Digital Planning Officer

Gloucestershire County Council is hiring for a Digital Planning Officer to join the Gloucester City Council family. The role sits within a dynamic planning development team and offers hybrid working in a city centre office. This post is open to job share and would suit someone keen to help modernise planning services by blending planning knowledge with digital tools and data improvements.

The successful candidate will work on a fixed-term basis for six months, with a salary of £31,525 to £33,673 per annum. The role is 37 hours per week, with part-time arrangements considered. The main office is located at the Eastgate Centre on Eastgate Street, in the heart of Gloucester, and the council emphasises flexible and agile ways of working to support a good work-life balance. The position falls under Gloucester City Council, and Gloucester is part of The Open Digital Planning community focused on shaping better planning services.

Additional context: the council is not currently able to offer sponsorship for this role, and candidates must have the right to work for at least six months. The post itself is open to job share, and there is a formal process with a 25 October 2026 closing date and a shortlisting process planned for the week of 2 November 2026.

Shaping Gloucester’s planning with digital tools

In this role you’ll help modernise the local planning service by pairing planning know-how with digital, data and service improvement skills. You’ll contribute to delivering user‑focused digital tools, lift the quality of planning data, and streamline processes so officers and external stakeholders can use digital systems more effectively. A good understanding of the UK planning system and experience in a planning team will help you connect with colleagues. If you’ve worked with planning applications and document management systems and have GIS or map-based system knowledge, you’ll feel right at home. Being well organized, with solid problem‑solving abilities and the confidence to explain technical details to a mix of colleagues and external partners will help you succeed.

What we need from you

• Support testing and rollout of changes in the Planning service to boost delivery quality and ensure a customer‑focused approach.
• Coordinate system changes and service improvements by working with planning officers, ICT, customer services, GIS, data teams, software suppliers and external partners.
• Prepare guidance, training materials and briefing notes to help colleagues adopt new digital systems and ways of working.
• Represent the Council on digital planning projects, ensuring the Council’s interests are protected in internal and external discussions.

Pay, benefits and practical details you should know

• Flexible and hybrid working opportunities
• Generous annual leave entitlement
• An option to purchase 10 days of additional leave per year (pro rata for part-time staff)
• Two days of paid leave each year to participate in local volunteering activities
• Excellent Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) and life cover of three times your salary
• Regular training, career development and qualification opportunities
• Supportive working environment with regular supervision
• Employee Assistance Programme with free, confidential counselling available 24 hours a day, online and by phone, plus in-house occupational health
• Enhanced family-friendly leave and pay
• Cycle to Work scheme (salary sacrifice, terms and conditions apply)
• Employee discount scheme
• Discounted tickets for local events and reduced-rate use of GL1 facilities
• Free flu jabs
• Access to employee networks and equalities groups for a diverse, supportive workplace

Advice for applicants

Lead with the parts of your background that match the role’s digital planning focus. If you have experience testing and implementing changes in a planning environment, put that at the top of your CV and give a concrete example of how you improved service delivery for customers.

Show how you’ve worked across diverse teams, planning, ICT, GIS, data groups and external partners, to coordinate system changes and drive service improvements. Use a specific project to illustrate your collaboration and what you achieved.

Demonstrate your ability to create practical training materials and briefing notes. Mention any guidance you’ve produced to help colleagues adopt new systems or digital ways of working, including how you measured adoption and impact.

Be ready to discuss your involvement in digital planning projects and what you did to safeguard the council’s interests. If you’ve represented a council or department on digital initiatives, describe the context and outcomes, and consider a question you’d ask about current digital planning priorities.

How to apply

If you feel you have the skills, desire, relevant experience and passion to help deliver the city’s ambitions, submit your application and personal statement today by clicking the “Apply Now” Button.

For an informal discussion about the role, please contact Joann Meneaud via email at [email protected].

Closing date: Sunday 25 October 2026. Short-listed candidates will be contacted by e-mail and invited to interview in the week commencing 2 November 2026. The job profile can be accessed here: Job Profile: Digital Planning Officer. Job Requisition Number: 15015.

The council is not able to offer sponsorship for this role. Candidates will need right-to-work that allows six months of employment, and right to work is not transferable from a sponsored role held with another employer. Applications from Gloucester City Council employees on redeployment or at risk of redundancy will be considered first at shortlisting.

Gloucester City Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. The council promotes equality and diversity and will recruit the person best suited to the job regardless of race, religion, age, or other protected characteristics.