About the job

Job summary

The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) are the public sector’s property valuation experts and advisers. We are one of the largest employers of surveyors in the country offering access to a whole host of learning and development opportunities to support your career development.

We’re looking for talented people who are eager to contribute to vital public services and assist us to deliver taxation and benefits support to the government and local authorities. Your skills and experience will enable us to provide an efficient, effective service right at the heart of the public interest.

At the heart of the agency, we are committed to providing our people with a work environment which is accommodating and accessible to all and which values diversity and inclusion in everything we do. We encourage our people to bring their whole selves to work by providing a culture that values different perspectives to help tackle complex problems, promote innovation and deliver stronger decision making in a safe and supportive environment. We therefore welcome applicants from a diverse range of backgrounds to join our organisation and enable us to be representative of the communities we serve.

Our people have the freedom to manage their own diaries and are empowered to deliver under their own autonomy. We trust our people and look forward to welcoming your skills into the VOA community.

Job description

Operational Leader – District Valuer Service  – Role Overview

An exciting opportunity has emerged within the VOA’s District Valuer Services (DVS), providing people and performance leadership, and supporting various colleagues as an Operational Leader.

The role of Operational Leader sits within the District Valuer Services (DVS), part of Chief Valuer Group (CVG). DVS is the business stream tasked with providing a range of statutory and non-statutory functions for a range of clients across the public sector as stated below:

• Provision of advice on valuations and apportionments for national taxation purposes.
• Provision of valuations and property advice for Other Public Bodies (OPBs) to support their implementation of a wide range of regulatory and legislative functions.
• The delivery of government policies and estate strategies in situations where there is a property requirement related to the exercising of a public function and / or public money is involved.
• This majority of the work is untied and undertaken on a contractual ‘earned funding’ full cost recovery charging basis.

Operational Leader – District Valuer Service  – Key responsibilities

• Be a visible and active member of the DVS Senior Management Team, Chief Valuer Group (CVG) and wider Senior Leadership Community contributing to the strategic objectives of the team, including embedding VOA vision and values.
• Hold accountability for performance of DVS and lead across-directorate collaboration, flexibility and foster a sense of belonging within the wider CVG family.
• Contribute to the wider running of the DVS Senior Management Team including leading on national projects, working parties and initiatives.
• Understand the bigger picture to develop and implement the DVS national and regional strategy, including collaborating, engaging, and influencing of all key stakeholders.
• To jointly lead a multi-disciplinary team of circa 450 staff who undertake a range of valuation work and associated support across all DVS sectors and directly line manage circa 8-10 Team Leaders and other operational staff.
• To support the Surveyor pipeline across the Agency by ensuring graduates and apprentices obtain the necessary skills and experience to meet Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) requirements for Assessment of Professional Competency (APC).
• Lead the DVS national and regional operational delivery including engagement with all relevant stakeholders across Finance, CVG and People Group.
• To develop and implement regional business resource plans and monthly monitoring tools for DVS teams/sectors and ensure the continuous evaluation of the plans and undertake required adjustments as necessary.
• Liaise with CVG, Finance and with Sector Heads to lead and manage the delivery of DVS work ensuring that resources are suitably allocated, business plans are on target whilst ensuring financial alignment with resourcing, forecasting, spending review and strategy.
• To actively manage performance within DVS, ensuring that it adapts to changing requirements in an operational context.
• Ensure effective performance management is in place for all teams and that they have the skills required to ensure effective succession planning and knowledge transfer.
• The planning and delivery of operational targets, whilst also leading and embedding transformation activity within DVS, including initiatives for continuous improvement.
• To offer advice on Agency policy implementation, including escalating key issues/risks as part of the DVS Senior Management Team.
• Manage the preparation, delivery and response to internal audit and any National Audit Office requirements.

 

Person specification

We are looking for a strong leader with the ability to inspire and motivate their team to deliver its objectives efficiently and effectively. As an Operational Leader, the ability to plan effectively is essential, whilst also remaining flexible and able to take a pro-active approach to respond and adapt in a fast-paced, dynamic environment. The successful candidate will have a political awareness which is kept up to date and is carefully considered when making strategic decisions and thinking through the impact of these decisions and outcomes.

Essential Criteria

• Excellent leadership skills and experience of leading large teams or project delivery inspiring and motivating multi-disciplinary teams to deliver objectives, and continuously improve individual and business performance.
• A proven ability to build, motivate, develop, and deliver through diverse teams and professions.
• Experience of managing organisational change, ensuring the delivery of performance and to budget.
• Strong stakeholder management and influencing skills, including high levels of negotiating, consulting, and interpersonal skills to achieve co-operation over mutually acceptable solutions or potentially competing requirements.
• The ability to horizon scan and be proactive in identifying and managing risks and issues, understanding underlying causes before providing solutions and putting in place appropriate mitigations.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £67,238, Valuation Office Agency contributes £18,154 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.

If you can meet our person requirements above, we are keen to hear from you.

To apply for this post, you must complete an online application with the following:

A CV setting out your Job History & Previous Skills and Experiences.

A Personal Statement. In no more than 1000 words, please outline your suitability for the role. Please ensure that you reference Person Specification and Essential Criteria for the role when providing your answer. 

Sift – 7th-12th March 2024. Please note these dates are provisional and may be subject to change.

We will assess you on your CV and Personal Statement.

Should a large number of applications be received, an initial sift may be conducted on the personal statement and the following essential criteria: Excellent leadership skills and experience of leading large teams or project delivery inspiring and motivating multi-disciplinary teams to deliver objectives, and continuously improve individual and business performance.

Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift or progressed straight to assessment.

If successful at sift stage you will be invited to take part in a Staff Engagement Exercise on 26th March 2024. This will take place virtually.

Interviews – 11th April 2024 - Please note this date is provisional and may be subject to change. This will be confirmed should you be invited to interview.

Interviews are currently taking place face to face in Canary Wharf. We will provide more detail if you are shortlisted for interview.

We will assess you on the Behaviours listed in the job description and a 10-minute presentation.

At the interview, the panel can then probe further and ask applicants to provide further specific examples that show how they best demonstrate their skills.

Behaviours

The distinguishing Behaviours (the required skills, knowledge and behaviours) for this role are set out in the Civil Service Behaviours Framework 2018 (Success Profiles - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)) and should be referred to when making this application.

You are required, under the Behaviours approach, to describe how you have dealt with a specific situation.

You must give evidence of your knowledge, skills and behaviours and how you have applied this, such as what you did or said and how you interacted with other people.

When you are giving your examples, do not spend too many words on description and background information. Avoid using general or unspecific statements. Instead say what the situation was, what you did what your thought process was and so on.

Presentation

You will also be required to conduct a 10-minute presentation demonstrating the Leadership Behaviour. Information on the presentation topic will be provided to you if you are shortlisted for interview.

Please note that no IT will be available on the day.

Further Information

Please note the Internal Job Title for this role is Unit Head.

Due to the way the CS Jobs system is set up, when choosing your preferred locations, you will find that the Wembley & Canary Wharf location will not appear on the list of options. They are replaced by Harlesden & Tower Hamlets.

Should you wish to choose Wembley as a location then please select Harlesden.

Should you wish to choose Canary Wharf as a location then please select Tower Hamlets.

Please note the Tower Hamlets location is our Canary Wharf location, 10 South Colonnade, E14 4PU.

Any move to VOA 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

VOA employees only:  If you are currently in receipt of DTA as a result of a VOA office closure/restructure and it is agreed for you to take up this role in your current location, you may continue to receive DTA for the remainder of the period you can claim for.  Please check with the Vacancy Holder on preferred locations for this role before you apply.

The VOA is an office-based organisation, however as all of our roles have aspects which can be completed from home, all colleagues have the ability to work a hybrid working pattern. The amount that colleagues work from home or office is defined by several factors including the nature of the work they carry out, the needs of their stakeholders, their development needs and personal circumstances such as caring responsibilities. To learn more about the hybrid working arrangements that could be available in this role, please contact the vacancy holder.

Pre-employment Checks

In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to Disclosure and Barring Service or Disclosure Scotland on your behalf. However, we recognise in exceptional circumstances some candidates will want to send their completed forms direct. If you will be doing this, please advise Government Recruitment Service of your intention by emailing Pre-EmploymentChecks.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk stating the job reference number in the subject heading.

Please be aware the levels of national security clearance are changing which may impact on the level needed for this role by the time of appointment. All efforts will be made to keep candidates informed of any changes and what that will mean in terms of vetting criteria. For more information please See our vetting charter.

For further information on the Disclosure Scotland confidential checking service telephone: the Disclosure Scotland Helpline on 0870 609 6006 and ask to speak to the operations manager in confidence, or email Info@disclosurescotland.co.uk

Reasonable Adjustment

If a person with disabilities is put at a substantial disadvantage compared to a non-disabled person, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes.

If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should:

Contact Government Recruitment Service via voarecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.

Complete the “Assistance required” section in the “Additional requirements” page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at an interview, or if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional.

Terms & Conditions

Voluntary terms apply.

Reserve Lists

If we have more successful candidates than available vacancies, we will hold a 6-month reserve list on exception.

During that time, we may use the list to fill the same, or similar roles with closely matching essential criteria, without further testing of merit. Any appointments from the Reserve list will be made in strict merit order.

Starting Work

The successful candidate will normally take up duty within one month from notification of successful completion of pre-employment checks.

Applying

All applications for these vacancies must be made online. There are limited exceptions to this. Paper applications will only be considered if you have a disability that will prevent you from applying online. If this is the case, please email voarecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

Once you have submitted your application it cannot be amended; only submit your application when you have completely finished and answered all the relevant questions.

Please note that late applications will not be accepted.

If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section.

New entrants are expected to join on the minimum of the pay band.

Concerns/Complaints

The Valuation Office Agency’s recruitment processes are underpinned by the Civil Service Commissioner’s Recruitment Principles, which outlines that selection for appointment is made on merit based on fair and open competition.
If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the values in the Civil Service Code and/or if you feel the recruitment has been conducted in such a way that conflicts with the Civil Service Commissioner’s Recruitment Principles, you may make a complaint, by contacting the Central Recruitment Team at the following address: resourcingteam@voa.gov.uk

If you are not content with the outcome of your complaint you have the right to complain to the Civil Service Commissioners.

 

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.