About the job

Job summary

We are looking for an enthusiastic team leader who is keen to work across an operational and policy landscape to make a difference to people living in high-risk buildings. 

In response to the tragedy of the Grenfell Tower fire, the Government established the Building Safety Programme (BSP) to make sure buildings are safe – and people feel safe – now and in the future. 

The Waking Watch Replacement Fund was set up to install fire alarms in the highest risk buildings.  The alarms replace costly and ineffective Waking Watch measures (24 hour staffed fire alert system) in high risk residential buildings.  Up to April 2023, the Government had made over £60m available and funded alarms in over 350 residential buildings. As of May 2023 a further £18.6m has been provided to increase the number of buildings that will benefit. This is helping to make buildings safe pending the completion of remedial work. The Building Remediation Division is responsible for allocation of these funds and for considering the future strategy for this fund.

The Building Remediation division is a supportive, collaborative place to work, leading on extremely high profile and fast-paced issues, and dealing with urgent, complex and challenging policy issues, operational requirements and political demands. 

You will be leading a small team (currently 4 in total) situated within the Social Sector Delivery and Protection Team.  This role is to lead the operational delivery of the Waking Watch Replacement Fund and to consider the fund’s future strategy and how and whether it should continue beyond the current agreed funding envelope. The role encompasses leadership of the full end to end delivery of a grant funding programme, leading the team to make appropriate eligibility decisions in a timely fashion and in accordance with Departmental grant funding guidance, and working with internal colleagues across the Safer and Greener Buildings Group and external stakeholders including the Home Office and National Fire Chiefs Council to ensure the fund has a sustainable future. This role will be part of the Team’s senior leadership group alongside another Grade 7 team leader whose role focuses on the delivery of Remediation funding to applicants in the social sector.

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.

Job description

We are recruiting for a Grade 7 Team Leader to lead the end to end delivery of the Waking Watch Replacement Fund and to lead work to produce a sustainable strategy for the future of the fund. The role may also encompass leadership of the Department’s response to high profile cases where the Waking Watch Replacement Fund may help to prevent an evacuation of a building.

Areas of responsibility will include: ·

• Leadership of the team overseeing the end to end delivery of the Waking Watch Replacement Fund.
• Configuring the team so that they are well placed to deliver against priorities of making timely, consistent and evidence based decisions on applicant eligibility and that a proper and transparent decision making process is in place that will withstand external audit scrutiny.
• Ensuring that the team maintains excellent external communications with applicants on the progress of their funding application, with stakeholders on the delivery of the fund’s objectives and that the fund’s gov.uk page and official guidance are up to date.
• Ensuring the team is equipped to deliver its full funding responsibilities, including financial forecasting and budget and resource allocation, fraud protection and escalation measures and the production of management information and data.
• Responding to complex cases involving individual buildings whether in the fund or who could benefit from the fund where there may be a risk of a building evacuation. Working quickly to establish actions and solve problems which will keep residents safe in their homes.
• Data and analysis– working with the National Fire Chiefs Council on the collection of data from Fire and Rescue Services on the number of buildings with a Waking Watch in place. Reconciling this data with fund information and working with stakeholders to move ‘missing applicants’ into the fund. Where necessary working with stakeholders in the Home Office and the National Fire Chiefs Council on the broader approach to interim fire safety measures in residential buildings
• Lead work to establish a sustainable strategy for the Waking Watch Replacement Fund. Working with colleagues across the Safer and Greener Buildings Group and analysts to agree the future fund policy and how it complements the wider strategy of the Group. To advise Ministers on the position and lead the implementation of the new strategy.
• Represent the Department in conversations with applicants, stakeholders, industry representatives and where necessary attend meetings with ministers and senior civil servants.

Person specification

Essential skills are:

• A customer focussed team leader, always striving to improve the service we provide to applicants and able to deliver quickly and efficiently for our stakeholders.
• Excellent decision making and judgement skills, and ability to synthesise complex issues effectively and able to use these skills to problem solve.
• Ability to evaluate evidence, identify trends, and put forward clearly justified options and recommendations.
• An authentic leader, supporting your team and colleagues to ensure that personal development is prioritised committed to providing pastoral care for your team.
• A confident collaborator, building trust with our colleagues and delivery partners in order to drive through improvements and optimise service delivery.
• Takes responsibility for self-learning, developing understanding of technical issues and ensuring that knowledge remains current.
• The ability to respond flexibly to competing and changing demands, prioritising, and managing your teams workload efficiently, identifying and mitigating risks to ensure effective delivery.

Desirable

• Understanding/experience of delivering a grant funding programme.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £51,934, Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities contributes £14,022 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 and Strengths.

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 

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) - Managing a Quality Service

Behaviour 2 - Making Effective Decisions

Behaviour 3 - Leadership

Behaviour 4 - Delivering at Pace

There is a 250 word limit per question. 

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

Behaviour – Managing a Quality Service, Making Effective Decisions, Leadership, 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: Managing a Quality Service, Making Effective Decisions, Leadership, 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. 

Grade 7 salary 

• The salary for this role is £57,091 (London) or £51,934 (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: 

• Wolverhampton 
• Darlington* 

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 (DEC) 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.  

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 week commencing 22/Jan/2024 with interview dates to be confirmed. All interviews are currently being held remotely via videocall. 

If interviews are held in London for a national based role, the vacancy manager must consider offering travel expenses. 

Reserve List 
In the event that we identify more appointable candidates than we currently have posts available, we will hold applicant details n 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.