About the job

Job summary

The Grenfell fire in June 2017 had a devastating effect on the North Kensington community and the Grenfell Programme remains a complex and challenging task. In response to the tragedy, the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (now DLUHC) established the Building Safety Programme (BSP) to make sure buildings are safe – and people feel safe – now and in the future.

The Building Remediation Division is key to this by addressing safety concerns on occupied high-rise buildings. Government has made funding available to building owners to enable them to undertake remediation of unsafe cladding on high-rise buildings. Building Remediation Division oversees allocation of these funds. Like the Grenfell Site & Programme, this too is a high profile and challenging programme with interest from Ministers, No 10 and senior officials from across government.  

The Intervention Delivery Directorate is a supportive, collaborative place to work, leading on extremely high profile and fast-paced issues, and dealing with urgent, complex and challenging policy issues, operational requirements and political demands.

This is an exciting opportunity to play a key role in business management across two major government programmes. The post-holder will play a major role in financial management of the Grenfell programme and will support in managing existing allocated funds from the £4.5bn Building Safety Fund (BSF) which the government has made available to ensure proper remediation of unsafe cladding from high-rise buildings 18m and above. The post-holder will also contribute to day-to-day business management activities including people forecasting and reporting across both programmes. The role will be key in managing budgets, leading forecasting and financial reporting, analysing people data.

Job description

The post holder’s responsibilities will include:

• Leadership of finance forecasting for the directorate. This involves producing a monthly data pack for Senior Responsible Officer (SRO sign-off). This data is reported to key stakeholders and forums including Programme Board, HM Treasury, Infrastructure and Projects Authority, and National Audit Office.

• Actively managing and monitoring reporting trackers, updating changes and reviewing for accuracy, comprehension of and assuring pay, non-pay and programme funding data.

• Acting as a champion of best practice to enable delivery teams to take greater ownership over their budgets.

• Leading on regular monthly activity such as cash forecasting for the directorate, month end journals and ensuring purchase orders are set up and invoices are processed. 

• Delivering continuous improvements to forecasting across both programmes to meet Finance requirements and address queries, including building relevant frameworks to gather and develop weaker forecasts, and enhancing existing processes including in-year and year-end accruals.

• Regular deep dives into spend across both programmes, assessing pressures and carrying out detailed preparations ahead of financial events such as Supplementary Estimates, Spending Reviews.

• Providing advice and guidance to policy, operational and commercial leads on departmental and business management processes and requirements, including supporting teams to manage financial approvals.

• Building and maintaining relationships across the department including with finance business partners, HR business partners, and commercial colleagues.

• Managing and coordinating the overall delivery of administrative services across both Building Remediation and Grenfell programmes including commissions.

Person specification

This role involves regular use of financial and numerical data and processes. It is desirable for candidates to have a financial qualification (part qualified ACCA / CIMA or equivalent) but we also welcome applications from candidates with significant relevant financial experience. There may be an opportunity to start or continue an accountancy qualification, should the successful candidate decide to (subject to approval).

The successful candidate will be capable of, or willing to learn, the following:

• Financial Management - Numeracy and demonstrable attention to detail, and the ability to interrogate numerical data. The role includes building, developing, and maintaining financial forecasts, and co-ordinating budget setting processes such as Spending Reviews and business planning to ensure there is the required capacity and capability for successful programme delivery.

• Reporting – Lead the timely and accurate reporting on People and Finance activities to support departmental activities. Highlight key resourcing and capability risks and plans for mitigation. Support the use of resource management tools in project.

• Communications & Stakeholder Management – Develop and maintain communications with project managers and other stakeholders, building effective and collaborative relationships.

• Data Analysis/Management – Comfortable with using Excel and providing constructive challenge where data and information provided is weak or incomplete, to strengthen the programme’s financial position. Knowledge or experience of SAP is an advantage.

• Risks & Issues – Manage risks and issues arising from the Business Management Team, including those that are strategic and politically sensitive, ensuring regular reporting and escalation as appropriate.

• Leadership vision & objectives – Deliver stated objectives and support corporate activity in the division and wider directorate. Lead and support the Business Management Team to deliver benefits and outcomes to the directorate, including mentoring and coaching team members.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £38,732, Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities contributes £10,457 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

Things you need to know

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Strengths and Experience.

We are for everyone

At DLUHC we value diversity and inclusion and actively encourage and welcome applications from everyone, including those that are underrepresented in our workforce. We promote equality of opportunity in all aspects of employment and a working environment free from discrimination, harassment, bullying and victimisation.

We would strongly recommend that applicants get in touch with the vacancy manager to find out more information about this role.

We are for everyone

CV and Cover Letter Declaration

We recruit based on your knowledge and skills, and not background, gender or ethnicity - this is called name blind recruitment.

Please remove references to your:

• name/title
• educational institutions
• age
• gender
• email address
• postal address
• phone number
• nationality/immigration status

You will need to merge your CV and covering letter into one document. When submitting your application Applied will ask you to upload a CV, when doing this you should upload your merged document of your CV and covering letter.

Most of our campaigns utilise multiple assessors and so it is possible that your application would be viewed by different assessors.

At sift, through your CV and covering letter we will be assessing:

Experience

Tell us why you are suitable for this role, with reference to the job description and person specification. Your covering letter should be no more than 1 page in length.

The interview will be of a blended nature consisting of experience, behaviour and strength based questions as listed in the advert. The strength based questions will require natural responses from the candidates.

Behaviours: Delivering at Pace, Communicating and Influencing, Working Together

Strengths: Yes

Experience: Yes - Experience questions will test the skills listed in the person specification and be based on an exercise which will be sent out to candidates invited to interview.”

In full the campaign will test the below Success Profile Elements:

Experience: Yes 

Strengths: Yes 

Behaviours: Delivering at Pace, Communicating and Influencing, Working Together 

We do not consider direct CV applications – you must apply for this role via the application link on Civil Service Jobs:

Please note that near miss offers may be made at the lower grade to candidates who do not meet the grade criteria for this campaign

SEO salary

• The salary for this role is £38,732 (National).
• For existing civil servants, the usual policy on level transfer and promotion will apply and is non-negotiable. If you apply for a role that requires a transfer of location, for example if you are transferring from London to a National location, your salary will be adjusted in accordance with our policy on transfer between HQ pay ranges.
• Accountancy allowance – Successful candidates who already hold a full CCAB qualifications may be eligible for an additional accountancy allowance.

Please note that the average employer pension contribution is based upon the National minimum salary for this role. Should your agreed starting salary for this role be different, the average employer pension contribution will be calculated accordingly. If you are a Secondee, this will not apply as you will remain on your home organisation’s terms and conditions.  

Benefits

Transfers across the Civil Service on or after 4 October 2018:

Any move to DLUHC from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax-Free Childcare. Determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk.

For further information about the benefits available to DLUHC employees, please see the attached Candidate Pack.

Location

• Leeds
• Manchester
• Wolverhampton
• Darlington*

 *Please note: The Darlington Economic Campus is a pioneering new cross-government hub which will bring together people across departments and public organisations to play an active role in the most important economic issues of the day. The work of the Campus will make a real difference to people both across the UK and internationally. There will be substantial career opportunities and exciting prospects - a career at the Campus means you will be working at the heart of Government, with access to the benefits and fantastic opportunities offered by the civil service. 

For further information on the DEC, please take a look at the attached DEC candidate pack.

At present, a minimum of 60% of your working time will be spent in your contractual office location. Requirements to attend other office locations or off-site meetings will be counted towards this. You will be asked to express a location preference during the application process. There may be opportunities for candidates to work flexibly depending on the business needs. This will be discussed with the vacancy manager on a case-by-case basis, if you are successful for the role.

Sift and Interview dates

We will be sifting applicants as we go – so please don’t wait until the deadline to submit your application. Interview dates will be confirmed at a later stage, all interviews are currently being held remotely via videocall. 

Reserve List

In the event that we identify more appointable candidates than we currently have posts available, we will hold applicant details on a reserve list for a period of 6 months from which further appointments can be made. This may include roles at a lower grade. Candidates placed on a reserve list will be informed of this. Those candidates who do not wish to remain on the reserve list should contact recruitment@levellingup.gov.uk to be removed from the reserve list.

Before starting your application it’s very important to make sure that you are eligible to apply and meet the Civil Service nationality requirements. All candidates are expected to read the information provided in the DLUHC candidate pack regarding nationality requirements and rules

Candidate Pack Information

Please see attached Candidate pack for further information.

Internal Fraud Database

The Internal Fraud function of the Fraud, Error, Debt and Grants Function at the Cabinet Office processes details of civil servants who have been dismissed for committing internal fraud, or who would have been dismissed had they not resigned. The Cabinet Office receives the details from participating government organisations of civil servants who have been dismissed, or who would have been dismissed had they not resigned, for internal fraud. In instances such as this, civil servants are then banned for 5 years from further employment in the civil service. The Cabinet Office then processes this data and discloses a limited dataset back to DLUHC as a participating government organisations. DLUHC then carry out the pre employment checks so as to detect instances where known fraudsters are attempting to reapply for roles in the civil service. In this way, the policy is ensured and the repetition of internal fraud is prevented.

For more information please see- Internal Fraud Register

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

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a 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) (opens in a new window)
• 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 (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) 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 (opens in a new window). 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.