Head of Planning and Environmental Appeals Service

We are looking for an experienced leader to join us as Head of Planning and Environmental Appeals Service. In this role, you will lead one of our key operational services, ensuring it delivers 20,000 high-quality and timely appeals per year, meeting user needs, performance standards and organisational priorities. As Service Owner, you will oversee the end-to-end delivery of this casework, lead service improvement and help ensure decisions are delivered efficiently and effectively.

This is an opportunity to make a meaningful impact on a service that affects communities across England. You will lead a large and diverse workforce, work with colleagues across the organisation and build effective relationships with government departments, service users and stakeholders. Your leadership will help ensure the service continues to meet changing demands while delivering excellent public service.

The Planning Inspectorate has a long and proud history in ensuring a fair planning system for England. Our work has a direct impact on people’s lives, the communities they live in and the economy. We are committed to creating a flexible, collaborative workplace and continually looking for new ways to improve how we deliver our services.

For further information on the Planning Inspectorate, please visit our careers page at Civil Service Careers

Be part of the Operational Delivery Profession (ODP)

This role is part of the Operational Delivery Profession - the largest profession in the Civil Service, with over 300,000 members. ODP professionals are the public face of government, delivering essential services to millions of people every day. As a member of this profession, you'll have access to a wide range of development opportunities, a supportive community, and a clear framework to grow your career.

To learn more about the Operational Delivery Profession, visit ODP 101 to learn all there is to know

You'll bring experience of leading complex operational services and delivering improvements in a fast-paced environment. You'll be comfortable balancing competing priorities, managing resources effectively and using data and evidence to make informed decisions. You'll have the ability to look ahead, understand emerging challenges and opportunities, and translate organisational priorities into practical plans that improve performance and outcomes

We're looking for someone who builds positive working relationships and communicates effectively with a wide range of people. You'll be able to work collaboratively, influence others and bring people together around a common goal. You will value different perspectives, support inclusive ways of working and create an environment where people can develop, contribute and perform at their best.

You will be someone who takes ownership, shows sound judgement and is committed to continuous improvement. Most importantly, you'll be motivated by delivering high-quality public services and helping others succeed and delivering positive outcomes for our service users and stakeholders.

Office Attendance

This role is based at our Bristol office, a 10-minute walk from Temple Meads station. We offer a flexible hybrid working approach, with office attendance guided by business needs and discussed at interview. We're also excited to be relocating to a new Bristol office in December, while maintaining excellent transport links.

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, Strengths, Experience and Technical skills.

Application

Complete the online application form on Civil Service Jobs which requires the following information:

• A CV: Use this section to provide details of your employment history, including your roles, dates of employment and key responsibilities. Tailor your employment history to demonstrate how your experience meets the requirements of the role. Please enter this information directly into the application form, as you cannot attach your CV.
• A Personal Statement (1000 words max): The personal statement lets you explain why you're a good fit for the job in more detail. Use it to show how you meet the essential criteria listed in our advert and connect your answers to the Success Profile elements we're looking for.
• 250 word statement against the Lead Sift Criteria (Stated below) - This allows you to outline your experience and will only be used if there are a large number of applications. The minimum standard must be reached for applications to proceed.

If there are many applications, we might use a lead sift. This means we'll first check if you meet the key requirement listed below. If you don't, we won't review the rest of your application.

• Proven experience of leading and improving complex operational services, delivering successful outcomes while balancing competing priorities, customer needs and available resources.

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 and strength questions
• Need to prepare and deliver a presentation
• Facilitate a Staff Panel discussion

Candidates who pass the shortlist stage will receive full assessment details with their interview invitations.

Other Information

Shortlist Date: w/c 16 November 2026

Interview Date: 30 November 2026

Interviews will be held at The Planning Inspectorate, Bristol, further details will be sent with the invite to interview.

The Planning Inspectorate does not fund travel and subsistence for candidates to attend interviews.

Reserve list

A reserve list may be held for a period of 9 months from which further appointments can be made.

Future Matches

Candidates who demonstrate strong potential and future readiness but score just below the required level at interview may be considered for alternative positions. These roles may be at a lower grade but align with their skills and offer opportunities for growth.

Merit list order

We appoint in merit list order, starting with any permanent appointments followed by any fixed term appointments.

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.

ID and Documents

If the job needs specific qualifications or memberships and you get the job, you'll need to send scanned or photographed images of them before you start.

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/Reasonable Adjustments

The Civil Service values diversity and offers equal opportunities. We have a Disability Confident Interview scheme for candidates with disabilities who meet the job's minimum criteria. We will also provide reasonable adjustments to all where possible. For more information please see Reasonable Adjustments , Civil Service Careers.

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