Accreditation and Pathfinders Lead
Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
Apply before 11:55 pm on Tuesday 7th May 2024
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About the job
Job summary
Are you interested in how we create and curate the places that surround us? The Office for Place is a newly established non-departmental public body that will develop and share evidence, advice, tools and learning to support the creation and stewardship of places that are beautiful, sustainable, popular, and healthy. It has its origins in the Building Better Building Beautiful Commission Report ‘Living with Beauty’ which has influenced national planning policy and, through the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act, the requirement for all local authorities to produce a design code for their area, developed through local community involvement and engagement.
This is an exciting opportunity to be part of an organisation whose objectives are to:
• Catalyse a fundamental change within and across all levels of government, communities, and the development, planning, and design industries, to support the creation and stewardship of popular, healthy, beautiful, and sustainable places.
• Help neighbourhoods, communities and public servants working on their behalf, to ask for and deliver new places, and manage existing places, to be popular, healthy, beautiful, and sustainable.
• Support public sector planners and the British design and development industries to be the best place makers in the world aided by improving UK and international data on happiness, health, popularity, and sustainability.
Are you willing to help us meet this challenge?
You will be joining a new organisation chaired by Nicholas Boys Smith MBE and a board of non-executive directors. You will be able to help shape its programme of work from an early stage. The Office for Place will be subject to the standard review of public bodies which will take place after 3-5 years to ensure continuing delivery for government and the taxpayer.
We particularly welcome candidates from an ethnic minority background and other underrepresented groups to apply, as we work to continually improve our ability to represent the places and communities we support through our work.
You can find out more about our work here: Office for Place - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
We are currently working in a start-up phase which will require flexibility as we begin to become fully operational and to grow to 24 FTE (Full Time Equivalents) by the end of 2024-25.
Job description
The successful applicate will initially be recruited into the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) and will be subject to a TUPE transfer in the second half of 2024. Terms and conditions for the new organisation are to be confirmed but will be no less favourable than DLUHC.
This is a new role within the Office for Place which will lead on two important aspects of our support to local authorities to develop local design codes, including at an authority-wide scale, which is a requirement under the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act.
You will lead on the development of an accreditation scheme for design codes that seeks to improve the quality of codes being created and implemented. You will also be responsible for leading the delivery of the Office for Place’s design code pathfinder programme, which provides grant funding and support to local authorities developing exemplar design codes, processes, and associated delivery mechanisms, such as local development orders.
You will be instrumental in supporting public sector planners, and the wider planning, design, and development sector to set clear quality asks for new development, based upon what local communities like and value. Your responsibilities will include:
• Lead responsibility for the design, testing, launch and operation of the design code accreditation process, supporting local authority planners to create local design codes.
• Overseeing the work of external reviewers as well as supporting those local authorities being accredited.
• Responsibility for the line management of two Accreditation Officers (Senior Executive Officers) and one administrative, Higher Executive Officer, delivering the accreditation process.
• Responsibility for successfully progressing the current Design Code Pathfinder programme, and establishing and overseeing future pathfinders, building upon existing experience and feedback to positive insights and learning are derived for other local authorities.
• Responsibility for identifying and sharing best practice in placemaking and the setting of design standards from the pathfinders and accreditation process, with local authority planning officers, the wider sector and policy makers in government.
• Working collaboratively with other members of the Office for Place team, in particular the Design Code Lead, Research Lead and Advising Lead.
• Reporting to the board on progress in the areas of work you are leading and obtaining input from the board to set the strategic direction and lead this area of work.
Person specification
• A qualified planner with around 5 years post-qualification experience, with an understanding of how town planners develop design policy, what support is needed and an ability to effectively judge the effectiveness of design and planning policies produced by local authorities and to promote innovation and best practice.
• You will have demonstrable experience as a local authority planner, or working closely with local authorities, and of the creation of design codes, incorporating issues ranging from street design to public realm and building facades.
• Connection to strong networks and credibility within your profession and an ability to speak publicly with authority as a technical expert.
• A proactive, self-starter who can think strategically and to set direction, balancing guidance from multiple stakeholders.
• Ability to lead on delivery of major national programmes to time and budget, requiring strong project management skills and leadership of areas of work.
• Possession of excellent verbal and communication skills and be confident in engaging with and presenting your work to get councils, communities, and the wider sector on board. You will need to report to the Executive Team and the Office for Place board, which will require you have excellent communication skills.
• You will be expected to demonstrate an affinity with the work of the Building Better, Building Beautiful Commission and an understanding of, and willingness to deliver, the Office for Place aims and objectives.
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
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.
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:
Your covering letter should be no more than 1 page.
Please bear in mind the following behaviours when writing your covering letter:
Managing a Quality Service, Leadership, Working Together, Making Effective Decisions
The interview will be of a blended nature consisting of:
Behaviours - Managing a Quality Service, Leadership, Working Together, Making Effective Decisions
Experience - Yes
Technical - Yes
Candidates shortlisted for interview will also be provided with a written scenario and asked to present their own solution to the interview panel to test your experience and technical ability.
In full the campaign will test the below Success Profile Elements:
Experience: Yes
Technical: Yes
Behaviours: Managing a Quality Service, Leadership, Working Together, Making Effective Decisions
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
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 circa £56,000 (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.
GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION:
- Stoke-on-Trent
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 06/05/2024 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 in 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.
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
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
Security
Nationality requirements
Working for the Civil Service
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).
Apply and further information
Contact point for applicants
Job contact :
- Name : Tony Osborne
- Email : Tony.Osborne@levellingup.com
Recruitment team
- Email : recruitment@levellingup.gov.uk
