About The Role
The Career Grade Planning Enforcement Officer role is designed to support progression through different roles from Planning Enforcement Officer to a Senior Planning Enforcement Officer. You will be looking to build on your experience in Planning Enforcement and will have gained experience in informal and formal enforcement matters, including preparing and issuing Notices, prosecutions and appeals ideally. You will be ambitious for new opportunities and want to work as part of dynamic and friendly team to meet the Borough's ambitions. You will be capable of managing a caseload of planning enforcement cases with support from senior officers. You will have good people, organisational and writing skills and a keenness to learn and expand your experience.
This is a key role for the delivery of the Council's strategic corporate priorities. Working for us you will have the opportunity to make a real difference for our residents. If you're looking for an exciting challenge in a flexible, modern and accommodating working culture, come and join us on our journey.
Please refer to the Job Description attached for more information.
For an informal discussion about the role please contact David Bloom, Planning Enforcement Manager on or by email
Please refer to the Job Description attached for more information.
Candidate Profile
It is desirable for the candidate to have a First degree or equivalent that would allow entry onto RTPI accredited postgraduate degree, a good understanding of current issues and developments affecting planning, regeneration and local government in London; An understanding of main central government and development plan policy issues including development management legislation. From a planning enforcement perspective, you will need a good understanding of the operation of local government, experience of providing a support function to a Planning Service and to provide an effective and responsive planning enforcement services on a mixed caseload of breaches, including large, complex and specialised types and issues and drafting serving enforcement notices and giving evidence in court. Appeal experience for written representation and hearings procedure is desirable.
You will have gained a good level of experience in investigations, working effectively in a team and independently as well as being able to manage your time and to be able to proritise casework. You will need to demonstrate competence in customer care and have the ability to work effectively under pressure and handle stress. You will be a logical thinker with attention to detail and ability to analyse and weigh complex issues and achieve a quality / quantity balance. You will also have gained a good proficiency in general IT skills, including database management and Electronic Data Management (EDM).
The successful candidate will be able to display a good level of ability in letter writing; clear reports on a wide range of planning issues; exhibit a clear & comprehensible writing style in line with Plain English principles. Your verbal communication skills will be effective in difficult situations and to be able to demonstrate a good level of proficiency in negotiation with clear listening, questioning and reasoning ability. The role will develop your abilities in assertiveness in seeking to resolve cases and you will need to demonstrate effective presentation skills. This will include the ability to speak with confidence and accuracy, using accurate sentence structures and vocabulary; Ability to choose the right kind of vocabulary for the situation in hand without a great deal of hesitation; Ability to listen to customers and understand their needs and the ability to tailor your approach to each conversation appropriate to the customer, responding clearly even in complex situations.
For the full list of essential and desirable criteria for this role then please refer to the Person Specification within the Job Description attached.
About Us
Bexley is a vibrant and diverse outer London Borough nestled in the Thames Gateway between London and Kent which means it combines the perfect blend of city vibe and the tranquillity of Kent. It's got award-winning parks, open spaces, and heritage sites. The borough has excellent transport connections, including the Elizabeth Line and proximity to the M25. Bexley offers fantastic amenities such as libraries, leisure centres, and shopping areas. Our borough is also home to numerous primary and secondary schools, as well as further education institutions.
Our Offer to you
We will offer you in return a package that includes a competitive salary, an excellent pension scheme and generous annual leave plus bank holidays. For more information on the benefits package on offer please refer to the Candidate Information document attached.
Recruitment Information
As a disability confident employer Bexley welcomes applications from people with all disabilities, including hidden disabilities and mental health conditions. We will interview any disabled applicant who meets the minimum criteria. If you require reasonable adjustments to be made to any part of the recruitment process due to your disability, please contact us on
This role may be available as a development opportunity through secondment for the Council's existing employees. The Council's Secondment Scheme can be found here. If this option is of interest, please contact the recruiting manager.
We reserve the right to close adverts earlier than the closing date.