About the job

Job summary

The Electoral Administration Team is at the heart of our democracy. The team has a range of policy interests which set out and support how the electorate chooses the elected representatives that populate our major democratic institutions – such as the UK Parliament and English Local Authorities.

Our primary focus is supporting the delivery of elections, working with Returning Officers and key stakeholders such as the Electoral Commission and the Association of Electoral Administrators, as well as suppliers in the sector such as printers and the Royal Mail.

The team has a number of specific responsibilities relating to the running of elections, and will have an important role in the lead up to the next UK Parliamentary General Election (due no later than January 2025).

We also have responsibility for the policy which underpins this delivery and the legislation - such as the recent introduction of Voter ID, new accessibility measures (for example for voters with sight loss) and measures to reduce the opportunity for fraud in postal and proxy voting. The role offers a rare opportunity to engage with Ministers, administrators and electors and be part of introducing democratic change from policy through to delivery.

Job description

The post holder will have a role that includes an interesting mix of exposure to legislative, policy and operational issues.

The responsibilities of the post will include the following:

• Lead on individual policy strands and associated projects within the team portfolio such as Voter ID and the accessibility of elections amongst others
• Working collaboratively with your team and colleagues from across the Department, as a subject matter expert
• Effectively engaging with Ministers, senior leaders and stakeholders, providing advice and driving forward the work of the team
• Building relationships with sector experts and engaging with them to support the development of policy and legislation
• Lead on correspondence, managing our responses to a wide variety of external and cross-government partners.
• This list is not exhaustive and the post holder needs to be flexible and adapt their responsibilities to meet business demands.

Person specification

Elections policy and process are governed by a highly complex set of legislation and processes which must be followed precisely in order to ensure the election is run fairly. We are therefore particularly interested in candidates with experience working in fields involving complexity, precision and/or legislation.

Essential Criteria

• An ability to assimilate complex information quickly and see connections and the ‘bigger picture’
• Excellent communication skills
• Be highly motivated, comfortable working independently and have excellent time management skills to proactively prioritise workloads and conflicting demands.

Desirable Criteria:

• Experience of policy development
• Experience of working with primary and/or secondary legislation
• Ability to work with a range of contacts from Ministers to council staff and representatives of electors with particular needs (e.g. RNIB)

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 Experience.

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. Please use up to a maximum of 750 words for your 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: 

Behaviour: Seeing The Big Picture

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

The statement of suitability does not need to be in a particular format or style (i.e. it is not required to be in a “behaviour/competency” style, ”STAR” format etc). Please use the statement as you see fit to best demonstrate how you meet the requirements outlined above.

 

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

 

In full the campaign we 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 

Behaviours: Seeing The Big Picture, Communicating and Influencing

Presentation: The candidate will be asked to prepare a short presentation. Further details on this will be sent along with the interview invitation.

 

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 

 

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. 

 

Location 

• London
• Manchester
• Leeds
• Nottingham 

 

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. 

  

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.