Vacancy -- Housing Quality Standards - Quantity Surveyor

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

Climate Change and Rural Affairs Group
Housing Quality Standards
SEO - £41,700 - £49,370
A starting salary between £41,700 and £49,370 will be offered to the successful candidate based on their skills, knowledge and experience and performance at interview. This range is not negotiable.
Full time (applications are welcome from people who work part time, as part of a job share or who work full time)
Fixed term
Fixed Term Appointment/Secondment 2 years (in fair and open competition).
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:

This post offers an exciting opportunity to be part of a team delivering on key strategic priorities for Welsh Government.

The post sits within the Housing Funding Team. The team is responsible for the management and administration of the Social Housing Grant Programme. Social Housing Grant is the key funding source for the development of new social housing. The programme plays a key role in the Welsh Government commitment to deliver 20,000 new homes for social rent.

The post holder will be responsible for helping manage and monitor the programme for specific local authorities as well as assessing applications for grant.

The post holder will need to manage their workload to ensure deadlines are met and be flexible to adapt to changing priorities within the team

Key tasks:

  • Monitoring and agreeing local authority programme delivery plans to ensure their grant allocation is appropriately spent
  • Being first point of contact for specified local authorities with regard to their SHG programme responsible for answering queries and resolving issues, feeding significant issues to the manager
  • Assessing applications for grant and recommending for approval. Within delegated authorities the postholder will approve low value schemes.
  • Checking grant claims including verifying supporting documentation and certifying payments. For small claims, the postholder will approve for payment
  • Providing drafts of policy advice, briefings, correspondence and speeches for senior officials and Ministers
  • Administering the process for amending legal charges on social housing schemes which have received grant and liaising with Welsh Government lawyers to action the relevant changes

Development opportunities:

This is an extremely high-profile area, attracting considerable political and media interest. The role therefore involves working across Government with a range of senior stakeholders with key policy interests, including, for example, building regulations, decarbonisation, fuel poverty, housing supply, education/ apprenticeships as well as links to areas with significant housing interests i.e. social services. It also involves considerable external engagement at a senior level with local authorities, Registered Social Landlords, and the private sector, especially construction and sector innovators on decarbonisation, and with the Decarbonisation Implementation Group, the Welsh Government’s formal advisory group for housing decarbonisation. This is in addition to active involvement with other Government administrations

Closing Date:

19/06/2023, 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
No skills
No skills
No skills
No skills

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

Achieving commercial outcomes – gather and use evidence to assess costs, benefits and risks of a wide range of delivery options when making commercial decisions.

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.

Delivering value for money – recommend actions to achieve value for money and efficiency.

Making effective decisions – recognise patterns and trends in a wide range of evidence/data and draw key conclusions, outlining costs, benefits, risks and potential responses.

Job Specific Criteria

  1. A highly motivated and qualified Chartered Quantity Surveyor and recognised Project Management qualification.
  2. A proven understanding of value engineering and value for money in relation to high quality construction and whole life costs.
  3. Proven ability to analyse construction cost data and to use and manage cost analysis systems.

Assessment Process

There are 3 stages to the application and assessment process:

Stage 1 – Submit CV & Personal Statement

Please upload your CV and Personal statement (no more than 2 pages). We are particularly looking for you to demonstrate how you meet each of the Job Specific Criteria. You can find these in the Job Specific Criteria section of the advert.

  • Please note that we will be assessing your CV and personal statement against the job specific criteria listed below . Ensure that your personal statement identifies how you meet the Job Specific Criteria. (approx. 300 words for each criterion).

    Stage 2 – Sift of CV

    After the closing date, all applicant’s CVs and personal statements will be assessed.

     

    Candidates who successfully demonstrate that they meet the minimum Job Specific Criteria will be sent an online skills test/presentation (title ) duration 5 minutes).

     

    Stage 3 – Presentation

    A 5 minute presentation will be required, topic to be advised

    Interviews date is TBC.

    Stage 4 – Interview 

    Your interview will be based on the Skills Profiles or Behaviours/Skills and Job Specific Criteria outlined in the sections of this advert.

    At Interview stage you will be asked questions which will allow you to provide evidence (including specific examples) of how you meet each of the Job Specific Criteria and Behaviours and Skills required for this role.

     

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.

There are 3 stages to the application and assessment process:

Stage 1 – Submit CV & Personal Statement

Please upload your CV and Personal statement (no more than 2 pages). We are particularly looking for you to demonstrate how you meet each of the Job Specific Criteria. You can find these in the Job Specific Criteria section of the advert.

  • Please note that we will be assessing your CV and personal statement against the job specific criteria listed below . Ensure that your personal statement identifies how you meet the Job Specific Criteria. (approx. 300 words for each criterion).

    Stage 2 – Sift of CV

    After the closing date, all applicant’s CVs and personal statements will be assessed.

     

    Candidates who successfully demonstrate that they meet the minimum Job Specific Criteria will be sent an online skills test/presentation (title ) duration 5 minutes).

     

    Stage 3 – Presentation

    A 5 minute presentation will be required, topic to be advised

    Interviews date is TBC.

    Stage 4 – Interview 

    Your interview will be based on the Skills Profiles or Behaviours/Skills and Job Specific Criteria outlined in the sections of this advert.

    At Interview stage you will be asked questions which will allow you to provide evidence (including specific examples) of how you meet each of the Job Specific Criteria and Behaviours and Skills required for this role.

     

Darren Hatton - HousingQualityStandards@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.