About the job

Job summary

Here at the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC), we work on things that make a real difference to people’s lives.  
  
Whether it's through the homes we live in, the work of our local councils, or the communities we are all a part of, our work is at the top of the political agenda. We have ambitious and far-reaching outcomes to achieve this year and, if you are thinking of joining us, there’s never been a more exciting time.  
  
The department has circa 3,500 staff who are based in 20 offices across the UK. 

The Homelessness Stats Team is responsible for the operational system which collects homelessness data from all local authorities in England via the Homelessness Case Level Information Collection (H-CLIC). The team is responsible for the entire process, from specifying the data to be collected, working with contractors to manage the data once submitted, and developing statistical releases, dashboards and analysis for publication and for policy analysis. The team’s work expands the impact of the homelessness stats, data and dashboards with senior officials and ministers. 

As a data engineer (HEO) in the Homelessness Stats Team, you bring your knowledge and experience to provide essential data infrastructure support to the H-CLIC collection.  Using creative approaches to data management, you will work on the management of the data systems, developing and implementing improvements to be used as part of business-as-usual processes, using  SQL and Xpath (XML path language), and implementing new ways of working to improve efficiencies.   

This role reports to the SEO Data Engineer and will be part of a team of six. You will be central to the production of the quarterly and annual statistical releases, working closely with the SEO and the team to agree on the scope and scale of developments. You will need an appetite to learn new technologies and methodologies for collecting and delivering high quality data, help to embed good practice across teams and engage with people in a wide range of roles across the organisation.  

Specific responsibilities for this role include improving the existing SQL data models, supporting the build of data streaming systems (ETL), maximising opportunities to re-use existing data flows and providing support in developing business intelligence reports. 

We particularly welcome candidates from an ethnic minority background and other underrepresented groups to apply, as we work to continually improve our ability to represent the places and communities we support through our work.

 

Please read before applying:

  
Important - To apply for this role you will need to submit a CV and covering letter. These need to be merged 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. There are further details in the Selection Process section further below in this advert. 

Job description

Working closely with statisticians and the SEO data engineer, you will be responsible for a number of key tasks including:  

• Support on data engineering and maintenance requirements for H-CLIC, including monitoring of variables in the homelessness specification to allow better reporting and more appropriate analysis. 
• Assisting with development of documentation and cataloguing of data to make data more accessible to others. 
• Ensuring data collection process runs smoothly including troubleshooting any issues in the XML file uploads and in XPATH coding. 
• Analysing and managing data quality issues and implementing appropriate solutions. 
• Promoting transfer to API to allow multiple collections to be open at the same time, testing various aspects to ensure moves to an alternative SQL platform will be successful. 
• Supporting on automation of processes and reproducible analytical pipelines. 
• Aiding analysis to identify repeat homelessness through data linking by providing support to BOLD analysts on building the tables and identifying variables of appropriate specification.  
• Leading on engagement with IT suppliers to identify areas for innovation in data tools and techniques and deliver robust solutions and approaches. 

There may also be opportunity to support across other priority areas within the division, including rough sleeping and domestic abuse, and to develop the capability within the wider team. 

Person specification

Essential Criteria: 

• Experience implementing data solutions or data models, using programming languages and software such as SQL, R and/or Python. 
• Experience of assessing and improving the quality of data. 
• Awareness/experience of communicating technical concepts to a wide range of technical and non-technical audiences. 
• Experience of working with stakeholders with differing levels of technical expertise. 
• Willingness to learn/develop programming languages and software such as Power BI, API solutions, and XML and Xpath.

Behaviours 

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process: 

• Changing and Improving 
• Managing a Quality Service 

Technical skills 

We'll assess you against these technical skills in line with the DDaT Framework for Data Engineer:

Data engineer - Capability Framework (ddat-capability-framework.service.gov.uk): 

1. Communicating between the technical and non-technical 
2. Data Development process 
3. Data integration design 
4. Programming and build 

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £32,178, Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities contributes £8,688 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

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 
• Technical Ability 
• Behaviour: Managing a Quality Service 

In your CV and covering letter, please include: 

1. why you are interested in the role; 
2. how you meet the essential skills (experience and technical ability) set out in the job description
3. your experience of managing a quality service

Your covering letter should be no more than 1 page referencing how you meet the criteria set out in the job description. 

The interview will be of a blended nature consisting of the following success profiles elements:

• Technical
• Behaviours: changing and improving, managing a quality service.

There will be an exercise released before the interview.

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

• Experience: Experience questions will be based around the essential skills and criteria as listed in the job description.

• Technical: Technical questions will be based around the essential skills and criteria as listed in the job description.

• Behaviours: changing and improving, managing a quality service.

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.

HEO salary 

• The salary for this role is £35,400 (London) or £32,178 (National). 
• For existing civil servants, the usual policy on level transfer and promotion will apply and is non-negotiable. 

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 

Wolverhampton

Darlington

Leeds

Manchester

Birmingham

Bristol 

London

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. 

 

*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.  This role is based at DLUHC and we will be joined on the campus by: 

• HM Treasury  
• Department for International Trade 
• Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy  
• Office for National Statistics  
• Department for Education 

 

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

Sift and Interview dates

Sifting is envisaged to take place the W/C 18th of December 2023 with interview dates to be scheduled the W/C 8th of January the earliest. 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.

CTC (Counter-terrorism Clearance): 

Important note 

 
Successful candidates for roles based in our 2 Marsham Street building must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is counter-terrorist check and the process can take up to 8 weeks to complete. 
 
Please note that successful candidates will need to pass the CTC security checks – this requires you to have been resident in the UK for the past 3 years. Please refer to the DLUHC Notes on Security Clearance section of our Candidate Pack for further information on Counter Terrorism Clearance (CTC).  
 

Candidates should also note that with effect from 1st August 2018 the department will also check all applicants who are successful at interview, against the Internal Fraud Database (IFD) held by the Cabinet Office. In accordance with the Civil Service Internal Fraud Policy, any applicant who is included on the IFD will be refused employment by DLUHC. Please see the Candidate Pack for further information on the Internal Fraud Database. 

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

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check. Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is counter-terrorist check (opens in a new window).

See our vetting charter (opens in a new window). 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.