Senior Planning Enforcement Officer

How you'll make a difference As a Senior Planning Enforcement Officer, you will play a vital role in making South Gloucestershire a safe, sustainable and attractive place to live, work and visit. Working as part of a dedicated team, you will contribute to the delivery of a high-quality built environment, helping to protect and enhance the area for the benefit and enjoyment of all residents and visitors. What you will be doing You will be responsible for leading a small team of Planning Enforcement Investigators, overseeing initial site visits to identify breaches of planning control, compliance monitoring and matters relating to the Community Infrastructure Levy. It will be your responsibility to manage a caseload of 40–60 cases of varying complexity, progressing them through to resolution in an effective and timely manner. You will also support team members in managing their own caseloads and deputise for line managers as required. This is a varied role, in addition to investigating alleged breaches of planning control, you will determine planning applications, prepare and defend appeals and take forward legal proceedings where necessary. You will gain end-to-end experience of the planning process, including pre-application advice, application handling and post-decision work. Responding to both internal and external enquiries, you will provide professional advice and deliver a high-quality, customer focused service. You will be expected to exercise sound judgement and make informed decisions, particularly when dealing with complex or unprecedented cases. What we need from you It is essential that you hold a professional qualification in town planning, a relevant transferable degree or can demonstrate equivalent experience. You will have proven experience working within planning enforcement, with the confidence and capability to provide guidance and support to officers within the team. You must have a sound understanding of planning legislation and its practical application. We require you to be a confident communicator, both verbally and in writing, with the ability to apply diplomacy and sound judgement when managing challenging situations. Given the nature of the role, strong organisational skills are essential, with the ability to manage your workload effectively and meet deadlines. What you need to know You will predominantly be office based, however site visits/meetings will be required for casework. The nature of the duties of this role will require you to travel therefore, you must have a full, current valid driving licence and access to a vehicle. Interviews to be held week beginning 8th June 2026. How a career at South Gloucestershire Council is different We know our team work best when they have balance in their lives and we offer genuine flexibility to help them achieve that work/life balance. We value our staff as individuals, investing in their careers and we are recognised for the quality, breadth and depth of our training and development offer, which helps make the greatest long-term difference in work. As part of our benefits package you will receive generous annual leave (pro rata), employee wellbeing support and you will have access to a range of staff discounts, including eye tests, travel, shopping and leisure activities. We recognise that our diverse team of skilled and dedicated people make us a great place to work. We welcome applications from everyone and ensure that individuals are selected, promoted and developed on the basis of their merits and abilities. Our teams at South Gloucestershire Council are making a real difference to the lives of people who live, work and learn here. We’re providing essential services across our internal network to ensure we can fully support our community. We’re positive and forward thinking, always looking for new and innovative ways of working work and we’re ambitious about the future. We've achieved a great deal, but we need talented and dedicated people to ensure we continue to make a difference. We’re making a difference, be part of it! To view the full job description, please click this link:Senior Planning Enforcement Officer job description You will be responsible for leading a small team of Planning Enforcement Investigators, overseeing initial site visits to identify breaches of planning control, compliance monitoring and matters relating to the Community Infrastructure Levy. It will be your responsibility to manage a caseload of 40–60 cases of varying complexity, progressing them through to resolution in an effective and timely manner. You will also support team members in managing their own caseloads and deputise for line managers as required. This is a varied role, in addition to investigating alleged breaches of planning control, you will determine planning applications, prepare and defend appeals and take forward legal proceedings where necessary. You will gain end-to-end experience of the planning process, including pre-application advice, application handling and post-decision work. Responding to both internal and external enquiries, you will provide professional advice and deliver a high-quality, customer focused service. You will be expected to exercise sound judgement and make informed decisions, particularly when dealing with complex or unprecedented cases. It is essential that you hold a professional qualification in town planning, a relevant transferable degree or can demonstrate equivalent experience. You will have proven experience working within planning enforcement, with the confidence and capability to provide guidance and support to officers within the team. You must have a sound understanding of planning legislation and its practical application. We require you to be a confident communicator, both verbally and in writing, with the ability to apply diplomacy and sound judgement when managing challenging situations. Given the nature of the role, strong organisational skills are essential, with the ability to manage your workload effectively and meet deadlines.