Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

Director General, Local Government and Public Services (SCS Pay Band 3, salary circa £130k) February 2019

1 Contents

1 2 3 Welcome The Key People to MHCLG Department

4 5 6 The Role People Plan Leadership Expectation

7 8 9 Application Further Outline Process Information T&Cs

2 Welcome to MHCLG The Department & Key People The Role People Plan Leadership Expectation Application Process Outline T&Cs Further Information

A Welcome from A Welcome from Rishi Sunak, CB, Minister for Local Government

Thank you for looking into this role as Thank you for your interest in the position Director General, Local Government & of Director General, Local Government Public Services at the Ministry of and Public Services, a key role in the Housing, Communities and Local Ministry of Housing, Communities and Government. Local Government.

This is a very exciting time for our Department. With housing at This is an exciting and influential Board level role at the heart of the centre of the Government’s domestic priorities, we have a big central government with responsibility for around 400 staff and for role to play and big ambitions for the Department. We are proud oversight of the central government’s relations with local of the work we do, and of our open and collaborative culture. As government. This is a role that has responsibility for the local we look ahead over the next few years, our development as an government finance system and delivers on some key organisation will, above all, be driven by changes that empower government priorities, including troubled families, and and enable our people to deliver at their best. Central to this is homelessness and rough sleeping. our commitment to diversity, and to creating a truly inclusive working environment. You will need to be collaborative, working across the Department and with other parts of Government, but in particular with external We are looking for someone who can lead our Local Government stakeholders such as the Local Government Association, local and Public Services group. This is especially vital as we approach authorities and other local organisations. the spending review this year and set the framework for local government spending in the years ahead. You will have a strong We are looking for someone with a strong track record of track record of leadership and delivery, alongside an inclusive leadership and delivery, excellent communication and influencing and collaborative leadership style that enables you to work in skills, the ability to set direction for and motivate our workforce, partnership across the Department and across Whitehall. In and the credibility to influence senior leaders across all sectors. return, MHCLG offers you a chance to build your career at one of the most significant times in our recent history, and to make a real If you are interested in this post, and feel your skills are a good difference to the leadership of the wider Civil Service as well as match, then we very much look forward to hearing from you. our own Department.

Above all, we are looking for people who want to make positive change happen. If you think this could be you, we look forward to hearing from you. 3 Welcome to MHCLG The Department & Key People The Role People Plan Leadership Expectation Application Process Outline T&Cs Further Information

The Department Our Ministers The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government job is to create great places to live and work, and to give more power to local people to shape what happens in their area. MHCLG is at the heart of the Prime Minister’s objective of making the UK a country that works for everyone.

Our objective is to help create great places to live and work right The Rt Hon Jake Berry MP Kit Malthouse MP across the country and to back communities to come together James Parliamentary Minister of State for Under Secretary and thrive. A key task is to transform the housing market to Brokenshire MP Housing Secretary of State of State (Minister deliver 300,000 net additional homes a year on average by the for Housing, for the Northern mid 2020s. Communities and Powerhouse and Local Government Local Growth) Our plans fall under the following broad aims: 1. Deliver the homes the country needs by creating a housing market which will deliver 300,000 net additional homes a year on average by the mid-2020s. 2. Make the vision of a place you call home a reality. 3. Deliver a sustainable future for local government, strengthening its connection with the communities it serves. 4. Create socially and economically stronger and more confident Rishi Sunak MP Heather Lord Bourne of communities. Parliamentary Wheeler MP Aberystwyth 5. Secure effective support for those affected by the Grenfell Under Secretary Parliamentary Parliamentary of State (Minister Under Secretary Under Secretary Tower fire, delivering the changes this tragedy demands and for Local of State, of State ensuring people are safe and feel safe within their homes. Government) Minister for Housing and 6. Support a smooth exit from the European Union. Homelessness 7. Maintain MHCLG as a great place to work. The principles by which we organise our work and ourselves and the values we hold are here. 4 Welcome to MHCLG The Department & Key People The Role People Plan Leadership Expectation Application Process Outline T&Cs Further Information Our ambition and context:

Our ambition is to continue to develop as a department with an important economic and social agenda and a growing leadership role in central government and our Ministry for Housing sectors. We aim to fully realise our unique role in understanding local issues and how policy impacts people in communities and using this rich insight to influence national Communities and Local policy, with skill and confidence. We want MHCLG to be a fantastic place to work, right Government (MHCLG) at cutting edge of diversity and inclusion, both for our people and for our policy development and delivery.

The department has a long and distinguished history and our role has expanded recently as a result of the on-going process of our exit from the EU; the work responding to the issues arising from the Grenfell Tower tragedy, including the Public Arms Length Bodies (ALBs) Inquiry; the priority placed by the Government on housing; and a higher profile and leadership role for the department across the Civil Service. The department now Executive Agency employs around 2000 people in London and 16 other towns and cities across Planning Inspectorate Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre England, up from 1500 compared with 2015. A new and comprehensive Strategic Workforce Plan, based on a detailed analysis of our workforce trends and needs, will Executive non-departmental public body guide this expansion. This increase in resources will include an expansion of our Ebbsfleet Development Corporation corporate centre, in particular our scientific expertise, risk management, and Homes England commercial capability and capacity, to ensure we discharge our financial and Housing Ombudsman Leasehold Advisory Service governance responsibilities, which are now similar in scope and size to a medium-sized Regulator of Social Housing private sector bank. Valuation Tribunal Service

We are investing in better management, better leadership and diversity and inclusion. Advisory non-departmental public body Building Regulations Advisory Committee Our improvement is driven by people focused policies. Change delivered through people is at the heart of our department. Public corporation Architects Registration Board

The MHCLG Group: Other The department has 11 Arm’s Length Bodies delivering key areas of our agenda on the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman Valuation Tribunal England ground; capital budgets of £9.3 billion in 2018-19, and is responsible for the oversight of local government including £45 billion a year in local government spending. 5 Welcome to MHCLG The Department & Key People The Role People Plan Leadership Expectation Application Process Outline T&Cs Further Information

THE EXECUTIVE TEAM

Melanie Dawes CB Vacant Rachel McLean Permanent Secretary Director General, Local Director General, Chief and Chair of the Government and Public Financial Officer Executive Team Services

Simon Ridley Jeremy Pocklington Lise-Anne Boissiere Ruth Bailey Director General, Director General, Housing Director for Strategy, Director, People, Decentralisation and and Building Safety Comms and Private Office Capability and Change Growth (starts March 2019) 6 Welcome to MHCLG The Department & Key People The Role People Plan Leadership Expectation Application Process Outline T&Cs Further Information Local Government and Public Services in MHCLG

The Director General, Local Government and Public Services oversees five directorates with a wide range of responsibilities:

• Grenfell Recovery and Resilience. • Homelessness and Rough Sleeping. • Local Government Finance. • Local Government Policy (including preparing for Brexit). • Communities and Integration.

Among the group’s core responsibilities are: • Working with faith and community leaders, the Home Office and local authorities to identify the causes of a lack of integration and take forward government policies to address it. • Overseeing the new Holocaust Memorial in Victoria Tower Gardens in London. • Securing a financial settlement for local government in the coming spending review. • Overseeing the local government system, ensuring that it is fit for purpose to secure value for money, and assessing and advising on its sustainability. • Halving rough sleeping by 2022 and eliminating it altogether by 2027. • Continuing support for disadvantaged families with complex problems. • Continuing support for the Grenfell community, including the bereaved, victim’s families and the wider community. • Management of the Grenfell site going forwards, ensuring that oversight is efficient, transparent and accountable. • Co-ordinating local government responses to emergencies and supporting them through wider recovery. • Working with local government on the implications 7 of Brexit. Welcome to MHCLG The Department & Key People The Role People Plan Leadership Expectation Application Process Outline T&Cs Further Information

Job Description Key Responsibilities:

This is an exciting and influential Board level role at the heart of • Lead the reform of the local government financing systems central government. This role will drive and oversee our priorities on toward 100% business rate retention by 2020. oversight of the local government system, including risk, finance and priority services such as Troubled Families and social care; and • Lead oversight of the local government system, including on promoting and supporting strong and integrated communities, and financial sustainability, providing advice to ministers where leading relationships with faith bodies and institutions. The role also needed. covers homelessness and rough sleeping, and the wider recovery on Grenfell and management of the site going forwards. • Deliver the extended Troubled Families programme. The role would be ideal for: • Develop approaches for tackling homelessness, including • Someone who has extensive local government experience or hitting government targets on eliminating rough sleeping. exposure, including a strong understanding of local government finance. • Oversee the Government’s faith and integration work including • Someone who is capable of leading large policy teams and the Holocaust Memorial andknowintegration strategy. operating effectively across Whitehall. • Someone who is credible with local government and business • Oversee the recovery on Grenfell and the management of the partners. Grenfell site going forwards, This is a good opportunity for someone who wishes to make a temporary or permanent step from local government to central • Provide a clear point of accountability to whom Ministers, government. Permanent Secretaries, and external partners can come to discuss progress on our Local Government agenda. As one of the department’s senior leaders, the person will also be a strong and visible role model for the Civil Service leadership behaviours. These can be found in the Civil Service Leadership Statement available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-service-leadership- statement/civil-service-leadership-statement.

Leaders in MHCLG are also expected to role model our principles and values which complement the wider Civil Service Leadership 8 Statement; you can this see here. Welcome to MHCLG The Department & Key People The Role People Plan Leadership Expectation Application Process Outline T&Cs Further Information

The Person: Essential Criteria:

We encourage candidates from both inside and outside the Civil • A powerful communicator, who can operate in a complex Service. landscape with multiple stakeholders, achieving outcomes through strong relationships, persuasion and influencing As this is one of the most senior local government facing roles in rather than positional power. central government, candidates will need to be able to demonstrate that they will have immediate credibility in that • Is comfortable working in a fast-paced environment with sector. considerable ambiguity, flexibility and change with the personal resilience to work under sustained pressure and This role will suit individuals capable of leading large policy teams scrutiny. to develop and deliver policies with a strong focus on economic • A confident and empowering leader who enjoys working and social outcomes. The ability to work strongly with external collaboratively as part of a senior leadership team; who is a partners, particularly across the local government sector, is very inspiring and visible leader, passionate about developing a important, as is the ability to get things done across central productive, diverse and engaged workforce. Whitehall departments. • The stature and personal credibility to secure the You will also be an effective communicator and will be credible at confidence of Ministers, Senior Civil Servants, and council senior levels, including with Ministers, senior central government and business leaders. officials, local councils, and other stakeholders. You will be able to handle and balance a wide range of relationships, internally and externally. Desirable Criteria:

• Experience of working with or in the local government sector, and an understanding of local government finance.

• Is able to demonstrate they can understand and navigate Whitehall power structures, with the appetite and capability to transition quickly to central government. 9 Welcome to MHCLG The Department & Key People The Role People Plan Leadership Expectation Application Process Outline T&Cs Further Information

MHCLG is a unique department, offering people who work here experience in central policy, working across Whitehall, direct relationships with local areas and the opportunity to witness the impact of policy on the ground. The refreshed People Plan was launched in July 2018 and supports the We have made some important choices department to build a flexible and resilient workforce that will deliver our about the things that will really make a business objectives, as set out in the Single Departmental Plan. difference to our work and our people. We have chosen to:

• become a more flexible organisation. • become a more ‘permeable’ organisation, with increased loans and secondments in and out. • tailor our learning and development to what MHCLG needs. • make diversity and inclusion a business focus. • continue to support our people to grow their careers and achieve high performance.

10 Welcome to MHCLG The Department & Key People The Role People Plan Leadership Expectation Application Process Outline T&Cs Further Information What We Expect From Our Leaders: As one of the department’s senior leaders, you will also be a visible role model for the Civil Service leadership behaviours. These can be found in the Civil Service Leadership Statement:

11 Welcome to MHCLG The Department & Key People The Role People Plan Leadership Expectation Application Process Outline T&Cs Further Information Our Principles and Values:

As one of the key leaders in the department we would expect you to live and role model these values.

We are currently developing our plans for the department for the next few years, and are using these principles to make strategic choices about how we deliver our work and organise ourselves.

Alongside our strategic workforce plan they will be translated into MHCLG’s blueprint for the next few years.

12 Welcome to MHCLG The Department & Key People The Role People Plan Leadership Expectation Application Process Outline T&Cs Further Information

How to apply Application To apply for this post please send your application to [email protected] by no later than 12:00 on Monday 25th February 2019. Equal • a CV (including the names of 2 referees and current remuneration Opportunities details); • a statement of suitability describing how you meet the criteria and skills required for the role (max 2 pages); Selection • a completed equal opportunities monitoring form (and guaranteed interview scheme form, if applicable). Please note that the panel may not consider your application if the equal opportunities form is not returned as it will be considered incomplete. If you do not wish to provide any of the Timeline information requested, please tick the ‘prefer not to say’ boxes. Details of why we request this information and how it is used can be found on the form itself.

Please note: the documents stated are mandatory. Applications that do Assessment not include all the required documents will not be accepted. Complaints For an informal discussion about the role, please contact the recruitment team on 0303 444 8111 in office hours. Complaints

13 Welcome to MHCLG The Department & Key People The Role People Plan Leadership Expectation Application Process Outline T&Cs Further Information

Equal Opportunities Monitoring Form Application The data will be treated in the strictest confidence, and will be used for monitoring and statistical purposes only.

The equal opportunities monitoring form can be found as an Equal attachment to the job advert on Civil Service Jobs. Opportunities Candidates with disabilities

Selection MHCLG uses the guaranteed interview scheme to help widen employment opportunities for disabled people. Applicants with disabilities who meet the criteria, as stated in the person specification, the Civil Service nationality requirement and submit a completed 'Guaranteed Interview Timeline Scheme' form will be guaranteed an interview. The guaranteed interview scheme form can be found as an attachment to the job advert on Civil Service Jobs. Assessment

Complaints

Complaints

14 Welcome to MHCLG The Department & Key People The Role People Plan Leadership Expectation Application Process Outline T&Cs Further Information

Selection Panel Application Natalie Campbell , a Civil Service Commissioner, will chair the process. The Civil Service Commission has two primary functions:

1. Providing assurance that selection for appointment to the Civil Service is on Equal merit on the basis of fair and open competition. For the most senior posts in Opportunities the Civil Service, the Commission discharges its responsibilities directly by overseeing the recruitment process and by a Commissioner chairing the selection panel.

Selection 2. Hearing and determining appeals made by civil servants under the Civil Service Code which sets out the Civil Service values – Impartiality, Panel Objectivity, Integrity and Honesty - and forms part of the relationship between civil servants and their employer.

Timeline More detailed information can be found at on the Civil Service Commission website: http://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk.

The selection panel will be made up of: Assessment • Natalie Campbell, Civil Service Commissioner and chair of panel. • Melanie Dawes, Permanent Secretary, MHCLG. • , Permanent Secretary, DHSC. • Mark Lloyd, Chief Executive, Local Government Association. Complaints Additionally, the panel will be joined by one of our staff representatives from a pool of volunteers as part of our commitments to diversity and inclusion. 15 Welcome to MHCLG The Department & Key People The Role People Plan Leadership Expectation Application Process Outline T&Cs Further Information

Please note that these Indicative Timeline dates are only indicative Application at this stage and could Advert Closing Date be subject to change. If you are unable to meet 12:00 Monday 25th February 2019 these timeframes, please Equal let us know in your Opportunities application letter.

Selection Shortlist w/c 25th February 2019 Timeline Assessments w/c 4th March 2019 Assessment Interviews

w/c 11th March 2019 Complaints Interviews and assessments will take place in London. 16 Welcome to MHCLG The Department & Key People The Role People Plan Leadership Expectation Application Process Outline T&Cs Further Information

Selection process and assessments Application Staff Engagement Panel

Candidates that are shortlisted will be invited to attend a staff engagement panel.

Equal At MHCLG we hold staff engagement panels as an integral part of the recruitment process for Opportunities Senior Civil Servants (SCS) – they are designed to help us build up a rounded picture of each candidate and give us an insight into how you might engage and interact with your team should you be successful. The purpose of the session is to help us assess your engagement and communication skills and is not about testing your subject knowledge or expertise for this particular role. Feedback from the session is passed on to the selection panel for consideration alongside the Selection final interview.

References

If you are shortlisted, we will arrange to speak to your two references and a brief report of the Timeline discussions will be passed on to the selection panel for consideration alongside the final interview. Meeting with a senior stakeholder

You will have an opportunity to talk to a senior stakeholder from the Department, and this will be a chance for you to find out more about the role and the organisation. This may be a member of our Assessment Executive Team or a relevant Minister. Any meetings with Ministers will be attended by a representative from the Civil Service Commission. Complaints Presentation prior to interview

Complaints Shortlisted candidates will also be invited to give a short presentation or complete an exercise at the beginning of their final interview. Further details will be provided to shortlisted candidates when invited to interview. 17 Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment. Welcome to MHCLG The Department & Key People The Role People Plan Leadership Expectation Application Process Outline T&Cs Further Information

Complaints

Application The law requires that selection for appointment to the Civil Service is on merit on the basis of fair and open competition as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's Recruitment Principles which can be found at: Equal http://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk/wp- Opportunities content/uploads/2018/03/RECRUITMENT-PRINCIPLES-April- 2018-FINAL-.pdf

If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance Selection with the recruitment principles, and you wish to make a complaint, you should contact [email protected].

If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Timeline Department, you can contact the Civil Service Commission directly at: http://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk/civil-service- recruitment/complaints/ Assessment

Complaints

18 Welcome to MHCLG The Department & Key People The Role People Plan Leadership Expectation Application Process Outline T&Cs Further Information

Terms and Conditions:

Introduction Nationality In general, only nationals from the following countries are eligible for This is a Senior Civil Service (SCS) role at Pay Band 3 level and the employment in the Civil Service: the United Kingdom, the Republic of appointment will therefore reflect the changes made to SCS terms Ireland, the Commonwealth, the EEA, Switzerland and Turkey. There and conditions introduced on 1 July 2013. The information offered are certain very limited exceptions and further guidance is available at: in this document is supplied in good faith, but does not in itself https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nationality-rules form any part of the contract of employment. Annual leave Salary Full time new entrants to the Civil Service and those Civil Servants on For external appointments, remuneration for this role will be circa modernised terms and conditions will be entitled to 25 days leave, £130k pa plus a bonus opportunity depending on performance (within increasing on a sliding scale to 30 days after 5 years’ service. In the normal Civil Service pay arrangements) and attractive pension. addition to this you are entitled to 8 public/bank holidays plus an additional day for the Queen’s Birthday. The allowance is pro-rated for For existing civil servants, new rules for internal candidates state that part-time staff. With competitive maternity, paternity and parental leave you can no longer expect to get 90% of an externally advertised rate, we also recognise the importance of a good work-life balance and unless we make a special business case . If appointed on promotion offer flexible working and a family friendly approach to work. you would get the higher of 10% uplift or the new minimum for Director General. Location 2 Marsham Street, London, SW1P 4DF. Future pay awards will normally be made in line with current SCS performance-related pay arrangements. Terms of benefits • Defined benefit pension scheme (a career average basis for new Eligibility recruits). This post is advertised on level transfer or promotion to existing civil • Occupational Health Services. servants, and externally. • Access to health and wellbeing support. • Childcare support vouchers. Contract • Leave provisions including carers’ leave, paid and additional unpaid This is a permanent appointment. However a loan, secondment or maternity leave, paid paternity leave and paid adoption leave, fixed term appointment will be considered. The Department volunteering leave. welcomes applications from people wishing to work flexibly, including those willing to job share or wishing to work part time. 19 Welcome to MHCLG The Department & Key People The Role People Plan Leadership Expectation Application Process Outline T&Cs Further Information

Further Information on working for MHCLG Further information on working in the Civil Service

To find out more information on MHCLG and what we are trying The Civil Service provides services directly to people all over to achieve, including publications and transparency releases, the country, including: please do look at our website which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of- • paying benefits and pensions housing-communities-and-local-government • running employment services • running prisons Our objectives and how we will achieve them are set out in our • issuing driving licences Single Departmental Plan, which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/department-for- We also have staff working on policy development and communities-and-local-government-single-departmental-plan implementation, including analysts, project managers, lawyers and economists. Our latest Annual Report and Accounts provides a comprehensive account of the Department and its group’s use To find out more information on working in the Civil Service, of resources during the financial year 2017 to 2018 and please look at the Civil Service website here: information about its activities and performance against its https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/civil- objectives. This can be found here: service/about/recruitment https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/mhclg-annual- report-and-accounts-2017-to-2018 The Civil Service Code sets out our core values and the standards of behaviour expected of all civil servants and this Further information on working for MHCLG can be found on our can be found here: page on the new Civil Service careers website: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-service-code https://www.civil-service-careers.gov.uk/departments/working- for-the-ministry-of-housing-communities-and-local-government/ The Civil Service Workforce Plan provides a strategy for how the Civil Service will share and provide improved outcomes for effective leaders and skilled people who support the nation as civil servants. This can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-service- workforce-plan-2016-to-2020

The new Civil Service Careers website can be found here: https://www.civil-service-careers.gov.uk/ 20