Vacancy -- Senior Housing Standards Technical Officer

Working for the Civil Service

The Welsh Government's recruitment processes are underpinned by the principle of selection for appointment on merit on the basis of fair and open competition as outlined in the Civil Service Commission’s Recruitment Principles.

The Civil Service Code sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

Vacancy Details

Education and Public Services
Homes & Places
SEO - £41,700 - £49,370
£39,310 with the ability to appoint up to point 3 on the SEO scale for an exceptional candidate.
Full time (applications are welcome from people who work part time, as part of a job share or who work full time)
Permanent
Pan Wales
'Pan Wales' means that the location in which the vacancy can be based is flexible, subject to the needs of the business. Please note it may not always be possible to accommodate a preference for a specific office location, but requests will be taken into consideration.
TBC

Purpose of Post:

To provide professional advice, support and guidance to Homes and Places Division and the wider Welsh Government as needed, to ensure that the standard of housing in Wales is improved and maintained.  This includes appraisal of schemes funded by the Social Housing Grant and technical advice and guidance on new and existing sustainability standards.

Key tasks:

  • Develop, monitor and review the new build and existing dwelling standards across all tenures including non-traditional and innovative housing solutions;
  • Manage and monitor the sustainability standards in housing and provide quality assurance advice;
  • Support the implementation of the programme to deliver housing standards, including appraisal, advice and guidance relating to the Social Housing Grant programme in Wales;
  • Provide technical design, quality assurance advice and construction advice to Ministers, Homes and Places Division and other Welsh Government Departments;
  • Develop and progress standards relating to disability and older people;
  • Develop strong links with external and internal stakeholders to ensure Welsh Government policy is informed, understood and implemented;
  • Develop strong and constructive working relationships with the housing sector including housing associations, local authorities, consultants, tenants groups and other housing professional. 

Development opportunities:

We believe that affordable housing should be beautiful. The successful candidate will have an unique opportunity to become a significant player in improving the quality of housing in Wales for the next decade and beyond. 

The successful candidate will be able to engage creatively with developers early enough in the design process to make a real difference on large and small developments which are likely to cover all tenures from social to market housing. 

Closing Date:

01/10/2020, 16:00

Eligibility

Posts recruited to as part of this recruitment campaign are broadly open to UK nationals, those with right to remain and work in the UK and those that meet the Civil Service Nationality Rules only. Check your eligibility here:

Prior to appointment, all successful applicants will be required to produce original, acceptable documents as part of the pre-employment checks. If it becomes apparent at a later stage in the process that you aren’t eligible to apply, your application will be withdrawn, or offer retracted.

Equality and Diversity

The Welsh Government is committed to providing services which embrace diversity and which promote equality of opportunity. This is underpinned by the Equality Act 2010 and will be adhered to at each stage of the recruitment process. Our goal is to ensure that these commitments are also embedded in our day-to-day working practices with all our customers, colleagues and partners.

We are committed to being an anti-racist organisation and increasing diversity in the Welsh Government by removing barriers and supporting all our staff to reach their potential. We are committed to recruiting Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic people and disabled people who are currently under-represented in Welsh Government.

We welcome applications from everyone regardless of age, marriage and civil partnership (both same sex and opposite sex), impairment or health condition, sex, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, gender identity or gender expression.

We are a Stonewall Diversity Champion and a Disability Confident Level 3 (Leader) organisation. Key to supporting this work and providing peer support are five Board sponsored Staff Networks (Disability Awareness and Support (DAAS); Minority Ethnic Support Network (MESN); Mind Matters (Mental health and well-being); PRISM (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex +) and Women Together.

Disability Confident

A Great Place to Work for Veterans

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans initiative.

Welsh Language Requirements

The Welsh Government is a bilingual organisation and Welsh language skills are considered an asset to the organisation. We encourage and support staff to learn, develop and use their Welsh language skills in the workplace. 

The following list of language requirements represents an objective assessment by the line manager on behalf of the Welsh Government of the Welsh language skills required to undertake the duties of this particular post.

Not necessary to undertake the duties of this post

Social Partnership

In Welsh Government, the relationship between the employer and trade unions is based on social partnership. We believe our goals can best be achieved by management and trade unions working together.

Our 3 recognised trade unions are:
•         PCS
•         Prospect
•         FDA

This relationship is underpinned by a partnership agreement. This sets out how our unions work with Welsh Government on issues such as:
•         pay
•         terms and conditions
•         policies and procedures
•         organisational change.

Our Welsh Government trade union colleagues work together to give their members a real say in the workplace. They make sure that the interests of their members are promoted and protected. They also help reduce inequalities and improve terms and conditions.

The Welsh Government has an excellent track record of working in partnership with its trade unions. We encourage staff to get involved. We support you to join a recognised trade union, to ensure your voice is heard in the workplace. and to learn more about trade unions and partnership working.

Competencies / Job Specific Criteria

Competencies

  1. Changing and Improving - Be willing to meet the challenges of difficult or complex changes, encouraging and supporting others to do the same.
  2. Collaborating and partnering - Actively seek input from a diverse range of people.
  3. Achieving Commercial Outcomes - Gather and use evidence to assess costs, benefits and risks of a wide range of delivery options when making commercial decisions.
  4. Achieving Commercial Outcomes - Consider, in consultation with commercial experts, alternative ways of working with partners and contractors to identify more efficient outcomes, balancing cost, quality and turnaround times.

Job Specific Criteria

  1. A highly motivated and qualified Registered Architect.
  2. A proven ability to build strong positive links with internal and external stakeholders.
  3. Excellent communication skills.

Assessment Process

Application, followed by panel interview.

Other Information

  • Unless stated otherwise in ‘actual starting salary’, all candidates will start at the minimum of the pay scale being appointed to (this includes existing civil servants).This is not negotiable.
  • Unless stated otherwise in ‘type of opportunity’, this recruitment advert is not open on a Loan or Secondment basis.
  • For more information on the eligibility criteria and terms and conditions for Loan and Secondment positions in Welsh Government, please see external recruitment candidate guidance.
  • Unless stated otherwise in ‘Location of Post’ the role/s recruited to via this campaign can only be worked in the UK, not overseas.
  • The candidate must be a registered architect.
  • Salary can be offered up to point 3 on the SEO salary scale.
Sarah Laing Gibbens - sarah.lainggibbens@gov.wales - 03000 625452

How to apply

All applications for this vacancy should be made online via the Welsh Government's online application system.  If you have an impairment which would prevent you from applying on-line, please e-mail SharedServiceHelpdesk@gov.wales to request an application pack in an alternative format, or to request a reasonable adjustment related to an impairment in order to submit your application.

To apply, you'll need to have an account on our online application system.  Click the 'Apply' button below, and you'll be asked to 'Log in' if you already have an account, or 'Register' if you don't yet have an account.  Registration takes just a few minutes to complete.  You'll need an e-mail address to be able to register.  Once you've registered for an account and logged in, you'll be taken to the online application form, which you'll need to fully complete and submit before the deadline on the closing date.  

If you’d like to apply for this vacancy in Welsh, please use the ‘Newid Iaith / Change Language’ link at the top of this page, to take you to the Welsh version of this advert, from which you can apply in Welsh.

For further information regarding the Welsh Government recruitment process, please see the Recruitment Guidance for External Candidates (link).

When evidencing your suitability for the post, it is recommended that you refer to the Civil Service Competency Framework (link)

Grievance and Complaints

Anyone who believes they have been treated unfairly, or has a grievance or complaint, about how the process was conducted should either write to the Head of Resourcing, Welsh Government, Cathays Park 2, Cardiff CF10 3NQ or email SharedServiceHelpdesk@gov.wales.  If you are unhappy with the outcome of the complaint raised with the Welsh Government and feel that the principles of appointment on merit through fair and open competition have not been met you have the right to pursue your grievance with the Civil Service Commission.

This vacancy is closed to applications.