About the job

Job summary

We are looking for a talented policy professional to join the Urban Strategy & Parking policy team in DLUHC, to support our work on high streets and off-street car parking policy. The team sits within the Urban Policy division, in the Places, Infrastructure and Housing Delivery directorate. Healthy high streets and town centres are a crucial part of our communities and local economies. The Government recognises that many high streets are struggling to respond to challenges such as changing consumer patterns and the Covid-19 pandemic and is committed to supporting them to recover, adapt, and evolve. We also know that a large proportion of people in the UK use cars to travel, with an effective parking system vital for the accessibility and vitality of our high streets and town centres. The work of the Urban Strategy & Car

Parking policy team includes:

- Delivery of a new High Street Accelerator pilot programme in up to 10 high streets in England, supported by £2.5 million of funding until March 2025.

- Seeing out the delivery of the Government’s hugely popular High Streets Task Force, which provides support to c150 local authorities across the country to deliver their high streets ambitions.

- Building on the success of the current High Streets Task Force, establishing and delivering a new and improved High Streets and Towns Task Force to as part of the Government’s recently announced Long Term Plan for Towns programme.

- Responsibility for all aspects of off-street parking policy, including implementing the Parking (Code of Practice) Act 2019, which will lead to the creation of a new Code of Practice to raise the standards of private parking companies and provide greater protection to motorists.

- Alongside the new Code of Practice, establishing a wider enforcement framework to ensure that it can be implemented effectively, including an independent Scrutiny & Oversight Board, a new digital service to manage appeals against parking charges issued to motorists and a new certification process for parking companies.

The successful candidate will carry out vital work across both high streets and off-street parking policy. This is an interesting and stretching policy role, delivering public commitments that have significant interest from ministers and external stakeholders.

Job description

The successful candidate will provide vital support to deliver public commitments across the Urban Strategy & Parking team. This role will be split across both high street and parking policy areas. Within parking, main areas of work will include:

• Establishing a new Scrutiny and Oversight Board for the private parking sector that we have committed to introducing as part of the Parking (Code of Practice) Act 2019. The Board will be essential in evaluating the effectiveness of the Code and provide any recommendations for its improvement.

• Supporting the development of other areas of parking policy, such as how local authorities set and enforce their parking policies, and how parking is managed at airports.

The role will also involve supporting DLUHC’s engagement with high street stakeholders, which could include:

• Managing stakeholder forums and leading communications with key groups. This may involve engagement with the High Street Accelerator pilot areas, Business Improvement Districts, retail market forums, and high street experts.

• Developing and administering DLUHC’s support offer to the areas that are part of the High Street Accelerators pilot.

• Supporting the development and delivery of wider aspects of high streets policy, for example, our work with Business Improvement Districts and traditional retail markets.

• The candidate will also respond to correspondence from MPs and the public and produce ministerial briefings across policy areas.

Person specification

• Is able to understand the strategic drivers of their work, identifying issues and emerging trends that can affect it and shaping it to ensure the greatest possible positive impact on the team’s wider efforts. [Seeing the Big Picture]

• Can use their strong analytical skills and attention to detail to make sense of a range of relevant information and confidently make decisions that take into account impacts on the end users, inviting challenge and involving others as appropriate. [Making Effective Decisions]

• Communicates effectively (in writing and verbally), choosing their styles to suit their audience and have the greatest impact, and bringing stakeholders’ views and needs properly into policy development. [Communicating and Influencing]

• Can stay focused on the top priorities, demonstrating resilience as demands change and threats to successful delivery emerge, and ensuring priority work is delivered on time and to good quality. [Delivering at Pace]

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £32,178, Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities contributes £8,688 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 (Lead Behaviour): Making Effective Decisions

Behaviour: Seeing the Big Picture

Behaviour: Communicating and Influencing

Behaviour: 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:    

Behaviours: Seeing the Big Picture, Making Effective Decisions, Communicating and Influencing, Delivering at Pace

Strengths: Yes

 

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

 

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

 

HEO salary 

• The salary for this role is £35,400 (London) or £32,178 (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: 

• London 
• Manchester
• 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 11th February 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. 

 

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). Thank you. 
 
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. 

 

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. 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.