About the job

Job summary

We work to improve the impact that buildings have on citizens, society and the environment. The creation and management of buildings is a complex system of systems, with a huge range of outcomes - safety, health and wellbeing, financial security, community, family and climate.

We are responsible for the health of this system, and for improving outcomes that are influenced by our built world. We do this through our three pillars of stewardship: better system oversight; robust assurance of the frameworks we have put in place (e.g. building regulations); and steering the system towards improved outcomes using a wide range of approaches.

You will lead on some of our biggest challenges as stewards: deepening our understanding of the building stock, modernising regulation to meet user-needs, and championing the future of our Energy Performance of Buildings Service.

You will report to the Director for Building Systems and Net Zero (Catherine Adams), with support from the Chief Digital Officer and the digital directorate.

This is a new, lynchpin role as we implement our stewardship capability, and we are looking for someone who is excited by our set of challenges, as well as the opportunity to develop and deliver a vision for a new team. You will need to work closely and collaboratively with your peers, colleagues and delivery partners to understand portfolio-wide needs and develop the most effective solutions.

Job description

You will lead a multi-disciplinary division tackling some of the most fundamental challenges for stewardship: improving the data and evidence base that informs understanding of our building stock; modernising building regulation with a service-focus, to meet the needs of our users; and encouraging a technology-enabled way of working using digital tools, methodologies, and capabilities.

Stewardship is an approach to government that prioritises nurturing healthy systems, where these are complex and contain many different actors and incentives. To enable us to deliver on our ‘three pillars’, you will be responsible for leading an innovative and multi-disciplinary team to tackle twin challenges with a focus on, both of which are central to our ability to steward:

• the availability, consistency and usability of data and information about the building stock and the broader systems that shape and influence. You will be responsible for developing and championing new approaches to tackle this, working closely with analysts to proceed to use this evidence base to drive policy and service delivery with a measurable impact.
• the future of digital building regulation and performance management, where you will develop and assess options for long-term reform, making the regulatory system easier to use and navigate, whilst meeting our broader ambitions on safety, climate change and quality. This will require close working with regulators, other government departments and industry.

Key accountabilities

In leading our new Digital & Data Division, you will be responsible for developing and implementing a digital & data strategy for stewardship. You will lead our work on the future digitisation of building regulation, and our end-to-end service delivery team for the Energy Performance of Buildings Register. This is one of our main levers for understanding and influencing the building stock and has significant ministerial interest.

We have identified some initial needs, which you will need to consider (and challenge) when developing your work programme:

• a digital & data strategy to improve our evidence base, modelling, capability and user-centred approaches to policymaking and intervention design, feeding directly into our horizon scanning and monitoring function and setting out our vision for the future of digital building regulation and performance management.
• the technical capability to implement this strategy, including establishing and leading new service teams where needed.
• leadership of the existing Energy Performance of Buildings Register team, who deliver an end-to-end service and are now looking forward to the next phase of reform. You will need to work with your peers and colleagues across the group to consider the fundamental policy questions as this reform develops.
• a digital centre of excellence for the group, providing advice and assurance to teams who have choices to make about bringing work in-house or commissioning external providers, and building strong links to the department’s Digital Directorate.

Person specification

We are looking for a digital leader who has driven culture change to promote digital methodologies and ways of working in new areas. You will champion openness and new ways of working, continuous learning and embracing uncertainty – modelling how to adapt approaches to the needs of projects.

To deliver your work programme you will need to work collaboratively and effectively with teams both in the department and cross-government who are seeking to improve their evidence base, including colleagues in other digital & data teams (planning, Levelling Up, Local Government), our group’s analytical function and those working on the future of regulation.

Like the rest of DLUHC, we have an ambition to build more in-house, but currently most of our wider group’s (Safer Greener Buildings) digital services are delivered by other government bodies or third parties. This role will set the strategy for our digital work, ensure we get the most out of existing relationships and that embeds users in our policy work. You will need to navigate a range of demand and supply-side barriers to ensure departmental delivery is user-centred and responsive to the needs of citizens. This new role will lead a multidisciplinary team, likely to include designers, researchers, data analysts and product roles. There will be significant opportunity for you develop the work programme in line with your vision.

We particularly encourage applications from those of an ethnic minority background and those with disabilities, as well as those based in locations outside of London, who are underrepresented at this level in DLUHC.

As one of the Department’s senior leaders, you will also be a visible role model for the Civil Service leadership behaviours. These can be found in the Civil Service Leadership Statement which is available here.    

Essential criteria

• Experience of digital and data strategy development and implementation. Including digital transformation and shaping and delivering a strategic data vision into deliverable solutions with buy-in from across an organisation.
• Successful experience of working across policy/digital/analyst boundaries to lead multidisciplinary teams, promoting and flexing user-centred design for service design and policymaking.
• Commercial and budget management experience and skills to provide advice on strategic supplier contractual relationships and annual budgets.
• You will need to demonstrate that you are an inspiring, confident and empowering leader, who can set strategic direction and lead effectively through ambiguity.
• Experience of developing and leading a diverse and inclusive team successfully; motivating and engaging people to perform to high standards and develop themselves; promoting equality and inclusion and leading people through change.
• Ability to work in partnership and deliver through others, including working confidently with a range of experts, as well as across wider DLUHC, Government and industry partners.

Desirable criteria

• Experience of working with ministers: securing their confidence and supporting your team to deliver against their priorities.
• The ability to work across government departments to deliver programmes.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £90,000, Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities contributes £19,710 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

How to apply
Please click the Be Applied link to provide the required information and complete your application through the Be Applied website by 23:55 on Sunday 18th February 2024.

You will be asked to enter some personal details, upload your CV and to provide your responses to the role’s advertised essential criteria.​

When prompted to upload your CV, please upload a single document consisting of: ​

• a CV (including the names of 2 referees and your current remuneration) setting out your career history, with key responsibilities, achievements and your relevant qualifications. Please ensure you have provided reasons for any gaps within the last two years. ​
• a statement of suitability explaining how your personal skills, qualities and experience provide evidence of your suitability for the role, with particular reference to the essential criteria provided in the person specification. (max. 2 pages)​

Please remember to save these two items in one document.​

Please note that only completed applications through the Be Applied route will be considered and that any further progress updates will be sent through Be Applied.

The hiring manager, Catherine Adams, would be happy to have informal discussions with candidates who would like further information about the role before submitting an application. If interested, please contact scs.recruitment@levellingup.gov.uk 

The selection panel will be made up of:

• Catherine Adams, Director, Building Systems and Net Zero
• Lawrence Hopper, Deputy Director, DLUHC Digital
• One additional panel member TBC

Additionally, the panel will be joined by one of our staff representatives from a pool of volunteers as part of our commitments to diversity and inclusion.

Selection process and assessments

Candidates that are shortlisted may be invited to attend a staff engagement panel. 

At DLUHC we hold staff engagement panels as an integral part of the recruitment process for Senior Civil Servants (SCS) – they are designed to help us build up a rounded picture of each candidate and give us an insight into how you might engage and interact with your team should you be successful. The purpose of the session is to help us assess your engagement and communication skills and is not about testing your subject knowledge or expertise for this particular role. Feedback from the session is passed onto the selection panel for consideration alongside the final interview.

Candidates may also be invited to a meeting with a Minister or the Secretary of State, and/or other senior stakeholders. This is not a formal part of the selection process but an informal chance for candidates to find out more about the role and the organisation.

Shortlisted candidates will also be invited to give a short presentation or complete an exercise at the beginning of their final interview. Further details will be provided to shortlisted candidates when invited to interview. 

All of the evidence presented as part of the process will be considered in the final assessment.

Security Clearance

All DLUHC colleagues must meet the Baseline Personnel Security Standard. This is a series of basic security checks to confirm identity and employment history.

In addition to the BPSS, the level of security clearance required for this role is Security Check (SC) and the process can take up to 8 weeks to complete. For more details of vetting levels and requirements please refer to the Cabinet Office HMG Personnel Security Controls.

Salary

For external appointments, remuneration for this role will be circa £90,000 pa plus a bonus opportunity depending on performance (within the normal Civil Service pay arrangements) and attractive pension.​

For existing civil servants, the usual policy on level transfer and promotion will apply and is non-negotiable. If appointed on promotion you would get the higher of 10% uplift or the new minimum for Deputy Director.​​

Future pay awards will normally be made in line with current SCS performance-related pay arrangements.

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 security 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.