Deputy Director Sustainable Futures

Welsh Government

Wales, UK

Hybrid

Expires: Expiring in less than 3 weeks

Policy

Flexible

£86,000 per year

Job summary

The post is part of the new Welsh Government Strategy Directorate, within the First Minister and Cabinet Office Group.

The post holder will lead an effective, integrated team which works flexibly across at high pace across a range of complex and novel issues, rapidly adapting to emerging requirements.

The postholder will lead on continuing to mainstream the Well-being of Future Generations Act within Welsh Government, advising Ministers and senior officials on the Welsh Government’s own responsibilities under the Act, and promoting integrated policy making across government.

They will also be responsible for the Equality Impact Improvement team who lead and manage the delivery of a cross organisational ‘Section 23 Action Plan’ to bring about organisational reform and culture change in the way that equality impacts are considered from the start of our policy making, ensuring that equality impact assessments have been properly undertaken and that statutory equality duties have been met.

Job description

The postholder will work across Government and with partners to further develop and deliver approaches to mainstream the Wellbeing of Future Generations within Welsh Government policy making, boost policy capability and act as lead advisor on ensuring the Welsh Government fulfils its own responsibilities under the Act.

The postholder will liaise closely with the office of the Future Generations Commissioner and strengthen cross-Wales and international networks on wellbeing policy.

The postholder will:

Lead through influence across Welsh Government and the public sector to embed sustainable development across all public bodies covered by the Well-being of Future Generation Act.
• Provide leadership, direction and support for Sustainable Futures Division staff and across Welsh Government.
• Promote and embed the Well-being of Future Generations as an operating system for the Welsh Government, including refreshing guidance, delivering training, and leading staff engagement sessions.
• Build capacity and understanding across Welsh Government through champions, networks, and knowledge sharing.
• Act as the lead advisor on ensuring the Welsh Government fulfils its own responsibilities under the WFG Act, advising ExCo and the WG Board as necessary.
• Work closely with senior officials, special advisors and Ministers to deliver the Welsh Government’s Well-being and Future Generations objectives.
• Lead on the delivery of grants to Public Services Boards (PSBs), the Future Generations Commissioner, and Sustainable Futures Divisional funding.
• Lead on benchmarking policy skills and applying future trends within policy development.
• Deliver enhancements to the practice and process of assessing impact, especially where there are statutory obligations.
• Provide leadership, management and oversight for the effective delivery of the Equality Impact Improvement action plan and provide timely progress updates on s23 to ExCo and the Welsh Government Board.

Person specification

The successful candidate will need to have a range of experience, skills and experience, including:

Behaviours (assessed at application and interview)

Leadership - work to influence the strategy, direction and culture to increase effectiveness
Working Together - proactively create, maintain and promote a strong network of contacts across the organisation and externally
Seeing the Big Picture - identify and shape how your work area fits within and supports the priorities of the organisation
Communicating and Influencing - influence external partners, stakeholders and customers successfully securing mutually beneficial outcomes

Experience (assessed at application and interview)

1. Experience of championing and nurturing best practice relating to the Well-being of Future Generations Act in particular the five ways of working, including futures thinking.

2. Experience of working on equalities issues, including stakeholder engagement, organisational improvement and impact assessments.

In the event of a large number of applications the sift will be undertaken on the lead Behaviour of ‘Leadership’ and lead Experience point 1 of ‘championing and nurturing best practice relating to the Well-being of Future Generations Act, in particular the five ways of working, including futures thinking’.

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

Leadership
Working Together
Seeing the Big Picture
Communicating and Influencing

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £86,000, Welsh Government contributes £24,914 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).

Learning and development tailored to your role
An environment with flexible working options
A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours and Experience.

Stage 1 – Application
To apply for this role, you will be asked to submit:

Application Form

We welcome applications in Welsh and English. Applications in either language will be treated equally. If you have an impairment that would prevent you from applying online, please contact SCSRecruitment@gov.wales to request an alternative format or a reasonable adjustment to submit your application.

We operate name-free recruitment. The selection panel will not see personal information while shortlisting in line with our commitment to end bias and promote equality and diversity. Please remove your name from your CV and personal statement.

Personal Statement

Your personal statement will be input into the application system and has a maximum word count of 1,000. Please explain how your professional qualifications, skills, qualities and experience meet the essential criteria included in the person specification and how you meet the key behaviours necessary experience criteria listed above.

Diversity Information

The Welsh Government is committed to achieving a workforce that reflects the society it serves – at all levels. You will be asked to confirm some diversity information on your application form. Collecting this information enables us to identify whether we are recruiting from the widest possible pool of talent and check that all groups are being treated fairly throughout the process; this form will not be disclosed to anyone involved in assessing your application. If you do not wish to provide a response to a particular question, you select ‘prefer not to say.’ You will not be able to submit your application if you leave any of the questions unanswered.

Stage 2 - Assessments

Shortlisted candidates will have the opportunity to speak to the Panel Chair - Peter McDonald prior to the interview. This is an informal discussion to allow you to learn more about the role and is not part of the assessment process and will not be scored.

If shortlisted, you will take part in the following assessments:

Online Psychometric Tests

A discussion with a psychologist via Microsoft Teams. You will receive a link to the online test within 10 working days after the shortlisting meeting. You do not need to take this test again if you have completed it in the last two years for a role at the same grade.

Staff / Stakeholder Engagement Exercise

This exercise gives you the opportunity to present your experience, ideas and views on effective leadership for this role. You will meet with a group of staff via Microsoft Teams who may be future team members, peers, colleagues or stakeholders.

Interview & Scenario Exercise

Before your interview, the selection panel will receive feedback on your psychometric tests and staff & stakeholder engagement exercise. You will be given a scenario before your interview and will be asked to give a 5-minute verbal briefing. Interviews will be around 45 minutes and will consider how the skills and experience in your CV and personal statement meet the requirements of the role. The interview is expected to be held in person at Cathays Park, Cardiff.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a basic (or equivalent) 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

Please note this Post is NOT regulated by the Civil Service Commission.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.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see theCivil 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.The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window).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

Salary range

£86,000 per year