About the job

Job summary

This is an exciting opportunity to join the high profile and fast paced Arts & Libraries team. The team’s mission is to engage and support our world-leading arts and culture sector in order to increase the personal, economic and social benefits of culture at a local and national level through effective public investment and policy making. 

Working as a senior leader in the Arts team will give you the opportunity to work across a range of disciplines - for example the team sponsor Arts Council England, oversee the delivery of a range of capital programmes, and we work closely with other government departments, public bodies and the arts sector to grapple with a range of strategic arts policy questions, such as cultural education and skills, capital infrastructure and policies to stimulate growth in the sector.

The team is recruiting 2 Grade 6s to make up the leadership of the Arts Team. One post is newly created. 

Whilst the exact portfolio will be determined based on the specific skills and experiences of the successful candidates, the two roles will broadly be split as follows: 

• Head of Arts Policy 
• Head of Arts Sponsorship and Delivery 

These roles are demanding and high profile so the post-holders will need to be comfortable working at pace, using their judgement independently, with strong political awareness and an ability to work closely with stakeholders to develop and deliver complex policy and programmes. An enthusiasm for the arts would be a benefit. 

You will be expected to make a proactive and consistent contribution to the Arts and Libraries senior leadership team to help run a happy, inclusive and effective team, and to build capacity throughout the division. You will be supported in your own professional development and the directorate is committed to ensuring working environments are conducive to good wellbeing. 

Job description

Specific duties between the roles will include: 

• Effectively leading a busy and inclusive teams, each line managing  c.3 G7s, ensuring team members are stretched and supported. Building capability at all grades.
• Overseeing the sponsorship of Arts Council England - DCMS’s largest Arms Length Body. This will include responsibility for maintaining constructive relationships with senior colleagues at the Arts Council, ensure that necessary governance is in place, working closely with ACE on their long term objectives and strategy and funding.
• Oversight of place-based projects - such as the policy responsibility for overseeing the Cultural Development Fund.
• Developing evidence-based policy proposals which support the growth of the arts sector and deliver on DCMS objectives - this could include policy issues such as funding bids at fiscal events and preparation for the Spending Review, skills policy, philanthropy or capital funding.
• Maintaining and leading on multiple relationships across the arts sector to be able to test and design policy.

Person specification

The ideal candidate would have the following key skills and experience:

Essential Requirements:

• Leadership: A proven track record of building and leading diverse, happy, inclusive and high performing teams. The role requires a willingness to challenge and an openness to being challenged. 
• A proven track record of being able to deliver work at pace - bringing together a wide range of stakeholders and experts. The postholder must be adaptable - and be able to proactively shape clear plans in the face of ambiguity. 
• Making effective decisions: An ability to shape complex policy by thinking from first principles, informed by quantitative and qualitative analysis (including financial understanding), weighing up political, social and economic considerations to develop clear-sighted, strategic policy. 
• Communicating and influencing: Advising, persuading and influencing senior stakeholders. The postholder must have very strong communication skills, and be able to establish - and deliver through - effective relationships with partners at all levels across government, the arts sector and beyond. 

Desirable Skills:

• Experience of overseeing complex programmes or projects
• Experience of sponsorship
• An interest in the arts. 

We are offering applicants to join a virtual information session on Wednesday 10th 10:00AM - 11:00AM hosted by the vacancy holder - Rosa Schiller-Crawhurst.

The session will be an opportunity to hear more about the role, the team and wider directorate and the department. It will also be an opportunity for you to ask any questions.

Please register your interest here and you will be sent an invitation. 

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £56,462, Department for Culture, Media and Sport contributes £15,244 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.

To apply for this post, please send us the following documents no later than 23:55 PM 14th January 2024 via the CS Jobs portal:

• A CV setting out your career history, with key responsibilities and achievements. Please ensure you provide employment history that relates to the essential and desirable criteria, and that any gaps in employment history within the last 2 years are explained. The CV should not exceed more than 3 x A4 pages and you should insert your CV into the "Job History" section on Civil Service Jobs on the Civil Service Jobs application form.
• A Statement of Suitability (max 750 words) explaining how you consider your personal skills, qualities and experience provide evidence of your suitability for the role in reference to the essential requirements highlighted. You may also choose to reference the desirable skills listed.

For the shortlist, we will assess your experience and select applicants demonstrating the best fit for the role by considering the evidence provided in your application.

In the event of a large number of applicants, an initial sift will be conducted on the statement of suitability. Those who are successful in the initial sift will then be scored on all elements of the application.

Should you encounter any issues with your online application please get in touch with: dcmsrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk.

The interview process will assess behaviours and strengths and potentially include a presentation.

You will not be made aware of the strengths being assessed prior to your interview. 

As part of your interview, you may be asked to deliver a short oral presentation. Full details of this, including the topic, and whether or not you will need to use visual aids, will be sent to you prior to your interview. 

In most cases interviews will take place remotely via Google Meet video call. However please refer to the Candidate Information Pack to confirm the interview approach.

For indicative sift and interview dates please refer to the attached Candidate Information Pack.

Reasonable Adjustment

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, please:

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. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or a verbal test rather than a written one. 

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

Accessibility

If you are experiencing accessibility difficulties with any of the attachments, please contact us. Contact details can be found in the 'contact point for applicants' section of the job advert.

Further Information

Please be aware the levels of national security clearance are changing which may impact on the level needed for this role by the time of appointment. All efforts will be made to keep candidates informed of any changes and what that will mean in terms of vetting criteria. For more information please See our vetting charter

DCMS has a London and a National pay scale. For more information on this, including the circumstances in which each pay scale will apply, please see the ‘Information for Applicants’ document.

If the vacancy is offered as FTA/Loan, existing Civil Servants must join on a Loan basis only., Prior agreement to be released on loan must be obtained before commencing the application process. In the case of Civil Servants, the terms of the loan will be agreed between the home and host department and the Civil Servant. This includes grade on return.

A reserve list may be held for a period of 6 months from which further appointments can be made.

Any move to DCMS 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

If successful and transferring from another Government Department a criminal record check may be carried out.

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.

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 had their employment continued. Any applicant’s 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.

This role is full time only. Applicants who wish to work an alternative pattern are welcome to apply however your preferred working pattern may not be available and you should discuss this with the vacancy holder before applying.

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.