Planning & Data Support Technician

Job Title: Planning & Data Support Technician

Hours: Part time, 16 hours per week - ideally across 3 or 4 short days. 

Advertised Salary: c.£30,250 + benefits

The Canal & River Trust’s work is focused on making life better by water. The Trust is the charity who look after and bring to life 2000 miles of canals & rivers. Our waterways contribute to the health and wellbeing of local communities and economies, creating attractive and connected places to live, work, volunteer and spend leisure time. These historic, natural, and cultural assets form part of the strategic and local green-blue infrastructure network, linking urban and rural communities as well as habitats. Our waterways are on the doorstep of 8 million people and reach some of the most deprived communities within the UK. By caring for our waterways and promoting their use we believe we can improve the wellbeing of our nation.

Our National Spatial Planning Team has a significant role to play in this by utilising effectively the planning system to champion the many benefits that our waterways offer, protecting the Trust's assets, generating value, and creating sustainable and accessible places where people want to live, visit, work and invest. The diverse nature of the Trust’s assets, our activities, users, and stakeholders present a variety of opportunities for planners within our high performing spatial planning team.

We are looking to appoint another Planning & Data Support Technician to join our team part time (16 hours per week). In this role you will provide a technical planning support function, through use of the planning consultation database and associated processes, to manage responding to consultations on third party planning applications; enabling the Trust to effectively and efficiently meet its obligations as Statutory Consultee for Planning Application Consultations. 

Experience of communicating and collating, recording, storing and sharing data promptly and accurately is important, to administer time critical processes reliably. Experience in a planning environment would be beneficial.

Location and coverage

The role will be based working from home, with the allocation of a nearby Hub for collaborative working in Ellesmere Port, Birmingham, Hatton (Warwick) Milton Keynes or Newark. 

This is a national role and there will be an expectation that the successful candidate will be able travel occasionally (1/2 a month) to attend meetings or fieldwork throughout the  waterway network. 

See our network here (https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/enjoy-the-waterways/canal-and-river-network). 

Job purpose

Use of the planning database to log council consultations for the planners including mapping them, run workload and, performance and related reports, and liaise with colleagues internally & externally to ensure the continued operation and support of the planning database. 

Key accountabilities

Statutory Consultee Performance.  Responsible for day-to-day operation of the statutory consultee planning inbox to ensure the Trust is able to meet its obligations as Statutory Consultee, including:

• Ensuring all relevant consultations are plotted on GIS and logged accurately onto the Planning Consultation Database in accordance with the timescales set out in the mandatory standard before forwarding on to the relevant Planner.
• Liaising with all of the Planning Authorities which intersect with the Trust’s Notified Consultation Zone to resolve any technical issues or errors with consultation documentation.
• To ensure accuracy and resolve any queries pertaining to consultations received before logging to ensure a high quality of information available across the organisation through MyMap, and to external customers via the Trust website and weekly list of planning consultations.
• Generate other data reports using data held in the planning consultation database as required, e.g. to inform internal consultee KPIs.
• Collate planning team data, monitor and liaise with colleagues in other teams across the Trust and at LPAs to share data around third party planning application projects where follow up may be required. 

Supporting productivity and quality of Customer Service:

• Provide data and feedback to Planning Manager regarding emerging patterns in workflow of statutory consultations, emerging issues with the planning database, emerging issues with specific LPAs etc to enable them to liaise with the appropriate members of the management team to address these.
• Carry out regular reviews of the planning teams‘ records of requests for Conditions & Obligations, checking LPA websites for Decision Notices and Legal Agreements, and notifying the case owner accordingly.
• Maintain LPA website details on the Planning Consultation Database for inclusion on the Weekly Planning List which is published on the Trust website.
• Maintain a log of planning consultations returned to LPAs to inform planners targeting LPAs for further engagement.

Team responsibilities:

• Provide cover for Planning and Design Teams Buddying process for Lone Working when required.
• Provide cover for other postholders when absent to ensure the daily logging of planning consultations and inbox checking is maintained.

About you

Technical:

• Computer literate with experience in the use of GIS tools & systems and good working knowledge of Microsoft office applications.
• Effective communication skills to enable verbal and written communication with Local Planning Authorities.
• Effective knowledge of IT software for use for analytical and reporting purposes.
• Basic understanding of the planning and statutory consultee process useful.  

General:

• Ability to develop good working relationships with members of the planning team and other colleagues and the ability to communicate with them effectively on planning database related and other matters.
• Highly attentive to detail to ensure accuracy in relation to statutory consultations, information published weekly on the Trust website and data input, to support robust performance reporting.
• Integrity in handling sensitive personal data
• Effective analytical skills in relation to verbal, written and numerical data.
• An attention to detail to ensure accuracy, robustness and compliance of data stored.

To apply:  click on the "Apply for this job" button and follow the process - complete the application form & upload your current CV

If you have any questions at all please contact CRT.recruitment@canalrivertrust.org.uk,  We'd love to discuss these opportunities with you. 

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient suitable applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible.

In addition to your annual base salary of c.£30,250 (full time equivalent), we also offer a competitive contributory DC Pension scheme arrangement, and numerous other employee benefits, including several salary sacrifice benefits.  We are also open to flexible working arrangements. Further details can be found here (https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/about-us/work-for-us/our-benefits) and below: 

• Prorata - 25 days paid holiday, plus paid Bank Holidays, increasing to 27 days plus Bank Holidays after 3 years.
• Competitive contributory DC Pension scheme arrangement, where we will double your contribution to a maximum of 10%.
• Home working status with ‘hub’ facilities available if a need to work outside of home – flexibility. Monday to Friday working, no weekend working.
• Annual £200 personal learning & growth award to spend on any learning related activity – hobbies; aspirations etc.
• Free access to specialist counselling on a range of issues – health; financial; lifestyle; well-being; domestic & neighbourly matters.
• Access to a range of employee benefits including – store discounts; boating holiday discounts; holiday purchase scheme.
• Expansive maternity/paternity provisions.
• Progressive access to learning tools and CPD.
• 2 days paid volunteering leave, volunteering for local community project work.

At the Trust we care passionately for our waterways, and as importantly, for those who look after and use them. We strongly believe that a diverse workforce brings with it a diversity of ideas, thinking and ways of working which enhances what we do as a Trust. We are striving to represent the diverse communities that we are a part of and welcome applicants from across all sectors of the community.

All candidates will be treated on the basis of their merits, skills and abilities and solely by being assessed against the requirements for the job.

When you join the Canal & River Trust you become a member of an engaged team working to preserve our heritage for future generations. Come and share your passion and knowledge with a team that makes a difference to millions of people every day.

Find out more about us on our website: https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/about-us