Casework Manager

Do you want to play a crucial role in delivering improvements to transport infrastructure?

Are you a team player?

Do you have attention to detail?

Are you looking for an excellent opportunity to boost your existing skill set and be supported in creating new ones?

If so, we’d love to hear from you!

We have a fantastic opportunity for a Casework Manager to join the Transport Infrastructure Planning Casework Unit (TIPCU).

The role is central to the delivery of the team’s objectives. It is a varied role which focuses. The team process applications and orders relating to local authority and National Highways road schemes, Stopping up Orders for planned development and Temporary Traffic Regulation Orders, as well as some other rare transport casework types.

You may also be asked to work across different planning regimes, including Transport and Works Act Orders (TWAOs), Development Consent Orders (DCO’s) and Highways Act Orders (HAOs), developing familiarity with the issues raised and ensuring that they are progressed expeditiously and in line with legal requirements. This will involve assessing the merits of schemes against planning, transport and environmental policies, advising potential applicants on the process, and drafting formal decision letters and submissions to Ministers where required.

The post will require you to gain an understanding of legal principles, ensuring applications are taken forward and decisions are made in line with the relevant legislation. However, you are not required to have any legal qualifications or prior experience for this post as the team works closely with DfT Legal Advisers and full training will be provided.

Joining our department comes with many benefits, including:

• Employer pension contribution of 28.97% of your salary. Read more about Civil Service Pensions here
• 25 days annual leave, increasing by 1 day each year of service (up to a maximum of 30 days annual leave), plus 8 bank holidays a privilege day for the King’s birthday
• Flexible working options where we encourage a great work-life balance.

Read more in the Benefits section below!

Find out more about what it's like working at Department for Transport Central - Department for Transport Careers

Duties will include but are not limited to:

• The direct and indirect line management of staff, leading and motivating them in delivering continuous improvement and engaging staff in delivering efficiencies.
• Ensuring the rapid, but accurate, processing of various statutory casework by Casework Team members, completing appropriate technical checks of processes and decisions, where appropriate considering Inspectors’ reports and recommendations, draft decision letters and providing feedback to the drafter.
• Understand and explaining legislative requirements to staff and ensuring legal process is followed through technical checks of both staff and peers work.
• Ensuring throughputs of cases meet the agreed targets by monitoring performance, identifying issues taking a risk-based approach to processing that maintains good relations with stakeholders, high accuracy and meets Ministerial deadlines.
• Work directly with internal and external stakeholders to progress statutory work both directly and indirectly through staff.
• Where appropriate, in the absence of the Head of Team, represent the team and use delegated powers to make decisions, ensuring the throughput of Orders with minimal delays.
• Supporting the wider Transport Infrastructure Planning Casework Unit’s portfolio of casework and correspondence, providing flexible support across the team to meet business priorities and ensure the timely delivery of ministerial decisions and statutory functions.

For further information on the role, please read the role profile. Please note that the role profile is for information purposes only - whilst all elements are relevant to the role, they may not all be assessed during the recruitment process. This job advert will detail exactly what will be assessed during the recruitment process.

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)

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

How to apply:

Our selection process ensures a comprehensive assessment of each applicant's qualifications, experience, skills, and potential fit within our organisation.

The selection process for this role will be:

Stage 1: Sift of CV and personal statement

Stage 2: Interview

You must be successful at each stage to progress to the next stage.

Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.

Stage 1: Sift

At sift, you will be assessed against the following Success Profile elements:

Experience – you will be asked to provide a CV (unlimited wordcount) and personal statement (750 word count). Please provide evidence of your Experience of the following:

• Knowledge of and experience engaging with transport planning legislation, planning policy and environmental requirements.
• Experience of analysing reports to ensure these are acceptable in legal and policy terms.
• Excellent experience oral and written communication Experience of drafting extensive technical detail for a non-technical audience ensuring attention to detail.

Should a large number of applications be received, an initial sift may be conducted using the lead Experience criteria:

"Knowledge of and experience engaging with transport planning legislation, planning policy and environmental requirements."

Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift or progressed straight to assessment/interview.

The sift will take place from 30th November 2026.

Stage 2: Interview

At interview stage, you will be assessed against the following Success Profile elements:

• Behaviours – Making Effective Decisions, Communicating and Influencing and Working Together
• Experience

The interviews will take place from week 14th December 2026.

This interview will be conducted online via Microsoft Teams. Further details will be provided to you should you be selected for interview.

You can find out more about our hiring process, how to apply, and application and interview guidance on our careers site.

Please note that we will try to meet the dates set out in the advert. There may be occasions when these dates will change.

Further information

Reasonable Adjustments

As a Disability Confident Leader employer, we are committed to ensuring that the recruitment process is fair, accessible and allows all candidates to perform at their best. If a person with a visible or non-visible disability is substantially disadvantaged, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes.

Complete the “Assistance required” section in the “Additional requirements” page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need during the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at an interview, or if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional.

If you need a reasonable adjustment so that you can complete your application, you should contact Government Recruitment Service via dftrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.

Document Accessibility

This job advert contains links to the DfT Careers website. Our website provides useful guidance and information that can support you during the application process. If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert or the information on our website, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section.

For more information about how we hire, and for useful tips on submitting your application for this role, visit the How We Hire page of our DfT Careers website. You can find detailed information about the recruitment process and what to expect when applying for a role.

Pre-employment Checking

If your application is successful but you have been dismissed from the Civil Service, your application could be removed at the pre-employment checking stage depending on the nature of the dismissal.

Applicants who are successful at interview will be, as part of pre-employment screening, subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database (IFD). This check will provide information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences. This check also applies to employees who resign or otherwise leave before being dismissed for fraud or dishonesty had their employment continued. Any applicant’s details held on the IFD will be refused employment. A candidate is not eligible to apply for a role within the Civil Service if the application is made within a 5-year period following a dismissal for carrying out internal fraud against government.

All external applicants and current employees of accredited non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) will be required to undergo a Social Media Check. A Social Media Check is a review of your publicly available online activity, typically across platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, and others. The purpose is to identify any public posts or content that could raise concerns for employers, such as:

• Hate speech or discriminatory behaviour
• Threats or acts of violence
• Illegal activity or substance misuse
• Sexually explicit material
• Extremist views or affiliations

Importantly, this check does not involve hacking into your accounts or accessing private messages. It only considers content you have chosen to make public. Employers use this kind of screening to help ensure their workplace remains safe, inclusive, and aligned with company values. It’s not about judging your personality or lifestyle - it’s about checking for potential red flags that might affect the role or company culture. If you have questions or concerns about the social media check, we would be happy to explain in more detail what’s being looked at and how your data is handled securely and fairly.

For further information on National Security Vetting please visit the Demystifying Vetting website.

Feedback

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