281868 Policy adviser, Construction Products Regulatory Regime

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Location London and Wolverhampton
Salary £33,875 (London) £30,792 (National)
Team safer and greener buildings
  • Closing: 11:55pm, 25th Apr 2023 BST

Job Description

If you experience technical issues during the application process we have found using a different browser or device in the first instance can be a quick fix.

If those don't work please email the Resourcing Hub at recruitment@levellingup.gov.uk with your application and/or CV before the submission deadline. Any applications received after the deadline may not be considered.

Job summary

 We are at a key moment for construction products including reaching a critical time for their regulation. When the UK left the EU, the regulatory framework for construction products was brought into UK law. Functions that were previously carried out by the European Commission are now the responsibility of the Secretary of State. This means that we will need to make regulations to implement trade deals which affect the construction products sector. The EU is also reforming its own framework for regulating construction products so we need to evaluate their proposals and implement them in NI, under the terms of the NI Agreement. And following the Grenfell Tower fire, we have taken initial steps to reform the regulation of construction products to ensure it never happens again. We have taken powers in the Building Safety Act 2022 to create a minimum requirement for all construction products to be safe and are introducing a new National Regulator for Construction Products. It is critical that we now make this a reality.

Job description

The successful candidate will:


•    Work in a team delivering the Secretary of State’s responsibilities under the Construction Products Regulation, in particular leading the process to approve bodies that test and certify construction products, engaging with senior leaders and external stakeholders;
•    Work with other government departments and lawyers to understand the implications of trade deals for the sector, and support work to implement agreed deals by laying regulations in Parliament;
•    Support work to ensure that regulations to preserve the existing construction products regulations are laid in Parliament and come into force by the end of 2023;
•    Understand and evaluate the impact of the European Commission’s proposal to revise the EU’s construction products regulation, and help to implement the proposal when agreed in Northern Ireland;
•    Become an expert adviser on the existing regulatory regime for construction products, supporting the Secretary of State and Minister for Building Safety and policy teams across DLUHC and other government departments, and managing relevant correspondence.

Person specification

Essential criteria:
Drafting, briefing, critical thinking, policy development, process management, stakeholder management.

Desirable criteria:
Knowledge of product regulatory policy would be helpful but not essential,
Experience of drafting legislation,
Project management skills

Offered benefits

  • Learning and development tailored to your role

  • An environment with flexible working options

  • A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity

  • A Civil Service pension with an average employer contribution of 27%

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 

DLUHC want to bring in a diverse workforce at all levels.  

Our application system is designed to remove as much bias as possible from the recruitment system – this means that a hiring manager does not know your name, your details, see your whole application in one go (or have your CV at review stage unless stated otherwise).  

Your answers are randomised and chunked up. This means that each assessor views sets of responses to questions for example all candidates’ responses to ‘Seeing the Big Picture’ rather than seeing a candidate’s full application. The science behind this is that recruitment can be subject to ordering and fatigue effects and we want to reduce this as much as possible.  

Most of our campaigns utilise multiple assessors and so it is possible that each of your answers would be viewed by different assessors. 

When writing your application, remember: 

  • The assessor won’t be reading your answers sequentially.  

  • Do not assume that the same assessors will have read all of your answers.  

  • If talking about something in your first answer, make sure that you write the second answer as if you had not written the first (and so on!) 

At sift, we will be assessing 

Behaviour (Lead Behaviour): Working Together

Behaviour: Making Effective Decisions

Behaviour: Managing a Quality Service

Behaviour: Delivering at Pace

There is a 250 word limit per question. 

In the event that we receive a large number of applications, we may conduct an initial sift using the lead behaviour listed in the advert. Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift, or progress straight to assessment/interview  

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

Behaviour 

Experience 

Strength 

The strength based questions will require natural responses from the candidates.  

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

Behaviours: Working Together, Making Effective Decisions, Managing a Quality Service, Delivering at Pace

Experience: Yes 

Strengths: Yes

We do not consider direct CV applications to our Recruitment mailbox – 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 £33,875 (London) or £30,792 (National). 

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

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 

SIFT AND INTERVIEW DATES: 

Sifting is envisaged to take place W/C 1st May 2023 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. Due to the length of time CTC checks can take, our HR Shared Services team will contact reserve list candidates for London based roles to commence CTC checks. 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). Thank you. 
 
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. 

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 

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 

Removing bias from the hiring process

Applications closed Tue 25th Apr 2023

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Removing bias from the hiring process

  • Your application will be anonymously reviewed by our hiring team to ensure fairness
  • You’ll need a CV/résumé, but it’ll only be considered if you score well on the anonymous review

Applications closed Tue 25th Apr 2023