directly to the Head of Unit, and will be key to the efficient operation of the team.�
PCU is based in 11 locations across the country,�and it�determines and administers applications relating to 40 different types of planning casework. This includes decisions on whether to call in planning applications, confirm a compulsory purchase orders, EIA screening, or whether to grant planning permission, among other things. These decisions may be very high profile and complex in nature, and cover a wide range of policy issues such as housing, prisons, design, energy, minerals or climate change. PCU advises the Secretary of State and other Ministers on those cases which require a Ministerial decision.
Job description
The post-holder will support the delivery of a high-quality decision-making service to Ministers and senior officials, so that they can make informed, legally sound casework decisions within specified targets.
The post involves leading on the corporate and administrative activities and functions across the team, including the reporting of its performance, data and record management, allocation of individual cases, risk management, financial monitoring and progressing wider strategic management actions. The postholder would be expected to support wider corporate activities such as the Exceptional Performance reward scheme.
The post comes with line management responsibility to support the post-holder in leading on these functions and activities.
The post-holder will be closely involved with the senior management of the PCU and will act as a leader within the wider teams they are part of. They will empower their team members, who may work across a variety of different locations, working effectively together in an inclusive environment.
Specifically, the post-holder will be responsible for:
1. Assuming a leadership role within PCU, with line management responsibility for a small team;
2. Leading on the reporting of PCU�s decision-making performance against specified targets, and improving and collating systems to more efficiently collect data to support this.
3. Coordinate record management across the PCU to ensure consistency in how work is recorded and communicated, including oversight of filing conventions, templates and operation of specialist software packages.
4. Leading on the allocation of cases to individual case officers across the PCU.
5. Maintaining and continually reporting on risk and financial management within the Unit, using existing organisation frameworks.
6. Administrative functions across the PCU, such as the monitoring, reporting, requests for recorded information and distribution of correspondence.
7. Being the Secretariat for senior leadership meetings, and implementing wider strategic initiatives on behalf of management.
8. Support the implementation of the Exceptional Performance reward scheme across the Chief Planner�s Directorate and beyond.
9. Undertaking any other duties required by the line manager, which are within PCU�s responsible functions.
Person specification
Essential:
10. Can develop, implement, maintain and review systems and services to ensure delivery of professional excellence.
11. Able to deliver outcomes while continuously seeking to implement ways to improve a service, and use technology where possible to increase efficiency.
12. Can regularly monitor and reassess their own and team's tasks, and reassess workloads and priorities when there are conflicting demands.
13. Has significant experience in using the main computer-based reporting packages, such as Microsoft Excel and Power BI, as well as bespoke software packages.�
Desirable:
14. Experience in an office manager or project management capacity.
Benefits
Alongside your salary of �38,732, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government contributes �11,220 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme.
15. Learning and development tailored to your role
16. An environment with flexible working options
17. A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
18. A with an employer contribution of