About the job

Job summary

The Cities and Local Growth Unit, is a joint unit between the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC). Our mission is to empower places to improve local economic growth. This role sits within the North West and Northern Powerhouse Team. We lead within UK Government on local growth and levelling up initiatives, supporting a range of projects and programmes across towns centres and high streets, , Mayoral Combined Authorities and Local Authorities. We work at different levels, from the small neighbourhood to the large sub-national strategy including on policies such as devolution, delivering levelling up programmes and gathering economic intelligence. Our work emphasises external engagement and understanding real-world economies.

This role presents a great opportunity to build confidence dealing with senior external figures and supporting Ministers and Senior Officials in their engagement with local partners. Our teams are experts on their parts of the country. Government has a strong grasp of the facts and figures, but facts and figures don't explain a place. We understand local individuals and institutions. We know how places feel. We know their history. We can tell stories about them and work with them to deliver positive change. This is an excellent opportunity for someone who wants to work on developing place-based policy making and become an expert in the economic growth landscape of Lancashire As a Senior Executive Officer (SEO) Deputy Area Lead, you will become an expert on economic growth and levelling up in the local area.

You will build strong knowledge of the politics, economy, challenges and opportunities. You will manage relationships with some Local Authority Chief executives, economic development officers, Higher Education /Further Education institutions, local business organisations and key partners. You will use your knowledge to support priorities, holding expertise on sectors, clusters, devolution and local government reform and develop strong relationships with officials across a range of areas including housing, business sector teams, and transport. You will lead on advice on a particular challenge or opportunity for the team and will be responsible, solely or collaboratively with others in the team, for preparing high quality briefing material tailored for the audience (usually Ministers and Senior Civil Servants).

Job description

Lead on senior partner engagement, working with your G7's to understand government priorities across a wide policy span and to inform cross-government discussions using your local insight and detailed knowledge.

• Develop an in-depth understanding on the economic opportunities for Lancashire, including devolution, and use this understanding to leverage interest and engagement across key government departments to support Lancashire’s economic ambitions.

• Use your excellent communication skills (written and oral) to draft persuasive arguments and story telling on place to support ministerial engagement opportunities, parliamentary business and promotion of opportunities for Lancashire.

• Further develop and improve the current team capacity using your programme management skills to manage an increasing oversight on funds and projects including the Levelling Up and High Street Funds, UK Community Renewal Fund, UK Community Ownership Fund, Towns and Long Term Towns Funds and UK Shared Prosperity Fund.

• Lead your team to spot risks, challenge poor performance and tackle issues as they arise, leading on corrective actions, drawing on support from others. Be proactive in identifying solutions to challenges.

• Work effectively with policy teams to support a broad range of key policy areas for Lancashire.

• Be a senior corporate lead in the division and broader Unit, identifying and working on things that you are passionate about that support the divisions broader high performing team culture.

Person specification

• Ability and desire to develop deep/credible knowledge of the economic growth landscape. We can provide support here.

• Confident and effective communication (written and oral) and influencing skills. Being able to effectively and persuasively draft key arguments is a key part of the role.

• Highly dynamic and capable of delivering at pace whilst maintaining management of an overall work programme. Sometimes the work can feel quite reactive so this requires effective personal management skills of your work load.

• Stakeholder management skills. It can take around 18 months to really build trusted relationships with partners to cut through to the reality of what is happening in a place. Really effective area leads are in an area role for a minimum duration of this time.

• Strong analytical skills and the ability to be comfortable with working in an ambiguous environment.

• Ability to work collaboratively and have effective management skills to develop and support junior colleagues.

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.

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.  

 

As part of our pre-employment checking process we will be using your CV to confirm your job history. Please note that by providing us with your CV you are consenting to us using the information enclosed as part of the checking process. 

 

We are for everyone 

 

DLUHC want to bring in a diverse workforce at all levels.  

 

Our application system is designed to remove as much bias as possible from the recruitment system – this means that a hiring manager does not know your name, your details, see your whole application in one go (or have your CV at review stage unless stated otherwise).  

 

At application stage you will be asked to upload a CV document. Unless stated otherwise in the advert, your CV will not form part of the assessment but will be used for information purposes and only shared with the panel at interview stage. 

 

Your answers are randomised and chunked up. This means that each assessor views sets of responses to questions for example all candidates’ responses to ‘Seeing the Big Picture’ rather than seeing a candidate’s full application. The science behind this is that recruitment can be subject to ordering and fatigue effects and we want to reduce this as much as possible.  

 

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

 

When writing your application, remember: 

• The assessor won’t be reading your answers sequentially.  
• Do not assume that the same assessors will have read all of your answers.  
• If talking about something in your first answer, make sure that you write the second answer as if you had not written the first (and so on!) 

 

 

At sift, we will be assessing 

 

Behaviour 1 (lead behaviour) - Working Together

 

Behaviour 2 - Seeing The Big Picture

 

Behaviour 3 - Communicating and Influencing

 

Behaviour 4 - Delivering at Pace

 

There is a 250 word limit per question. 

 

In the event that we receive a large number of applications, we may conduct an initial sift using the lead behaviour listed in the advert. Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift, or progressed straight to assessment/interview. 

 

 

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

Behaviour – Seeing The Big Picture, Communicating and Influencing, Working Together, Delivering at Pace

Strength 

The strength based questions will require natural responses from the candidates.  

 

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

 

Behaviours: (Seeing The Big Picture, Communicating and Influencing, Working Together, Delivering at Pace)  

Strengths: (Yes) 

 

We do not consider direct CV applications to our Recruitment mailbox – 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 £42,208 (London) or £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. 

 
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. 

  

GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION: 

• Manchester

 

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: 

Sifting is envisaged to take place W/C 18/03/24 with interview dates to be confirmed. 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 in 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. 

Candidate Pack Information 

Please see attached Candidate pack for further information. 

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 

 

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.