About the job

Job summary

The Office for Local Government (Oflog)'s vision is to help make local government even better. We will increase understanding about the performance of local authorities, warn when authorities are at risk of serious failure, and support local government to improve itself.

To do that, Oflog's strategic objectives are:

- Inform: to increase understanding - among citizens, civil society, central government and local government itself - about data on the performance of local authorities

- Warn: to help identify local authorities that are at risk of serious failure but have not raised the alarm themselves

- Support: to support local government to improve performance, productivity, and value for money: championing best practice, improving data capability and rationalising a complex data landscape.

This role is part of Oflog’s Warn pillar in the division leading on performance improvement.

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. While supporting the aims of Oflog, the successful candidate will have an opportunity to shape the overall organisation and its culture.

Job description

This vacancy is to join the division leading on improvement and performance. The successful individual will lead the design and roll out of Oflog’s early warning risk system.

This will involve:

• Designing a desk-based risk system which identifies local authorities at risk of potential failure – drawing on quantitative and qualitative information, and making use of innovative tools
• Developing relationships within the department, across departments and with the sector to draw on and share local intelligence about risk
• Developing an understanding of the triggers of failure – looking at past trends and patterns
• Leading the open recruitment of a pool of high-quality reviewers
• Developing a robust induction and support package for reviewers
• Building a team with the right capacity and capability

Person specification

We are looking for an individual who is motivated, flexible and passionate about working for Oflog.

Essential criteria

The successful candidate must have:

• Ability to creatively source evidence and develop solutions to complex situations where there could be competing interests or incomplete information. 
• Excellent stakeholder management skills with the ability to build collaborative and trusted working relationships with senior stakeholders and analysts to build consensus but also challenge where necessary. 
• Track record of demonstrating resilience and flexibility under pressure with the ability to adapt to rapidly changing circumstances and balance competing demands whilst remaining focused on delivering high quality outputs.   
• Excellent oral and written skills including the ability to communicate detailed information succinctly and clearly.  
• Excellent organisational skills demonstrating attention to detail
• Ability to manage different workstreams with interdependencies, including delivering outcomes through others.  
• An interest and, passion for local government and its role in making and difference to, and ensuring good outcomes for, people, place and partners, and knowledge and understanding of the local government sector.  

Desirable experience 

• Experience of local government improvement and performance such as Ofsted, CQC or Audit Commission. 

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £61,599, Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities contributes £16,631 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, Strengths and Experience.

Selection Process Details 

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. 

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 

Your CV and Cover Letter should not be more than 2 pages. Your cover letter, of up to 750 words, should set out a) why your are interested in the role and b) how you meet the essential skills and experience required.

The interview will be of a blended nature consisting of behaviour and strength based questions as listed in the advert. The strength based questions will require natural responses from the candidates.

Candidates will also be expected to prepare a 5 minute presentation, details will be sent along with the interview invites. 

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 

Strength: Yes

Behaviours: Making Effective Decisions, Leadership, Delivering at Pace

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

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 6 salary 

• The salary for this role is £61,599 (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 

• Wolverhampton 
• Darlington*
• Bristol 
• Manchester 
• Leeds

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 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 W/C 15.07.2024 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. 

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. 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.