About the job

Job summary

The West Midlands Area Team is recruiting for a G7 Area Lead. Area leads are the experts for their sub-region on local growth challenges and opportunities and manage HMG’s relationships with key delivery partners in these places. Our team works collaboratively with partners in the West Midlands to develop levelling up opportunities, while sharing invaluable insight on regional issues with local and central government to help inform decision making.

The successful applicant of this role will also lead on business engagement and business intelligence for the division. This will include external engagement with key business and business representative organisations. You will also manage relationships with key partners within Government and gather and present intelligence to ensure maximum impact.  

Area teams are experts on the places. We have 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 change. 
 
DBT, DLUHC and the centre of Government, rely on area teams to work with people and places across the UK to develop and deliver policies to deliver Ministers’ objectives. The teams are an integral part of the policy development and delivery mechanisms. 

The Cities and Local Growth Unit represents the Government Local Growth and Levelling Up work across the whole of the UK focusing on relationships with local partners and delivery. 

It is a joint Department for Business and Trade (DBT) and Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) directorate formed of 5 area teams (North West; Yorkshire, Humber & North East; West Midlands & South West; East Midlands, East Anglia and OxCam; London & South East). 
 

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Job description

Key responsibilities  

As an Area Lead for the West Midlands Area Team and as the regional lead on business intelligence, you will: 

• Lead Government’s relationships on local growth in your area, including collaborating on economic development plans in the area and supporting local authorities, universities, business groups and others in their interactions with central government.

• Represent CLGU at key regional business representative organisational events/meetings as well as with other businesses in the region.

• Produce high quality regional economic intelligence, ensuring impacts of energy costs, supply chain pressures and other high-level changes are understood and supporting the HMG response to local economic shocks. 

• Use your relationships and influence with partners across Government to feed local knowledge into the design, appraisal, assessment, and decision-making process of policy and programmes design.

• You will lead and support Ministerial briefing on regional risks and opportunities and ensure a high-quality service on parliamentary business and ministerial visits. 

• Assure delivery of government funded growth projects by local partners through performance management reviews on a regular basis for the larger or more complex local authorities in your area.

• Deputise for and support G5s and / or G6s in their responsibilities as appropriate. 

• The role may require a specific geographical area focus in the future and therefore some flexibility is required.

• The role may involve some line management.

Person specification

Essential criteria

Proven leadership skills and the ability to identify and advocate an evidence-based response to risks/issues/opportunities, even when overlooked by others. 

• Excellent oral communication and influencing skills, able to build rapport with colleagues from different backgrounds and experiences.

• Robust written communication skills, able to translate complex policy detail into simple and strategically consistent briefs and speeches.

• Strong organisational skills, able to manage competing/changing deadlines and effectively articulate pressures faced.

• The ability to quickly get up to speed with a range of policy areas, able to adopt a holistic approach to Whitehall policy developments.

• Proactive stakeholder management skills, able to listen to key stakeholder issues/opportunities and translate these into action within government.

Desirable criteria  

An understanding of the key challenges and opportunities for the West Midlands economy. 

• An understanding of local government structures and developments.
• Demonstrated competence using data, including key economic indicators.

Personal attributes & skills 

We are looking for someone who is: 

• Comfortable operating with a diverse range of stakeholders including ministers, industry experts, business groups, and a range of different public authorities.    

• A real team player who influences other people successfully. They should be able to develop good working relationships, and to know how to use these to achieve their work goals. 

• An excellent strategic thinker who is willing to tackle complex problems, think creatively about solutions. 

The Candidate will be asked to provide a presentation during the interview.  

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £53,560, Department for Business and Trade contributes £14,461 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.

Interviews for this vacancy will be conducted virtually. We will, however, consider in-person interviews by exception.

Please ensure that you check your emails regularly as all updates from us will be sent to you this way.

To apply for this post, you will be asked to complete the following as part of the online application:   

• A CV setting out your career history, with key responsibilities and achievements. Provide employment history that relates to the Essential criteria, and that any gaps in employment history within the last 2 years are explained. The CV should not exceed more than 2 x A4 pages.
• A Personal Statement of 500 words explaining how you consider your personal skills, qualities and experience provide evidence of your suitability for the role in reference to the Essential criteria.

It is likely that the sift will take place 1-2 weeks after the closing date and interviews 3-5 weeks after the closing date though this is subject to change.

In the event of a large number of applicants, an initial short sift will be conducted on the CV. 

Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift or progressed straight to assessment/interview.  

As part of your interview, you will be asked to deliver a short oral presentation, details will be provided prior to your interview. 

Reasonable Adjustments

We are committed to supporting candidates so they can perform at their best throughout the recruitment process. This includes making reasonable adjustments to our process. In order to request an adjustment: 

Complete the ‘Assistance required’ section on the ‘Additional requirements’ page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process. 

Alternatively contact the Government Recruitment Service at DBTrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.  

If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section.

Candidate Support

You may want to join a virtual Candidate Support Session. These sessions include helpful tips and advice on the recruitment process, from application to interview.  

Please see attached Candidate Pack for further information on: Diversity and Inclusion; Benefits; Learning and Development; Working Patterns and what we deliver as a department.

Further Information:

• A reserve list may be held for a period of 12 months from which further appointments can be made. Reserve Lists will be for each location and appointments made in merit order based on location preferences.   
• Any move to the Department for Business and Trade from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments.
• The Department will not consider sponsoring a visa or issuing a Certificate of Sponsorship. We are unable to offer advice on any Visa and Immigration cases.  
• New entrants are expected to join on the minimum of the pay band.  
• Applicants who are successful at interview will be, as part of pre-employment screening, subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database (IFD). This check will provide information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences. This check also applies to employees who resign or otherwise leave before being dismissed for fraud or dishonesty. Any applicant who has details held on the IFD will be refused employment.   
• A candidate is not eligible to apply for a role within the Civil Service if the application is made within a 5 year period following a dismissal for carrying out internal fraud against government.  
• Terms and Conditions are attached.  Please take time to read the document to determine how these may affect you.

Please note – the successful candidate will be expected to remain in post for a minimum of 18 months before being released for another role.

In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to Disclosure and Barring Service on your behalf.

However, we recognise in exceptional circumstances some candidates will want to send their completed forms direct. If you will be doing this, please advise Government Recruitment Service of your intention by emailing Pre-EmploymentChecks.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk stating the job reference number in the subject heading.

Feedback

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.