Contents Location About the job Benefits Things you need to know Apply and further information Location Bristol, Darlington, Leeds, London, Manchester, Wolverhampton About the job Job summary We are recruiting for a Deputy Director, Land & Infrastructure. The division works directly with Mayoral Combined Authorities, the GLA, One Public Estate and Homes England to deliver investments and manage programmes. Job description The team works in a high profile, fast-paced environment. You will be leading teams of policy experts and project delivery specialists, operating across a broad set of policies and programmes with considerable ministerial interest. The work broadly divides into four areas: First, as a member of the Directorates Senior Leadership Team you will have significant opportunities and responsibilities for the leadership, motivation, inclusion, and support of everyone across the Land & Infrastructure Division. This includes our ambitious corporate objectives around diversity and inclusion, recruitment, wellbeing, skills and development and relationships with external stakeholders. Second, you will lead a group of officials who are responsible for managing a suite of programmes, currently just under £11bn. This is no easy job. Two of the programmes are on the Governments major project portfolio (GMPP), acknowledging their scale, complexity, high risk and strategic significance. The team navigates an extensive delivery environment focusing on 4 themes: (1) investing in site specific infrastructure; (2) providing capacity to local authorities to enable delivery,(3) addressing land remediation barriers and (3) releasing publicly-owned land for homes. Your role is to support and empower them, providing steers on challenging issues, risk mitigation or stakeholder handling. Third, the team works with places to support delivery of locally-led, large scale developments, through the Garden Communities and the New Towns programmes. You will support their cross-government advocacy work to ensure the necessary transport and social infrastructure is delivered alongside housing, creating thriving communities where people want to live and work. Fourth, your team has a key strategic role in the design and delivery of the new national housing delivery fund, ensuring it aligns with governments priorities for housing, supports the devolution agenda and contributes to the Growth mission. You will support the team to advise senior leaders and ministers on strategy, delivery options and implementation opportunities and risks. Key Accountabilities Play an active role in the senior leadership of the Group and Directorate, helping to make the Directorate a fantastic place to work. Lead a team of around c.20 people and form part of a 5-strong SCS leadership team in New Towns, Infrastructure and Housing Delivery Directorate Building and managing key relationships with delivery partners, MCAs, key land-owning government departments ( eg DfT, MoD, DHSC), IPA and HMT Working closely with the New Towns division, lead work on delivery of large-scale developments, convening and brokering support from other government departments to drive delivery Working closely with colleagues across the department, analytical, legal, finance and commercial to ensure programmes are successfully delivered, offer value for money and consider legal and implementation opportunities and risks, underpinned by sound financial management Lead the delivery of a portfolio of land & infrastructure programmes (valued at c£11bn) through: - Oversight of delivery of a suite of grant and loan programmes investing in infrastructure projects across, policy work on investment in infrastructure for housing and the design and development of successor programmes - Oversight of the locally-led Brownfield Housing Fund, and Brownfield Land Release Fund, fund administration and policy work on devolution of housing funds to MCAs and Local Authorities - Oversight of delivery of land programmes, policy work on releasing publicly owned land for housing and development of a new Public Sector Land programme - Oversight of delivery of 2 GMPP programmes the Housing Infrastructure Fund and the Brownfield Infrastructure and Land Fund engaging with and leading the necessary monitoring, reporting and assurance associated with delivery of complex, high value GMPP programmes. Person specification This Deputy Director posts play a critical role within the MHCLG housing delivery team. You will be an experienced and highly visible leader, able to engage and motivate a team working under pressure and at pace, and to actively contribute to the wider leadership agenda of the Directorate and Department. You will have experience of managing teams across multiple locations and be prepared to travel to visit projects and teams across the country as necessary. First rate stakeholder handling skills are absolutely essential as you will need to work closely with senior leaders across Government and in local authorities. You will need to be a collaborator and influencer; and to thrive on handling a broad range of policy and performance oversight issues. With strong analytical skills, you will have an understanding of the wider context such as economic, commercial, spatial and market issues. You will be able use this insight to develop innovative and implementable new policy solutions and challenge established ways of thinking. It is important that you are adept at managing and working with specialists and comfortable with commercial content. You will need to draw on your highly developed project leadership skills, considerable delivery experience and technical project delivery knowledge to ensure successful delivery of your programmes and priority places. Y ou will need to have an eye for detail and the ability to make operational decisions at pace. You will be able to use your judgement, drawing in outside expertise as needed to develop your advice and help Ministers navigate through an uncertain policy environment. You will need to be able to engage effectively across departmental boundaries at a senior level, advocating on behalf of places and have proven and credible experience working with Ministers. You will bring experience of the housing sector and relevant commercial, economic and market issues. Candidates without this should set out in their covering letter how they would develop their expertise in this area. The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan and the Civil Service D&I Strategy. Essential Criteria An inspiring, confident and empowering leader, who can set strategic direction, lead effectively through ambiguity and get the best out of a diverse workforce through promoting an inclusive, high performance culture. A track record of leading major government projects, driving successful delivery at pace and managing risks effectively, including the ability to adapt to changing situations. Strong analytical and strategic capability, with the ability to use evidence to solve complex problems. Ability to grip and manage a complex range of detailed project, financial and delivery information to give confidence to your team, delivery partners and stakeholders. The ability to develop, maintain and influence senior networks across Whitehall alongside a record of working effectively with senior local and a national stakeholders including Ministers, and the judgement to handle sensitive and political issues confidently and with acumen. Benefits Alongside your salary of £76,000, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government contributes £22,017 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides. Learning and development tailored to your role An environment with flexible working options A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity A Civil Service pension Things you need to know Selection process details The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan and the Civil Service D&I Strategy. How to apply Please click the Be Applied link to provide the required information and complete your application through the Be Applied website by 23:55 on 19th January 2025. You will be asked to enter some personal details, upload your CV and to provide your responses to the roles advertised essential criteria. When prompted to upload your CV, please upload a single document consisting of: a CV (including the names of 2 referees and your current remuneration) setting out your career history, with key responsibilities, achievements and your relevant qualifications. Please ensure you have provided reasons for any gaps within the last two years. a statement of suitability explaining how your personal skills, qualities and experience provide evidence of your suitability for the role, with particular reference to the essential criteria provided in the person specification. (max. 2 pages) Please remember to save these two items in one document. Both items will be assessed to determine sift outcomes. Failure to submit both a CV and statement of suitability will mean the panel only have limited information on which to assess your application against the Essential Criteria. Please note that only completed applications through the Be Applied route will be considered and that any further progress updates will be sent through Be Applied. The hiring manager, Cathy Francis, would be happy to have informal discussions with candidates who would like further information about the role before submitting an application. If interested, please contact scs.recruitmentlevellingup.gov.uk The selection panel will be made up of: Cathy Francis, Director, New Towns, Infrastructure and Housing Delivery (Hiring Manager) Two additional Directors, TBC Additionally, the panel may be joined by one of our staff representatives from a pool of volunteers as part of our commitments to diversity and inclusion. Selection process and assessments During sifting, both your CV and Statement of Suitability will be assessed against the roles Essential Criteria. These Essential Criteria will also be used to form the basis of the panels questions in your final interview. If a role lists Desirable Criteria, these will only be used to determine the merit order of candidates who rank evenly when assessed against the Essential Criteria. Candidates that are shortlisted may be invited to attend a staff engagement panel. At MHCLG we hold staff engagement panels as an integral part of the recruitment process for 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 onto the selection panel for consideration alongside the final interview. Candidates may also be invited to a meeting with a Minister or the Deputy Prime Minister, and/or other senior stakeholders. This is not a formal part of the selection process but an informal chance for candidates to find out more about the role and the organisation. 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. All of the evidence presented as part of the process will be considered in the final assessment. Location This role is available in one of the locations listed below. During the application process you will be asked to express a location preference, from the advertised locations. Any offer made will be based on that specific location. London Wolverhampton Darlington Leeds Manchester Bristol Salary For external appointments, remuneration for this role will be £76,000 pa plus a bonus opportunity depending on performance (within the normal Civil Service pay arrangements) and attractive pension. For existing civil servants, the usual policy on level transfer and promotion will apply and is non-negotiable. If appointed on promotion you would get the higher of 10% uplift or the new minimum for Deputy Director (£76,000 p/a) Future pay awards will normally be made in line with current SCS performance-related pay arrangements. 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 12 months from which further appointments can be made. Candidates placed on a reserve list will be informed of this. Near Miss Offers 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. Security Clearance All MHCLG colleagues must meet the Baseline Personnel Security Standard. This is a series of basic security checks to confirm identity and employment history. In addition to the BPSS, the level of security clearance required for this role is Security Check (SC) and the process can take up to 8 weeks to complete. For more details of vetting levels and requirements please refer to the Cabinet Office HMG Personnel Security Controls. Complaints Process Please see candidate pack slide 23 for details. Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment. This role has a minimum assignment duration of 3 years. An assignment duration is the period of time a Senior Civil Servant is expected to remain in the same post to enable them to deliver on the agreed key business outcomes. The assignment duration also supports your career through building your depth of expertise. As part of accepting this role you will be agreeing to the expected assignment duration set out above. This will not result in a contractual change to your terms and conditions. Please note this is an expectation only, it is not something which is written into your terms and conditions or indeed which the employing organisation or you are bound by. It will depend on your personal circumstances at a particular time and business needs, for example, would not preclude any absence like family friendly leave. It is nonetheless an important expectation, which is why we ask you to confirm you agree to the assignment duration set out above. 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 security 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. Diversity and Inclusion The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window). Apply and further information This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative. 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 : MHCLG SCS Recruitment Email : scs.recruitmentcommunities.gov.uk Recruitment team Email : scs.recruitmentcommunities.gov.uk Attachments DD Land and Infrastructure Candidate Pack Opens in new window (pdf, 827kB) Apply at advertiser's site Share this page Print Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn GMail