Planning, Development and Connectivity Team Leader

• Details
• Reference number
• 475100
• Salary
• £57,515
• National Minimum Salary - £57,515
• London Minimum Salary - £62,034
• A Civil Service Pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

GBP

• Job grade
• Grade 7
• Contract type
• Permanent
• Business area
• DFT - Public Transport and Local Group
• Type of role
• Planning
• Policy
• Strategy
• Working pattern
• Flexible working, Full-time, Job share, Part-time
• Number of jobs available
• 1
• Contents

• Location
• About the job
• Benefits
• Things you need to know
• Apply and further information

Location

Birmingham, Leeds, London

About the job

Job summary

Can you shape and influence transport or planning policy that delivers sustainable outcomes and supports effective decision-making?

Have you developed and implemented transport policy, worked within spatial and/or transport planning systems, and applied your expertise in local plan making or built environment projects?

Are you an experienced built environment professional from the private, local government, or central government sector, with the ambition to achieve (or work towards) RTPI, CIHT, or TPS accreditation?

If so, we’d love to hear from you!

Join a team at the forefront of shaping places, communities, and transport networks for the future. Working collaboratively with colleagues and stakeholders, you’ll help deliver solutions that support economic growth, environmental sustainability, and thriving communities. This is an exciting opportunity to contribute to high-profile projects, influence positive change, and develop your expertise in a supportive and forward-thinking professional environment.

Joining our department comes with many benefits, including:

• Employer pension contribution of 28.97% of your salary. Read more about Civil Service Pensions here
• 25 days annual leave, increasing by 1 day each year of service (up to a maximum of 30 days annual leave), plus 8 bank holidays a privilege day for the King’s birthday
• Flexible working options where we encourage a great work-life balance.

Read more in the Benefits section below!

Find out more about what it's like working at DfTc

Job description

Are you passionate about shaping places, communities, and transport networks that support sustainable growth? Join a high-performing team at the heart of government, where you'll influence planning policy, drive collaboration across organisations, and help deliver better outcomes for communities, the environment, and the economy. Working on high-profile projects and strategic priorities, you'll play a key role in connecting transport and spatial planning, building strong partnerships, and supporting innovative solutions that enable growth across the country

Your responsibilities will include, but aren’t limited to:

• Lead on implementing a wide programme of stakeholder engagement and capability building with Local Authorities on the application of the Connectivity Tool alongside development of relevant national policy to embed usage of the tool at a local level.
• Joint lead on the policy contribution to shape the Connectivity Tool rollout, translating user feedback and insights into tangible delivery options, and shaping the future development roadmap.
• Influencing and negotiating emerging planning legislation, policy and guidance across Government, shape future planning reform work in line with departmental and government priorities and drawing on the place intelligence.
• Assisting in the development of policy to deliver freight and logistics infrastructure, unlock land value capture, future of flight innovation, international planning policy, local transport plan guidance, the Manual for Streets, Transport Assessment Guidance (and capability programme), update to Circular 01/2022.
• Oversee DfT engagement with Local Planning Authorities through the development of their Local Plans, advising on transport policies in relation to new development applications and assessing and supporting any actions that may be required to bring forward economic growth and housing development
• Provide support for cross-departmental work on consolidating the DfT planning function, identifying opportunities for positive change and to ensure the planning service is fit-for-purpose and provides appropriate support to the range of DfT family needs and asks of the planning system and wider consenting regimes.
• Shape future planning policy development including working on New Towns policy, development corporations, development of spatial development strategies and the role of Sub-National Transport Bodies.
• Work closely with the Head of Planning to develop and rollout a programme of continuous professional development STEPP network including wider government collaboration to create a shared pool of expert planners ready for deployment as well identifying departmental resource and capability gaps and devising a strategy to fill those gaps.

Flexible resourcing

Colleagues are expected to work with a degree of flexibility, meaning responsibilities may change to support priority delivery.

For further information on the role, please read the role profile . Please note that the role profile is for information purposes only - whilst all elements are relevant to the role, they may not all be assessed during the recruitment process. This job advert will detail exactly what will be assessed during the recruitment process.

Person specification

To be successful in this role you will need to have the following experience:

• Experience developing and influencing policy, with an understanding of legislative processes and how policy translates into effective decision-making.
• Strong knowledge of spatial and/or transport planning systems, with a proven ability to develop and implement sustainable transport solutions within planning frameworks.
• Professional experience within the built environment sector, gained in private, local, or central government settings, with a commitment to professional development and accreditation (RTPI, CIHT or TPS desirable).

Additional Information

Working hours, office attendance and travel requirements

Full time roles consist of 37 hours per week.

Whilst we welcome applications from those looking to work with us on a part time basis, there is a business requirement for the successful candidate to be able to work at least 30 hours per week.

This role is suitable for hybrid working, which is a non-contractual arrangement where a combination of workplace and home-based working can be accommodated subject to business requirements.

The expectation at present is a minimum of 60% of your working time a month will be spent at either your designated workplace (one of the locations cited in the advert) or, when required for business reasons, in another office/work location/visiting stakeholders. Your designated workplace will be your contractual place of work. There may be occasions where you are required to attend above the minimum expectation.

Occasional travel to other offices will be required, which may involve overnight stays.

If you have a question about hybrid working, part time/job share hours, flexible working, travelling for work, or require a reasonable adjustment, please contact the Vacancy Holder during the recruitment process to avoid possible disappointment later in the process should your working arrangements not be compatible with the requirements of the role (see below for contact details).

Visa Sponsorship

Sponsorship is not offered for this role. Successful applicants must ensure they have and maintain the legal right to live and work in the United Kingdom.

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Seeing the Big Picture
• Making Effective Decisions
• Communicating and Influencing
• Working Together

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £57,515, Department for Transport contributes £16,662 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides .

Being part of our brilliant Civil Service means you will have access to a wide range of fantastic benefits:

• Employer pension contribution of 28.97% of your salary. Read more about Civil Service Pensions here
• 25 days annual leave, increasing by 1 day each year of service (up to a maximum of 30 days annual leave).
• 8 Bank Holidays plus an additional Privilege Day to mark the King’s birthday.
• Access to the staff discount portal.
• Excellent career development opportunities and the potential to undertake professional qualifications relevant to your role paid for by the department, such as CIPD, Prince2, apprenticeships, etc.
• Joining a diverse and inclusive workforce with a range of staff communities to support all our colleagues.
• 24-hour Employee Assistance Programme providing free confidential help and advice for staff.
• Flexible working options where we encourage a great work-life balance.

Find out more about the benefits of working at DfT and its agencies .

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles , and will assess your Behaviours and Experience.

How to apply:

Our selection process ensures a comprehensive assessment of each applicant's qualifications, skills, and potential fit within our organisation.

The selection process for this role will be:

Stage 1: Sift of CV and personal statement

Stage 2: Interview

You must be successful at each stage to progress to the next stage.

Stage 1: Sift

At sift, you will be assessed against the following Success Profile elements:

• Experience – you will be asked to provide a CV (unlimited wordcount) and personal statement (1000-word count). Please provide evidence of your Experience of the following:
• Experience with policy development and familiarity with legislative processes
• Proven track record of developing and implementing sustainable transport policy in local plan making and decision taking
• Experience and detailed knowledge of the spatial and/or transport planning systems
• Experience working as a built environment professional whether in the private sector, local government or central government.

The sift will take place from 28th August 2026.

Stage 2: Interview

At interview stage, you will be assessed against the following Success Profile elements:

• Behaviours – Seeing the Big Picture, Making Effective Decisions, Communicating and Influencing and Working Together

You will also be required to create and deliver a presentation to assess the Behaviour Seeing the Big Picture. Guidance will be provided if you are invited to interview.

The interviews will take place week commencing 14th September 2026.

This interview will be conducted online via Microsoft Teams. Further details will be provided to you should you be selected for interview.

You can find out more about our hiring process, how to apply, and application and interview guidance on our careers site .

Please note that we will try to meet the dates set out in the advert. There may be occasions when these dates will change

Further information on the selection process

We will also hold a 12- month reserve list for this role, which may lead to potential opportunities beyond the role you applied for.

If your application is successful but you have been dismissed from the Civil Service, your application could be removed at the pre-employment checking stage depending on the nature of the dismissal.

Applicants who are successful at interview will be, as part of pre-employment screening, subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database (IFD). This check will provide information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences. This check also applies to employees who resign or otherwise leave before being dismissed for fraud or dishonesty had their employment continued. Any applicant’s details held on the IFD will be refused employment. A candidate is not eligible to apply for a role within the Civil Service if the application is made within a 5-year period following a dismissal for carrying out internal fraud against government.

All external applicants and current employees of accredited non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) will be required to undergo a Social Media Check. A Social Media Check is a review of your publicly available online activity, typically across platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, and others. The purpose is to identify any public posts or content that could raise concerns for employers, such as:

• Hate speech or discriminatory behaviour
• Threats or acts of violence
• Illegal activity or substance misuse
• Sexually explicit material
• Extremist views or affiliations

Importantly, this check does not involve hacking into your accounts or accessing private messages. It only considers content you have chosen to make public. Employers use this kind of screening to help ensure their workplace remains safe, inclusive, and aligned with company values. It’s not about judging your personality or lifestyle - it’s about checking for potential red flags that might affect the role or company culture. If you have questions or concerns about the social media check, we would be happy to explain in more detail what’s being looked at and how your data is handled securely and fairly.

Reasonable Adjustments

As a Disability Confident Leader employer, we are committed to ensuring that the recruitment process is fair, accessible and allows all candidates to perform at their best. If a person with a visible or non-visible disability is substantially disadvantaged, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes.

Complete the “Assistance required” section in the “Additional requirements” page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need during the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at an interview, or if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional.

If you need a reasonable adjustment so that you can complete your application, you should contact Government Recruitment Service via dftrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.

Document Accessibility

This job advert contains links to the DfT Careers website. Our website provides useful guidance and information that can support you during the application process. If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert or the information on our website, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section.

Further Information

For more information about how we hire, and for useful tips on submitting your application for this role, visit the How We Hire page of our DfT Careers website. You can find detailed information about the recruitment process and what to expect when applying for a role.

Feedback

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

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a basic (or equivalent) criminal record check.

People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

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)
• 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

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles .

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy .

Apply and further information

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans initiative.

The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window).

Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

• Name : Robert Singleton
• Email : Robert.Singleton@dft.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : dftrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

Further information

If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles and you wish to make a complaint, in the first instance, you should contact Government Recruitment Services via email: dftrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Department, you can contact the Civil Service Commission: Visit the Civil Service Commission website Here