Job Description

Salary: 39,862 to 47,181 per annum
Contract Type: Permanent
Working Pattern: Full time - 37 hours per week
Location: Based at County Hall, Chichester with hybrid working available
The Transport Planning and Policy team is currently recruiting for a Senior Transport Planner to join the team. The role requires you to work on a range of strategic highways and transport matters to achieve the vision and objectives of the West Sussex Transport Plan.
The role will involve you developing transport policies and using transport planning tools to analyse issues and create potential solutions to these. This is an exciting time to be joining the team; the role will help to shape the County Council's response to the Government's Integrated National Transport Strategy, a new strategic authority for Sussex & Brighton and two new local plans that are going through their examination processes. You'll need to have extensive knowledge and experience in transport planning to be successful in the role. So, if you feel that your skills and experience are a match, read on to find out more about the role.
As an employer we recognise that it is our employees that are central to everything we do. We aim to create a supportive and dynamic working environment where employees can achieve their full potential, achieve a healthy work-life balance and are rewarded for the work they do. Upon joining us you will have access to a range of benefits including the following:
As part of the Transport Planning and Policy team, subscription fees can also be paid for one relevant professional body. For a full list, please visit our
The Opportunity
In this role, you'll need to demonstrate extensive knowledge and experience of transport planning, including development of transport policies, infrastructure and service improvements, and understanding and mitigating the impacts of development.
You will lead on the development of long-term strategic plans for places and communities with complex needs in line with the West Sussex Transport Plan.
You will need to build and maintain productive relationships with transport providers, local planning authorities, developers and County Councillors, and be able to influence others.
You will need to be able to organise your own workload, anticipate problems and make informed decisions to provide a customer-focused service. You will be comfortable balancing competing priorities and communicating about contentious issues to a range of audiences.
This is a career grade post that provides an opportunity for career progression from Grade 10 to 11, subject to demonstrating the relevant competencies through regular performance conversations. Training and development opportunities will be supported, and the successful candidate will be encouraged to pursue professional accreditation from a relevant body such as the Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation.
About you
Some of the key skills, experience and knowledge required to be successful in the role include:

• Ability to research, analyse and interpret complex and varied information to ensure potential solutions are found. Knowledge of the technical tools used to do this (e.g. transport models) is important too.
• Working independently and proactively to manage your workload and prioritise accordingly.
• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbally, to enable clear exchanges of complex/sensitive information with various stakeholders.
• Experience of writing sound and robust reports, articles and briefing papers.
• Application of project management principles and practices on small projects. Experience in project delivery and budget management is also essential.
• Ability to build and maintain credible working relationships with a multitude of stakeholders and knowledge of the customer base to support the development of policy and improvements.
• Advanced theoretical and procedural knowledge in an appropriate specialist work area.
• Knowledge of external funding sources and their use to fund transport schemes.
• Experience in delating to colleagues and providing training

For more information on the Key Skills as well as the Qualifications and/or experience required, please refer to the attached.
About us
Planning Services is made up of seven teams and Transport Planning and Policy sits within this. The service is also part of the wider Highways, Transport and Planning Directorate. The overall aims of Planning Services are to ensure that decisions made about planning and development make a positive difference to the economy, people and places of West Sussex, and to enable the delivery of the right infrastructure, in the right place, at the right time.
The work of the Service includes undertaking statutory and other functions relating to planning, highways and development, influencing other decision-makers, and working in partnership with other organisations and bodies to achieve a range of broad and, sometimes, long-term outcomes.
Further information
The reference number for this role is EIE01509.
For an informal conversation or for further information regarding the role, please contact Darryl Hemmings (Transport Planning and Policy Manager) at
For issues or queries regarding your application, please contact
To apply, please follow the links below to upload your CV and Cover Letter. In your cover letter please outline your motivations for applying and explaining the skills and experience you can bring to the role (please refer to the key skills) ensuring that any gaps in employment are covered in your CV. Please ensure you have saved the job description attached to the main advert on our website as, once the job has closed, you may not have the opportunity to download again.
We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. This post is subject to 3 years referencing and a health check.
Equity, inclusion and accessibility is very important to West Sussex County Council. We welcome and encourage applications from everyone, as this helps us build a diverse and talented workforce, that reflects the communities we serve. We ensure our approach to recruitment is flexible and supportive to enable all applicants to be at their best and to ensure they have the best possible chance of success.
We operate a guaranteed interview scheme for applicants that have a disability, are a veteran or are a care leaver. More information can be found on our page.
EC
Available documents

Skills Required