Somerset Council
Planning Technician
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Planning Technician
Planning Technician
Closing date: 12 July 2026
Salary: Grade 12, ranging from £28,598 - £32,061 per annum.
About the Role
The Planning Technician is a multi-skilled case officer responsible for validating, processing, and assessing a wide range of planning applications and service requests. You will provide technical and administrative support across the planning service, ensuring compliance with relevant legislation, policies, and procedures.
As a key point of contact, you will deliver clear and accurate advice to customers, businesses, and colleagues, managing enquiries and cases efficiently within statutory requirements and service standards. Additionally, you will support service delivery through system administration, data management, consultations, and report production, applying sound judgement to resolve technical queries and maintain high-quality systems related to Planning, Enforcement & Appeals.
With a strong focus on customer service, this role will see you contributing to continuous improvement, delivering a high-quality, collaborative planning service.
Responsibilities
- Evaluation of planning applications, plans, and reports to ensure compliance with legislation; acting as the main point of contact for customers to maximise service excellence.
- Managing enquiries, investigations, and case resolutions efficiently.
- Supporting the smooth running of the service through:
- System administration, validation, and consultations.
- Procurement, invoicing, and debt management.
- Data management, reporting, FOI responses, and meeting support.
- Staying up to date with changes in legislation, policy, and procedures, offering clear, practical advice to customers and colleagues as required.
- Contributing to legal processes, including preparing statements and attending court when necessary.
- Prioritising and managing a varied caseload of:
- Application validation.
- Appeals, enforcement cases, and technical queries.
- Collaborating with customers, businesses, and partners to develop solutions, while efficiently resolving complaints.
- Applying technical expertise to:
- Manage and resolve service requests in alignment with policy.
- Sustain and develop key systems (including Uniform and Acolaid), maintaining compliance with evolving legislation.
- Supporting, coordinating, and contributing to projects, such as system and legislative changes, ensuring comprehensive record-keeping and high data quality improvements across systems.
- Providing guidance and training to colleagues.
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Requirements
We’re seeking an applicant who can demonstrate:
- Knowledge of planning legislation, backed by previous work experience that fulfills the necessary skills and proficiency.
- Experience in dealing with members of the public and in case managing planning applications.
- Experience working with various databases, generating reports for performance and audit management.
- GCSE in English and Mathematics, or equivalent experience, combined with education at A-level standard or equivalent experience.
- Exceptional customer service, organisational skills, and teamwork capabilities.
- Strong communication skills, essential for enjoyable collaboration.
- Fluency in standard IT systems, familiarity with databases, financial, and stock ordering systems, executed efficiently and with high accuracy.
- Proficiency in following operational procedures, while contributing to their ongoing development.
- Skill to navigate and handle complex situations while demonstrating empathy, sensitivity, and diplomacy in public-facing environments.
- Ability to maintain strong relationships with colleagues, partners, and business representatives.
- Adaptability to prioritise competing demands, manage diverse workloads with innovative problem-solving techniques, and advocate for improvements and service development initiatives.
- A capacity to acknowledge and escalate issues to senior officers who possess more advanced skills.
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Additional Details
- Permanent position (37 hours per week).
- Hybrid working arrangement, enabling you to work from either home or one of our offices (by agreement) post-training.
- 28 days of annual leave (excluding bank holidays).
Regrettably, sponsorship is not available for this opportunity. Candidates must possess legal work rights in the UK.
For informal discussions regarding the role, please get in touch with the relevant team leaders:
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