Vacancy -- WHQS Relationship Manager

'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.

The Housing Decarbonisation and Standards team is responsible for the development and implementation of the Welsh Government’s strategy to decarbonise Wales’ 1.4 million homes, and the supporting standards.  Welsh homes are responsible for 27% of all energy consumed in Wales and 15% of all our demand-side Green House Gas (GHG) emissions. The retrofitting of these homes is a primary preventative measure as it seeks to improve the energy efficiency of homes and help WMs to meet legally binding carbon targets. Our strategy and investment should prioritise social housing, demonstrating best practice, developing supply chains and skills that will stimulate the market and inform strategy for owner occupied home retrofit programmes. It will require social landlords, their tenants, SMEs, funding bodies and other key stakeholders to work together to achieve mutually beneficial outcomes. 

Delivery of the strategy focuses on:

• the Welsh Government’s flagship Optimised Retrofit Programme (ORP);
• developing and securing cross-government and cross-sector support for a strategy to deliver the high level commitments set by Welsh Ministers in the Net Zero Wales Plan for 2021-25;
• the Welsh Housing Quality Standard (WHQS); and,
• the Welsh Development Quality Requirement (WDQR).

The purpose of this post is to improve the quality of 230,000 social homes, owned and managed by local authorities (LHAs) and Registered Social landlords (RSLs).  The Government continues to drive up the standard of existing Welsh social housing by setting a demanding Welsh Housing Quality Standard (WHQS) which all social landlords in Wales are legally obliged to meet.

WHQS is a tenant focused standard, designed to upgrade assets and address adverse health, education and wellbeing outcomes for residents.  WHQS also sets out standards relating to decarbonisation to support carbon reduction from the Welsh housing stock to contribute towards governmental climate change goals. 

The role ensures the delivery of the Welsh Housing Quality Standard through regular oversight and monitoring, early identification of issues which may inhibit optimal delivery, and working collaboratively with internal and external colleagues to engender appropriate solutions.

• Risk assess and monitor WHQS delivery across social landlords in Wales, signalling delivery constraints to more senior colleagues, and working collaboratively with internal and external colleagues to facilitate appropriate solutions.
• Co-ordinate individual and group monitoring meetings, and coordination with grant processes to ensure WHQS policy and programmes deliver expected outcomes.
• Plan and facilitate network events including presenting regular updates on WHQS.
• Develop of policy for WHQS2 (Task & Finish Group, RHE, practitioners group, sector updates).
• Work with partners to support the delivery of WHQS and the development of the update to the standard.
• Work with wide range of stakeholder organisations in order to effectively implement WHQS policy and programmes, including Community Housing Cymru (CHC), the Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA), Tenant Participation Advisory Service (TPAS) Cymru, Tai Pawb, Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) and Cardiff University Welsh School of Architecture (WSA).
• Liaise with other WG departments in order to align and amplify policy outcomes from WHQS with other key governmental policies and programmes. This includes KAS, Regulation, Building Safety, Housing Policy, Fuel Poverty, Communications & PR and Local Government Finance.
• Manage the Major Repairs Allowance (MRA) and dowry gap funding of £108m capital annually, together with other WHQS funding programmes to ensure funding is spent appropriate in line grant centre of excellence expectations and state aid requirements.
• Providing responses to and drafting TOs, Ministerial Advice, DCs, Freedom of Information Requests and First Point of Contact queries.
• Written and verbal communication with members of the public about quality of existing social housing.
• Deal with stock transfer legacy queries.

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.

05/06/2023, 16:00

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:

• UK Visas and Immigration - GOV.UK

• Nationality rules – GOV.UK

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

• 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.

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)

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.