Senior Planning Policy Officer (Minerals & Waste)
Closing in 20 days (22 February, 2026)
Job details
Salary: £41,771 - £46.142 per annum
Department: Planning and Transport
Working pattern: Full Time
Location: Taunton
Closing date: 22 February, 2026
About the job
Some key information
- 12 Month fixed term contract
- Flexible and Hybrid working.
- Extensive CPD and peer support
- Opportunity to work on a wide range of interesting projects, offering unique opportunities to develop your experience and skills.
What will I be doing?
We are looking for an experienced Policy planner to join the Mineral and Waste team for a 12-month period.
Working within the small but mighty mineral and waste team that sits within the wider planning service, you’ll be supported by Principal and Senior Policy & DM Officers, and regularly engage with the public and elected members.
There is a significant breadth of work and plenty of interesting projects within Somerset, and currently we are the biggest producer, user, and exporter of crushed rock in the UK, making it an interesting team to work within.
What kind of experience or qualifications do I need?
We are looking for qualified planners with experience of delivering plan making (ideally Minerals and Waste) and commenting on the Mineral and Waste elements of planning within a Local Authority environment.
You would need to be (or be eligible to become) a Chartered Planner, if you are not already Chartered, this will be encouraged for your development.
It would be ideal if you had some management experience but if you’re a Planning or Senior Officer and feel ready to step up, we’ll support and help you develop into a more Senior role.
What's in it for me?
We are proud to offer an environment that is supportive and rewarding, working as part of a team who are passionate about the work they do to improve the lives of people in Somerset.
We offer great training and development opportunities, with supportive management. As well as this, we have some fantastic employee benefits available:
- We promote a healthy work-life balance and offer flexible working arrangements wherever possible, including working from home.
- Generous annual leave allowance, with the opportunity to purchase additional leave
- Staff discounts in gyms.
- Employee Assistance for the times you may need some support and a variety of employee wellbeing services.
- Auto enrolment onto our generous Pension Scheme and optional pension enhancement through our Additional Voluntary Contribution scheme.
- A Flexible Benefits Scheme via salary sacrifice to obtain a cycle for work and health screenings.
- My Staff Shop offering discounts in shops, online shopping, restaurants, cinema tickets, insurance benefits and more
Anything else I should know?
The salary for this role is £41,771 - £46.142 per annum.
For an informal chat about the role, you can contact Helen Vittery, Service Manager - Minerals and Waste at helen.vittery@somerset.gov.uk
When completing your application/ CV please provide your full employment history and ensure that any gaps in employment are explained. Please start with your current or most recent employment.
If you have everything you need, just hit the apply button. We can’t wait to hear from you.