About the job

Job summary

Increasing housing supply is a critical priority for this Government. A shortage of housing underpins many of the failures in our housing market, including unaffordability, quality and lack of consumer choice as well as affecting the economic growth of this country.

The post holder will be a key part of teams focused on addressing housing supply, and in particular, will lead work within DLUHC to improve engagement with institutional investors, better understand their objectives, and encourage them to invest more into the UK housing sector

This is an area of considerable interest to senior officials, and there is a live cross-disciplinary project involving colleagues from across DLUHC and Homes England to scope options for further action that the post holder would join, and in due course, lead.

This post sits within the Housing, Markets and Strategy Directorate - which sits at the heart of DLUHC’s Regeneration Group.

The Directorate is responsible for delivering the homes the country needs and supporting the housing sector through the current economic climate. It is a welcoming and supportive place to work – we pride ourselves on our strong networks, our focus on fostering talent, and our outward-facing approach.

We are looking for an exceptional candidate to take on this challenge who will thrive in our friendly, supportive and busy Division, and play an active part in the life of the Department alongside their policy leadership. *DLUHC is responsible for some of the most high-profile issues across Government, including ensuring everyone has access to a safe, secure and affordable home; regenerating towns and high streets; and supporting local government to deliver vital services.    

Job description

You will lead the development of DLUHC’s strategy for maximising value for the housing market from engagement with institutional investors – coordinating a cross DLUHC virtual team to do so.

You will work across Regeneration Group, and with colleagues in Homes England, to bring together policy priorities and ensure that any engagement with institutional investors delivers against DLUHC objectives.

You will work with DLUHC analysts to develop the evidence base further

You will work closely with teams responsible for different financial interventions such as housing guarantees as equity investments to consider and develop potential options to encourage

You will work with senior officials to engage directly with institutional investors and build stronger relationships

You will also work closely with policy, financial and delivery colleagues in Homes England, as well as across Whitehall, local government and the sector.

You will be expected to confidently engage on a very regular basis with Ministers and seniors within the Department and across Whitehall, Homes England, and external stakeholders.

You should be either already experienced in delivering economic policy – or eager to learn how!

You will also be expected to play a corporate role in the life of a busy and established Directorate, for example through leading work in a corporate group or on an issue such as diversity and wellbeing.

Person specification

- Track record of working on complex delivery and/or policy challenges and developing pragmatic solutions

- Financially literate and able to engage confidently with financial and banking experts to draw on their expertise and translate it into government policy approaches and financial products

- Confident communication skills, both written and verbal and the ability to convey complex issues in a simple and accurate way to senior officials and Ministers

- Excellent analytical skills – able to absorb complex and varied data sources and present these in a succinct way.

- Strong stakeholder engagement skills and the ability to build and maintain relationships with internal and external partners, across grades, teams, and professions.  

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

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. 

 

Please contact the vacancy manager if you have any questions about the 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 

 

 

CV and Cover Letter Declaration 

We recruit based on your knowledge and skills, and not background, gender or ethnicity - this is called name blind recruitment. 

  

Please remove references to your: 

• name/title
• educational institutions
• age
• gender
• email address
• postal address
• phone number
• nationality/immigration status

 

You will need to merge your CV and covering letter into one document. When submitting your application Applied will ask you to upload a CV, when doing this you should upload your merged document of your CV and covering letter. 

 

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

 

At sift, through your CV and covering letter we will be assessing: 

 

In your CV and covering letter, please demonstrate: a. why you are interested in the role; b. how you meet the essential skills and experience required; Please align your answers to the success profiles behaviours: Making Effective Decisions, Communicating and Influencing and Seeing The Big Picture. Your covering letter should be no more than 500 words. 

 

The interview will be of a blended nature consisting of experience and behaviour based questions as listed in the advert. 

Candidates will be expected to deliver a presentation at interview stage, the details of which will be provided upon invitation.

 

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

 

Experience: Yes - Experience questions will be based around the essential skills and criteria as listed in the job description.

Behaviours: Making Effective Decisions, Seeing the Big Picture, Communicating and Influencing, Changing and Improving

 

 

We do not consider direct CV applications – 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. 

 

Location 

• London 
• Wolverhampton 
• Darlington* 
• Manchester
• Leeds
• Bristol
• Birmingham

 

*Please note: The Darlington Economic Campus 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. 

At present, a minimum of 60% of your working time will be spent in your contractual office location. Requirements to attend other office locations or off-site meetings will be counted towards this. You will be asked to express a location preference during the application process. 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 on 24th May 2024 with interview dates provisionally scheduled for W/C 3rd June 2024. 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 on 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. 

 

CTC (Counter-terrorism Clearance): 

Important note 

 
Successful candidates for roles based in our 2 Marsham Street building must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is counter-terrorist check and the process can take up to 8 weeks to complete. 
 
Please note that successful candidates will need to pass the CTC security checks – this requires you to have been resident in the UK for the past 3 years. Please refer to the DLUHC Notes on Security Clearance section of our Candidate Pack for further information on Counter Terrorism Clearance (CTC).  
 

Candidates should also note that with effect from 1st August 2018 the department will also check all applicants who are successful at interview, against the Internal Fraud Database (IFD) held by the Cabinet Office. In accordance with the Civil Service Internal Fraud Policy, any applicant who is included on the IFD will be refused employment by DLUHC. Please see the Candidate Pack for further information on the Internal Fraud Database. 

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 

 

Candidate Pack Information 

Please see attached Candidate pack for further information. 

 

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. 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.