Vacancy -- Head of Race, Faith and Gypsy Roma & Traveller Policy

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, Social Justice and Welsh Language Group
Race, Faith and Gypsy Roma & Traveller Policy
Grade 7 - £53,440 - £63,900
£53,440
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:

Creating a fairer Wales is at the heart of the Programme for Government and this post has a critical role to play, leading on Race, Faith and Gypsy, Roma Traveller policy in the Equality and Human Rights Division.

The post-holder will lead a small policy team, working closely with the Head of the Anti-racist Wales Action Plan implementation team and the Head of the Race Disparity Unit, and across the Equality Team to advance equality in Wales and to foster good relations, inclusion, mutual respect and understanding within and between communities.

The post holder will also work closely with Ministers, Civil Servants across Government and external stakeholders to support implementation of the Anti-racist Wales Action Plan. The role operates at the interface between Welsh Government and Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities, broadening engagement and strengthening the influence of people from these communities.  This work requires empathy, sound judgement and the ability to listen.

This can be a difficult policy area because there are multiple interests and often resistance to change.  The role will require resilience, the ability to work in partnership and build common purpose within government but also to challenge where progress is not being made.

The post-holder will need to have project management skills and be comfortable working in a busy policy area with a significant amount of government business.

As part of the senior management of the Division, the post-holder will work flexibly with colleagues to provide leadership as well as providing support and cover as needed.

Key tasks:

  • Lead Welsh Government’s race, faith and Gypsy, Roma, Traveller policy work and team to ensure delivery of Programme for Government commitment and ministerial priorities in these areas.
  • Ensure government business in these policy areas is managed effectively, promptly and to a high standard.
  • Support the implementation of the implementation of Anti-racist Wales Action Plan and contributing to the realisation of the vision set out in the Action Plan.
  • Build trust and widen Welsh Government’s engagement with Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities (including Gypsies, Roma & Travellers) and faith communities, enabling people’s lived experience to shape policy and create space for dialogue and challenge.
  • Support the minister-led Wales Race Forum and the Faith Communities Forum, ensuring Secretariat support for both and maintaining close engagement with other WG Equality Forums, seeking synergies and joined up working.
  • Keep up to date with relevant legislation in these policy areas, identify opportunities to support more effective implementation of current legislation and determine where legislation may need to be strengthened.
  • Manage delegated budgets effectively, working closely with Divisional and Departmental finance leads to ensure funding is impactful, evaluated and supported by robust and transparent governance.
  • Provide oversight of the Welsh Government Gypsy Traveller Sites capital funding programme and related work to ensure that sites in Wales are of a high standard and that new sites are developed.
  • Build and maintain relationships with UK Government Departments and devolved administrations.
  • Monitor local, regional and national events which relate to or impact upon policy areas ensuring Ministers and senior managers are appropriately briefed.
  • Work flexibly as part of the wider Equality & Human Rights Division as required.

Development opportunities:

An opportunity to lead on a high profile and challenging policy area.  Significant opportunity to work with people and communities across Wales and amplify their voices in driving policy change and delivery.

Closing Date:

02/06/2023, 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.

Desirable
Can read some basic words and phrases with understanding
Can hold a basic conversation in Welsh
Can understand parts of a basic conversation
Can write basic messages on everyday topics

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

  • Changing and Improving - Encourage and recognise a culture of initiative and innovation focused on adding value – give people space and praise for creativity
  • Leading and Communicating - Be visible to staff and stakeholders and regularly undertake activities to engage and build trust with people involved in area of work.
  • Collaborating and Partnering - Actively involve partners to deliver a business outcome through collaboration that achieves better results for citizens.
  • Making Effective Decisions - Analyse and evaluate data from various sources to identify pros and cons and identify risks in order to make well considered decisions.

Job Specific Criteria

  1. Ability to think strategically and identify connections between areas of work, spotting themes and opportunities and translating these into appropriate responses.
  2. Evidence of ability to work in a collaborative way with Ministers, senior leaders, key policy officials and external stakeholders to enable change.
  3. Evidence of skills to engage, work in partnership with and influence Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic leaders and faith leaders, activists and communities, across Wales.

Assessment Process

Applications will be sifted, successful candidates will then be invited to an interview where they will be asked to do a presentation.

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.
Stuart Evans - externalrecruitment@gov.wales

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.