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Digital careers

Your skills, transforming lives through technology.


Introducing Government Digital and Data

Join a community of experts leading digital transformation across government. Together, we are a powerful force creating more efficient services that have a meaningful impact on people’s lives.

Unleash your potential in
Digital and Data

Although a strong technical background is important for a role in digital, you don’t need to be an expert in all areas. In Digital and Data, we apply our problem-solving skills across many different disciplines. 

Not only do we have an excellent understanding of digital processes, we also work with stakeholders, communicating clearly and translating technical ideas to a common understanding that is clear to everyone, ensuring that all our digital services integrate seamlessly with one another. 

Our work in Digital and Data has a direct impact on the way the Inspectorate works with its customers, now and in the future.

What skills are typically required?

The skills and experience we look for will vary depending on the particular role. Here are some example essential skills we’ve listed from previous vacancies.

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  • Salary: £35k – £37k
  • Grade: SEO
  • Essential skills:
  • • Relevant professional qualification for ISTQB Foundation Level Certificate in Software Testing.
  • • Working experience of issue investigation, analysis, raising evidenced defects with service teams, and helping prioritise them based on defect severity.
  • • Working experience of software development lifecycles, live system support and continuous improvement.
  • • Working experience of design and execution of a range of standard testing techniques to ensure delivery against user needs and communicate test results to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
  • • Working experience of testing in an Agile environment (with Agile/DevOps delivery) and working across multi-disciplinary teams.
  • • Working experience of a coding language, working with automation frameworks and tools for functional and non-functional testing.
  • • Experience of working autonomously following guidance and applying structured, risk-based test methods and processes.
  • Salary: £41k – £44k
  • Grade: SEO
  • Essential skills:
  • • Ability to manage relationships with key stakeholder groups, project managers, Information Asset Owners, management board.
  • • Knowledge of cyber and information security tools, principles and best practice.
  • • Relevant professional qualification at practitioner level (e.g. BCS Practitioner Certificate in Information Risk Management) or willingness to study for a qualification within a reasonable length of time.

Salary: £44k – £47k

Grade: G7

Essential skills:

  • • Problem solving experience
  • • Excellent communication, customer engagement and inter-personal skills
  • • Experience of Agile Methodologies
  • • Proficiency in HTML, CSS and JavaScript
  • • Proficiency in MySQL (or equivalent), and PHP
  • • Proficiency in git (or equivalent), UI design and Drupal

“Working in Digital means constant change, and I’m always learning. I have a fair workload and am empowered to manage myself. My colleagues are friendly, and we all work towards the same outcomes. The Planning Inspectorate has given me opportunities to develop and progress based on my contributions.”

Chris Tones

Technical Architect

Work at the forefront of a digital planning system

At the Planning Inspectorate, we’re at the forefront of exciting digital projects that are revolutionising the planning and appeals process. Our team of skilled professionals are working to improve and streamline the appeals and applications services, making the process quicker, easier, and more transparent than ever before. 

Here are some of the exciting digital transformation projects you could be part of:

Making appeals simpler, faster and more cost effective

We’re making it easier for our users, such as appellants, planning agents, councils and citizens, to engage with the appeals process whether they are appealing a planning decision for the first time or submitting case evidence.

Behind this work is a dedicated digital project team working in an agile way to bring these improvements to a live service. They consist of business analysts, programmers, content designers, user researchers and many others types of roles.

Find a National Infrastructure Project

Supporting a key area of the Planning Inspectorate’s work is a digital project team focused on the delivery of a new online hub. ‘Find a National Infrastructure Project’ serves as an essential online resource for the planning process of projects such as large power stations, motorway alterations and power lines.

Following it’s successful launch in March 2024, the project team continue to develop new features following the ‘Service Standard’ of the Government Digital Service.

Driving innovation through enhanced management

An innovative data engineering project at the Planning Inspectorate will see enhanced data management and implementation of the Government Shared Services strategy. The project involves developing data products and services, integrating them into our systems, and producing valuable management information.

This project is a crucial part of our strategic plan and reflects our commitment to continuous improvement and innovation.

‘Find a National Infrastructure Project’, a new online hub for large-scale projects, has been launched by the Planning Inspectorate.

Find out more

Appealing a planning decision has become simpler, faster, and more cost-effective with the launch of our newly introduced service.

Find out how

Find out more about what it’s like to work for the Planning Inspectorate.

Go back to our Hub page

Look on Civil Service Jobs
for all our Planning Inspectorate career opportunities.

Check out our vacancies

Hear from our staff as they share insight, reflection and experience.

Read the Planning Inspectorate blog