About the job

Job summary

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.

The Local Authority Housing Fund sits within the Housing, Markets & Strategy Directorate at the heart of DLUHC’s Regeneration Group. The £1.2 bn fund is leading the way in new and innovative approaches to local authority led housing delivery. It is creating thousands of homes for those fleeing conflict and families at risk of homelessness.

You will be leading on all aspects of policy and ensuring the fund is set up to succeed. You will be a key leadership figure in our small but high performing team, as well as the wider directorate and beyond.

The Directorate 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.

Job description

The Local Authority Housing Fund team is an inclusive, dynamic and friendly team, delivering over £1bn of capital grant to over 200 LAs. The fund is a new and innovative approach to support council led housing delivery. The fund is simultaneously delivering to multiple Government priorities, providing homes to those who have arrived via Government resettlement schemes (Ukrainian and Afghan schemes) as well as helping councils secure much needed temporary accommodation as homelessness pressures continue to rise. We are an essential component of the Governments humanitarian response in the Ukraine and Afghanistan and consequently operate in a cross cutting, fast paced and complex environment.

We deliver all aspects of the fund and related policy providing an excellent opportunity to deliver policy from inception and design, to delivery. We are outward facing across both Whitehall (notably HMT and Home Office) and our network of Local Authority delivery partners. The job holder will represent the fund and our interests to senior SCS and Ministers.

Key responsibilities are:

- Providing strategic and policy leadership across the funding programme. Shaping and directing the third round of funding to ensure it meets a complex range of ministerial priorities and optimises delivery.

- Working with the resettlement directorate (SHARD) to inform and shape wider resettlement strategy from a LAHF/ Housing strategy point of view.

- Working with analysts, business, and policy partners to determine how £450m of funding will be allocated, how applications to the fund are managed and appraised and ensuring agreements are reached and payments made.

- Collaborating with the team and other G7 lead to effectively implement the fund and ensure its effective delivery , supporting and enabling councils to meet their commitments, providing policy direction on matters of fund management and ensuring senior officials and Ministers are well advised.

- Establishing excellent relationships with policy stakeholders to ensure the fund remains responsive to the dynamic policy environment and that we are able to support stakeholders to understand and utilise the fund.

- Leading your staff - providing a supportive and enabling environment to enable your staff and others to thrive, as well as providing active corporate leadership to make the directorate and Department a great place to work.

Person specification

- Seeing the bigger picture - Excellent ability in understanding the wider social, political and economic context as well as balancing the bigger strategic picture with finer policy detail.

- Working together - Strong ability to work with other policy and corporate teams to provide direction to achieve, sometimes challenging, priority objectives as well as developing new and existing relationships internally and externally.

- Delivering at pace - Strong ability to deliver priorities at pace, juggle priorities and deliver substantial work to short deadlines.

- Making effective decisions – Proven track record in gathering intelligence and data to make inclusive and informed decisions.

- Developing self and others - Developing people and teams, and contributing to a rewarding working environment.

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 Experience.

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.  

 

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 

 

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 (Lead Behaviour): Making Effective Decisions

Behaviour: Seeing the Big Picture

Behaviour: Working Together

Behaviour: Delivering at Pace

 

There is a 250 word limit per question. 

 

In the event that we receive a large number of applications, we may conduct an initial sift using the lead behaviour listed in the advert. Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift, or progressed straight to assessment/interview. 

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

Behaviours: Making Effective Decisions, Seeing the Big Picture, Working Together, Delivering at Pace

Experience 

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

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

 

Behaviours: Making Effective Decisions, Seeing the Big Picture, Working Together, Delivering at Pace

Experience: Yes

Presentation

 

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 £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: 

• Leeds
• 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 W/C 18th March 2024 with interview dates to be confirmed. 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 in 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.