About the job

Job summary

We are looking for 3 dynamic strategy Leads to help grow and shape the new Strategy Unit within the Safer Greener Buildings group. The Group was established following the tragedy of the Grenfell Tower fire to make sure that buildings are safe, and that residents feel safe in them, now and in the future. The £10bn remediation programme is one of the largest programmes in government with significant political and stakeholder interest. We are making a tangible real-word impact by fixing the errors of the past and shaping the future of the built environment.

The Strategy Unit is a welcoming and collaborative place to work, leading on innovative strategic thinking, and dealing with urgent, complex, and challenging policy considerations and political demands. The Strategy Unit plays an important role in setting strategic direction, ensuring ministerial priorities are delivered, anticipating threats to the programme and delivering proactive strategy development. It has a critical role in long-term strategic planning and horizon scanning, as well as building and promoting a positive culture and ways of working across the remediation portfolio.

As a strategy lead, you will lead teams to provide direction to the programme’s strategy and help solve the most challenging and impactful problems that it faces. You will also work with the Head of the Strategy Unit to expand the Unit’s work across the building remediation progammes, building strategic capacity across teams and engaging with the Group’s senior leadership to understand and tackle challenges to making buildings and residents safe as quickly as possible. You will be responsible for developing and maintaining the portfolio strategy, undertaking strategic analysis, strategic coordination and leading critical projects. The work can be fast paced, but also requires stepping back to identify trends, opportunities and challenges in the medium and long-term. It is a great opportunity to gain experience working across a broad range of policy areas with significant exposure to senior decision making. We work across programmes, with policy and strategy teams across the department and across Whitehall. We are a small and friendly team and are looking for an enthusiastic team player who will work collaboratively and confidently lead teams. There are 3x G7 roles providing opportunity for the successful candidates to shape roles.

There will be an information session: Tuesday 7th - 13.00-13.45  

Information Meeting

Job description

Your key responsibilities will include:

• Direction setting for the remediation portfolio, working closely with seniors to achieve this by developing and maintaining the remediation strategy which underpins the remediation portfolio, theory of change and delivery plans. Using strategy tools, methodologies and strategic analysis to proactively adapt it. This includes ongoing development of strategic objectives and collaborating on departmental objectives.
• Working collaboratively across the department to spot opportunities, risks and interdependencies. Keep abreast of and react to developments across government by developing and maintaining tools such as horizon scanning to generate a strong understanding of developments coming down the track to support decision-making. Grip emerging issues and identify solutions.
• Incubate and test new ideas. Lead ad-hoc strategy projects to solve priority strategic problems across the portfolio which may include business case development.
• Play a leading role in upskilling the wider remediation portfolio.
• Leadership and line management of a team to deliver objectives, ensuring they feel supported to deliver under pressure whilst maintaining an inclusive environment. Seek continuous improvement.
• Establish and maintain good working relationships with Private Offices, programme teams, policy teams, central strategy teams and others.

Person specification

• Critical and creative thinking - ability to maintain a strategic perspective across a range of activities. Excellent judgement and strategic thinking with the ability to see the big picture, think laterally, and identify forward-looking risks and opportunities. Ability to creatively source evidence and develop strategy solutions to complex situations where there could be competing interests or incomplete information.
• Strong organisational skills, enabling you to effectively manage multiple, sometimes conflicting priorities and workstreams at pace whilst delivering high-quality results. You will sometimes coordinate work delivered by others outside of your line management chain so will need to set out clear processes and workplans, communicating these to ensure delivery.
• Excellent interpersonal skills which enable you to develop positive, trusting relationships with a range of stakeholders at all levels and across organisational boundaries to work collaboratively, build consensus and influence outcomes and provide challenge.
• Leadership of your team and beyond, while maintaining a strong focus on team wellbeing and morale. Enthusiastically contributing to the positive culture of the Group, delivering on complex issues calmly, professionally and at pace; and be committed to developing and empowering your colleagues.

Desirable Criteria:

• Experience in implementing strategy methodologies and tools such as theory of change, systems thinking, futures thinking, scenario modelling etc.
• Experience leading projects across multiple teams, a department or organisation.

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: 

Experience 

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 Your covering letter should be no more than 2 pages. 

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

Presentation: 

Candidates will be expected to prepare a presentation, details of which will be sent on invitation to interview.  

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 

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 
• Bristol
• Wolverhampton 
• Darlington* 

*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 
 
We will be sifting applicants as we go – so please don’t wait until the deadline to submit your application. Interview dates will be confirmed at a later stage, 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.