About the job

Job summary

The new Office for Local Government (Oflog) is a key priority of the Secretary of State. Oflog will help to drive improvement in local government – responsible for a wider range of critical and everyday services – in order to improve outcomes for the public. It will do this by providing authoritative and accessible data and analysis about the performance of local government, so that local leaders can benchmark themselves against their peers and communities can more effectively challenge their authorities.   

In particular, Oflog will:

- Inform: by improving access to data Oflog will enable citizens, local government, central government, and civil society to be better informed about the performance of local government

- Warn: Oflog will make it easier to spot potential failure before it happens, helping to prevent the significant financial and service implications of failure on local citizens and the taxpayer

- Support: Oflog will support local government to improve performance: championing best practice, improving data capability and rationalising a complex data landscape  

Oflog is an office of DLUHC, meaning all staff are DLUHC civil servants. Ministers have agreed that it will have a degree of separation from government, with its own independent Chair and Chief Executive. Oflog is a mixed-discipline team, including policy and local government experts, and analysts from a range of disciplines.   

This is a unique time to participate in setting up a new organisation from the ground up. Whilst supporting the aims of Oflog, successful candidate/s will have an opportunity to work in a nimble organisation and to shape the overall organisation and its culture. The person in this role will manage technical and operational aspects of Oflogs data-driven content development (eg interactives; dashboards; semi-automated reporting), maintaining and expanding the functionality of existing Oflog products, and growing the portfolio in-line with user needs.

The successful candidate will lead a small team and they will need to collaborate closely with the Oflog metrics and policy teams, and the wider DLUHC technical community. This is an ideal role for someone who wants to take innovative approaches to data visualisation and make efficient use of automated processes. We’re looking for someone who is motivated to develop products with real-world impacts while creating a positive work culture. They will need strong data skills with a focus on robust quality assurance methods.

Job description

Responsibilities:

• Lead a team to develop, publish and maintain Oflogs data-driven product portfolio, using software engineering principles.
• Use agile project management techniques to iteratively develop a range of data-driven products and content (eg interactives; dashboards; semi-automated reporting)
• Lead the technical design of the data-driven products and content. Lead the team in improving the existing portfolio and in the ideation of new products & content. Improvements and new developments created in-line with best-practice, user needs, user research findings and performance analysis.
• Communicate complex issues of performance and technical issues clearly and concisely to the team and to senior leaders to aide decision-making.
• Show flexibility and adaptability under pressure.
• Lead a collaborative and inclusive team, building capability and supporting their continuous improvement. Implement the use of reproducible processes and promote best practice across the wider Department.

Person specification

• Essential Experience in coding and developing data-driven products and content in open-source tools and libraries, such as Python, R, D3js or Svelte (experience not needed in all of these). Experience of using Github, or similar code hosting version control platform, to develop analytical tools.
• Experience in designing for usability, accessibility and all devices.
• Ability to choose and explain how to display data effectively. Ability to demonstrate inclusive and effective leadership, focussing on upskilling the team and the wider department.
• The ability to communicate detailed technical information succinctly and clearly, especially to non-experts.
• Experience of working on agile projects, a focus on continued improvement of self and others, particularly being comfortable with learning from failure, which is expected and valued.
• Desirable Practical experience in data manipulation and working with data to solve a series of complex problems. Experience of mapping visualisation libraries & tools such as QGIS, Leaflet, Mapbox or Maplibre.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £56,748, Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities contributes £15,321 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. 

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 

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

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 cover letter we will be assessing: 

Experience

Technical

Please merge your CV and cover letter in one document.

In your CV and covering letter, please include: a. why you are interested in the role; b. how you meet the essential skills and experience required. (No more than 500 words)

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

Behaviour: Changing and Improving, Leadership, Communicating and Influencing

Experience

Technical 

Candidates who are shortlisted for interview may also be asked to do a presentation or additional tests. Further details will be provided following sift. 

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

Experience

Technical

Behaviours

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

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 

Group 1 DDaT roles

DLUHC has implemented the DDaT capability framework for Group 1 roles. Applicants that are successful at the sift stage will be required to complete a capability assessment at interview.

DLUHC will honour completed capability assessments for this role from other Government Departments for existing Civil Servants. Please provide a copy of your capability assessment to the Hiring Manager when applying. If you have any queries on pay, please contact the Hiring Manager.

Salary is determined by performance at interview, within the range advertised. Each experience or technical skill is assessed between 1-3, representing working towards, at or above the job level requirements. You are awarded a proficiency level accordingly, and you will be given opportunities at least once a year to re assess your capability and progress through the pay scale within your grade. An additional digital allowance may be payable depending on level of assessed capability.

Candidates moving from another government department have the option to retain their current salary where the principle for implementation is there is no detriment where existing pay exceeds the indicative level. Where individuals are at a lower salary than their assessed level, they will receive an upward adjustment.

G7 Group 1 DDaT salary

• The salary for this role will between  £56,748 -  £61,562 (National) £61,884 - £66,677(London). depending on the proficiency level assessment.
• An additional digital allowance may be payable depending on the level of assessed capability up to £9,000
• For applicants in receipt of existing allowances, we will assess each case individually and aim to match the digital allowance implemented with no detriment.

For existing civil servants, the usual policy on level transfer and promotion will apply and is non-negotiable.

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

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
• Wolverhampton
• Darlington*
• Bristol
• Leeds
• Manchester

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. This role is based at DLUHC and we will be joined on the campus by:

HM Treasury

Department for International Trade

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Office for National Statistics

Department for Education

 

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 11/03/2024 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 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.