Service Owner - AMCR + Defend as One

As Service Owner you will use digital thinking, culture, service design and delivery practices to develop the service. You will be an inspirational leader to those delivering the service, as well as being accountable for the quality of the service to senior leaders. You will represent the service and its users’ needs at all levels within the organisation and with partners.
You will adopt a portfolio view, managing end-to-end services that include multiple products and channels, and influence policy and delivery teams to ensure they’re considering the needs of users. We’ve written a blog post about how MHCLG sees the role of Service Owner.
As the Service Owner, you will:
+ set direction and provide strong, decisive, and visible leadership for the service. For the DAO role, this includes the strategic response to cyber incidents in the local government sector and providing technical policy advice
+ be accountable for the quality and usage of your service, iterating and improving the service based on user feedback
+ work with the broader Local Digital senior leadership team to deliver a successful Local Digital programme and support teams to deliver a quality service, considering user needs, organisational goals, financial constraints, security, cross-government strategy, commercial considerations and team capabilities
+ operate at scale by building and maintaining strong relationships with local authorities, partners such as Government Security Group, National Security Secretariat, National Cyber Security Centre, Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, Local Government Association and teams within MHCLG to deliver the service
+ ensure the necessary business processes are followed and participate in the governance of the service, including acting as a point of escalation for delivery teams
+ communicate the benefits and performance of your service to demonstrate impact and help support a culture of continuous improvement, MHCLG want to bring in a diverse workforce at all levels.
Our application system is designed to remove as much bias as possible from the recruitment system – this means that a hiring manager does not know your name, your details, see your whole application in one go (or have your CV at review stage unless stated otherwise).
Your answers are randomised and chunked up. This means that each assessor views sets of responses to questions for example all candidates’ responses to ‘Seeing the Big Picture’ rather than seeing a candidate’s full application. The science behind this is that recruitment can be subject to ordering and fatigue effects and we want to reduce this as much as possible.
Most of our campaigns utilise multiple assessors and so it is possible that each of your answers would be viewed by different assessors.
When writing your application, remember:
+ The assessor won’t be reading your answers sequentially.
+ Do not assume that the same assessors will have read all of your answers.
+ If talking about something in your first answer, make sure that you write the second answer as if you had not written the first (and so on!)
CV and Cover Letter Declaration
We recruit based on your knowledge and skills, and not background, gender or ethnicity - this is called name blind recruitment.
Please remove references to your:
+ name/title
+ educational institutions
+ age
+ gender
+ email address
+ postal address
+ phone number
+ nationality/immigration status
You will need to merge your CV and covering letter into one document. When submitting your application Applied will ask you to upload a CV, when doing this you should upload your merged document of your CV and covering letter.
Most of our campaigns utilise multiple assessors and so it is possible that your application would be viewed by different assessors.
At sift, through your CV and covering letter we will be assessing:
+ Technical, There may be opportunities for candidates to work flexibly depending on the business needs. This will be discussed with the vacancy manager on a case-by-case basis if you are successful for the role.
Sift and Interview dates
Sifting is envisaged to take place from 24.09.2024 with interview dates to be confirmed. All interviews are currently being held remotely via videocall.
Reserve List
In the event that we identify more appointable candidates than we currently have posts available, we will hold applicant details on a reserve list for a period of 6 months from which further appointments can be made. This may include roles at a lower grade. Candidates placed on a reserve list will be informed of this. Those candidates who do not wish to remain on the reserve list should contact recruitment@levellingup.gov.uk to be removed from the reserve list.
Before starting your application it’s very important to make sure that you are eligible to apply and meet the Civil Service nationality requirements. All candidates are expected to read the information provided in the MHCLG candidate pack regarding nationality requirements and rules.
DV (Developed Vetting):
Important note
Successful candidates for roles based in our 2 Marsham Street building must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is DV (Developed Vetting) and the process can take up to 8 weeks to complete.
Please note that successful candidates will need to pass the DV checks – this requires you to have been resident in the UK for the past 10 years. Please refer to the MHCLG Notes on Security Clearance section of our Candidate Pack for further information on Developed Vetting.
Candidates should also note that with effect from 1st August 2018 the department will also check all applicants who are successful at interview, against the Internal Fraud Database (IFD) held by the Cabinet Office. In accordance with the Civil Service Internal Fraud Policy, any applicant who is included on the IFD will be refused employment by MHCLG. Please see the Candidate Pack for further information on the Internal Fraud Database.
Candidate Pack Information
Please see attached Candidate pack for further information.
Internal Fraud Database
The Internal Fraud function of the Fraud, Error, Debt and Grants Function at the Cabinet Office processes details of civil servants who have been dismissed for committing internal fraud, or who would have been dismissed had they not resigned.The Cabinet Office receives the details from participating government organisations of civil servants who have been dismissed, or who would have been dismissed had they not resigned, for internal fraud. In instances such as this, civil servants are then banned for 5 years from further employment in the civil service. The Cabinet Office then processes this data and discloses a limited dataset back to MHCLG as a participating government organisations. MHCLG then carry out the pre employment checks so as to detect instances where known fraudsters are attempting to reapply for roles in the civil service. In this way, the policy is ensured and the repetition of internal fraud is prevented.
For more information please see- Internal Fraud Register
Fixed Term Details
For external candidates – you will be offered 23 months fixed term appointment with a possibility of permanency.
For existing civil servants – you will be offered a 23 months loan opportunity. Before applying for the role, you will need to seek approval from your parent department to take up a loan appointment should you be successful.
For Secondments - you will be offered a 23 months secondment opportunity. Before applying for the role, you will need to seek approval from your employer to take up a secondment opportunity should you be successful.
For MHCLG employees - you will retain your existing contract.
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security
Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.
Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is developed vetting (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
The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.
We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).
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.
The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

Diversity and Inclusion
The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

+ experience working with local government or wider public sector particularly from a cyber security and digital perspective
+ knowledge of relevant laws, regulations, and industry/HMG standards including GDPR, NCSC CAF, Cyber Essentials and ISO27001, with a strong understanding of information security principles, concepts, and best practices
+ relevant professional certifications, such as CISSP, CISM, CISMP, CRISC or equivalent experience
+ experience of working with senior stakeholders to communicate the value of a service and the ways in which it can be iterated and improved to meet their needs and deliver policy outcomes
+ experience of managing high performing teams, delegating decision making to the most effective level, and empowering team to autonomously deliver to the best of their abilities
+ an ability to translate complex and technical security concepts to non-technical stakeholders and inform decision making
+ a high-level understanding of service design principles
+ experience of managing the expectations of stakeholders with conflicting needs and demands
+ expertise in gathering, analysing and using user insight and performance data to design and continually improve a service
+ experience of assessing risks, scoping resource requirements and managing budgets and operating costs to ensure value for money and sustainable development of teams and services
Additionally as the Defend as One Service Owner, you'll have:
+ expert knowledge of typical threats and attack vectors with appropriate remediation methods
+ experience of cyber incident response and vulnerability management practice

Here at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. (MHCLG), we work on things that make a real difference to people’s lives.
Whether it's through the homes we live in, the work of our local councils, or the communities we’re all part of, our work is at the top of the political agenda. We have ambitious and far-reaching outcomes to achieve this year and, if you’re thinking of joining us, there’s never been a more exciting time.
We have over 3,500 staff who are based in 20 offices across the UK. With ambitious and far-reaching goals this year, there’s never been a more exciting time to join us.
The Local Digital team sits within the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) and supports councils across England to deliver more secure, user-centred, cost-effective local public services through open, collaborative and reusable work.
A key part of our work is supporting the local government sector to be more cyber resilient and deliver on the ambition of the Government Cyber Security Strategy to be resilient to known vulnerabilities and attack methods no later than 2030.
We’re looking for 2 inspiring leaders to help shape and manage our work to deliver the strategy vision for local government.
The first role will focus on the pillar of the strategy that aims to build a strong foundation of organisational cyber security resilience. This work is underpinned by the adoption of the National Cyber Security Centre’s (NCSC) Cyber Assessment Framework (CAF) as the assurance framework for government.
The second role will focus on the pillar of the strategy to ‘defend as one’ (DAO). Recognising that the scale and pace of the cyber threat demands a more comprehensive and joined up response.
Find out more about what it's like to work in a digital, data and technology role at MHCLG including our culture, ways of working, career progression and staff benefits. You can also read the MHCLG Digital blog to learn about the work we're doing.

Alongside your salary of £67,889, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government contributes £19,667 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.
+ 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 average employer contribution of 27%
Transfers across the Civil Service on or after 4 October 2018:
Any move to MHCLG from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax-Free Childcare. Determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk.
For further information about the benefits available to MHCLG employees, please see the attached Candidate Pack., The interview will be of a blended nature consisting of the following success profiles elements:
+ Behaviours: Changing and Improving, Working Together, Managing A Quality Service
+ Experience
+ Technical
In full the campaign will test the below Success Profile Elements:
+ Technical
+ Experience
+ Behaviours: Changing and Improving, Working Together, Managing A Quality Service
Experience questions will be based around the essential skills and criteria as listed in the job description.
Technical questions will be based around the essential skills and criteria as listed in the job description.
We do not consider direct CV applications – you must apply for this role via the application link on Civil Service Jobs:
Please note that near miss offers may be made at the lower grade to candidates who do not meet the grade criteria for this campaign.
Grade 6 salary
+ The salary for this role is £67,889 (London)., Any move to MHCLG from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax-Free Childcare. Determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk.