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 looking for an enthusiastic and engaging team player to lead our Arm’s-length bodies (ALB) Governance Team.   

You will provide expert advice and support to the sponsor teams for the arms-length bodies sponsored by the department and provide assurance to the Chief Financial Officer and Permanent Secretary.  

Job description

We are looking for an enthusiastic and engaging team player to lead our Arm’s-length bodies (ALB) Governance Team.   

You will provide expert advice and support to the sponsor teams for the arms-length bodies sponsored by the department and provide assurance to the Chief Financial Officer and Permanent Secretary.  

We are looking for an enthusiastic individual who is an excellent team player with a passion for problem solving, strategic thinking and influencing a broad range of stakeholders to help the department to maintain and strengthen our ALB governance arrangements.  

As the ALB Governance Lead, you will:  

• Lead a small team to provide a central source of expertise and assurance on all aspects of ALB governance, by: 

• Continually reviewing and refreshing our senior sponsor model and ensure all stakeholders understand their role, responsibilities and accountabilities. 

• Providing timely and accurate advice on a range of issues to a wide range of internal and external stakeholders, including directors, Directors General, Permanent Secretary and ministers.  

• Collaborating with relevant teams to maintain a central hub of up to date and accurate governance data about each ALB. 

• Responding quickly to internal and external ad-hoc and routine requests for information – including quarterly reporting to the Executive Team and an annual governance assurance exercise. 

• Facilitating and developing a range of forums to help build and improve working relationships and share good practice. 

• Develop and implement a programme of improvement to further strengthen ALB governance and increase assurance to the Permanent Secretary and Chief Financial Officer that arrangements are effective and ensure ALBs are delivering their objectives to deliver our priority outcomes. 

• Lead engagement with Cabinet Office on ALB governance, the pipeline of new potential ALBs and the Public Bodies Reform Programme. 

• Co-ordinate the department’s response to the Public Bodies Reform Programme, including:  

• Advising on prioritisation of the three-year Public Bodies Review programme and providing advice, support and quality assurance and challenge to sponsor teams.  

• Leading co-ordination of departmental responses to Cabinet Office and HM Treasury requests, advising on our approach to senior officials and ministers and ensuring quality returns of information.  

• Line manage the ALB Planning and Governance Officer (1 x HEO) 

Person specification

We are looking for someone who:  

• Has experience or knowledge of arms-length bodies and their role in supporting departments and government in delivering priority outcomes. 

• Is a credible and authentic leader, with the ability to articulate a vision, engage and motivate people to deliver results. 

• Has excellent networking and collaboration skills to build and maintain relationships with a wide range of stakeholders 

• Has confidence and credibility to influence and challenge others, including senior stakeholders, in a considered and professional manner 

• Works independently and manages a varied and challenging workload in a fast-paced environment, delivers to tight timescales and responds positively and flexibly to demands.  

• Is able and willing to find innovative ways of solving or pre-empting problems and to make difficult decisions and stand by them and communicating effectively to inspire stakeholders to achieve desired outcomes. 

• Builds a wide-ranging network of relationships that support collaborative working, welcomes autonomy, and an ability to trust your own judgement to make decisions and recommendations.  

• Has excellent oral and written skills, with the ability to communicate to and for a wide range of audiences and purposes, including formal reports, engaging presentations, and strategic advice to senior leaders 

• Is a keen agent of change and efficiency, who is excellent at paying attention to detail ensuring high quality information is provided whilst driving reform of key processes for supporting and monitoring compliance taking account of changing governance requirements. 

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Changing and Improving

• Seeing the Big Picture

• Making Effective Decisions

• Communicating and Influencing

• Working Together

• Developing Self and Others

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%

Things you need to know

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours.

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 

Communicating and influencing (Lead Behaviour)

Seeing the big picture  

Making Effective Decisions  

Changing and Improving  

Experience - Please can you outline how have developed knowledge or experience of arm’s length bodies and their role in supporting the delivery of government priority outcomes.  

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 progressed straight to assessment/interview  

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

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

Behaviours: Seeing the big picture, Changing and Improving, Making Effective Decisions, Communicating and Influencing, Working Together, Developing Self and Others   

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. 

Grade 7 salary 

• The salary for this role is £49,697 (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: 

• Darlington

• Wolverhampton 

• Leeds

• Bristol

• Nottingham

• Manchester

SIFT AND INTERVIEW DATES: 

Sifting is envisaged to take place W/C 13th of March 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. 

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.

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 Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK

• nationals of the Republic of Ireland

• nationals from the EU, EEA or Switzerland with settled or pre-settled status or who apply for either status by the deadline of the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)

• relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals working in the Civil Service

• relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals who have built up the right to work in the Civil Service

• certain family members of the relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Eligibility

This vacancy is open to all Civil Service employees and employees of accredited non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) who were appointed on merit following a fair and open competition; or were appointed to a permanent post through an exception in the Civil Service Commissioners' rules.

Working for the Civil Service

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.

Apply and further information

Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

• Name :Kirsty Wilkinson

• Email :Kirsty.wilkinson@levellingup.gov.uk