Intelligence and Policy Officer - REQ003579

INTERNAL ONLY VACANCY. This post is open to existing Leeds City Council employees only. Applications will not be considered from external candidates.

Job title: Intelligence and Policy Officer
Salary: PO2 £39,862 - £42,839
Hours: 37
Contract: Permanent

Do you want to be part of something bigger and support the delivery of our Leeds Ambitions?

Are you curious about how evidence and insight can be used to improve outcomes for people in Leeds, and keen to build your experience in policy and strategic planning?

About the role

We are looking for a motivated and collaborative person with an interest in policy and research to join the council’s Policy team.

You will play a key role in supporting the delivery of evidence-led policy and strategy, working with colleagues across the council and with our partners to help deliver the Leeds Ambitions.

Working as part of a committed and forward-thinking team, you will:

Contribute to policy development projects and help coordinate work across teams and partners.
Prepare briefings, reports and presentations for senior leaders and elected members.
Build knowledge of local, regional and national policy developments and share insight to support the council’s strategic planning.
Support the use of data and evidence to inform strategies and plans, helping to communicate complex issues in a way which colleagues and communities can easily understand.
Help strengthen links between the council and the city’s universities to support research collaboration.

This is a fantastic opportunity for someone looking to develop their public policy career in local government. You will have opportunities to broaden your skills and experience in a collaborative environment at the strategic heart of the council.

We are particularly keen to hear from applicants who bring curiosity, a willingness to learn, and an ability to build positive working relationships. The team work closely with senior leaders and external partners, so the role will suit someone attracted to a fast-paced and extremely varied working environment. A strong understanding of the current operating context for local government would be a significant advantage.

About the team

The council’s Policy team has a broad remit to provide a range of insight to decision-makers with the aim of improving services and outcomes. While this post will be predominantly focused on policy and strategy, you will have the opportunity to work flexibly across the functions the team delivers including:

Data analysis – including the analysis of population outcomes and need, demographics, activity impact, service performance and quality assurance activity and surveys.
Business planning – comprising the council’s corporate planning, risk management, performance management, and consultation and engagement.
Policy development and support – including co-ordination and leadership of the wider policy community, policy influencing and regional/national partnerships, and academic-civic research collaboration.

We promote equality, diversity and inclusion and want a workforce that reflects the population of Leeds.

Don’t meet every single requirement? We know that for some groups there are barriers to recruitment which can deter their application. If you are excited about the role but don’t meet every requirement – we encourage you to apply anyway!

For an informal chat about the role please contact Mike Eakins, Michael.Eakins@leeds.gov.uk

We welcome applications from everyone and actively seek a diverse range of applicants from all backgrounds and cultures. We particularly encourage applications from, but not limited to, women, carers, veterans as well as LGBT+, ethnically diverse, disabled and care experienced people.

This role is based in the UK. Home Office guidance states that candidates must evidence their right to work in the UK prior to commencing employment, either as a UK or Irish citizen, under the EU Settlement scheme or having secured any other relevant work visa.

If you do not have the right to work in the UK, you must consider your own eligibility for sponsorship for a particular role through the Skilled Worker visa route before applying. To be eligible for sponsorship you'll usually need to be paid the standard salary rate of at least £41,700 per year or meet one of the other eligibility criteria. Ensure you are eligible before applying.

Job Description

Job purpose

The post-holder will provide practical advice and strategic support to one or more functions and service responsibilities within Leeds City Council’s Intelligence and Policy Service (IPS). IPS provides a wide range of insight to frontline services, senior managers, elected members and partners with the aim of informing decisions and improving services and outcomes. This happens at locality, service city and wider levels.

IPS’s functions include:

Data analysis – including the analysis of population outcomes and need, demographics, activity impact, service performance and quality assurance activity and surveys
Business planning – comprising the council’s corporate planning, risk management and business continuity management, performance management and consultation and engagement
Policy development and support

The post-holder will work flexibly as part of the IPS team and with internal and external colleagues to support the development and implementation of the authority’s strategic approach in one or more of the functions outlined above. The role will require significant cross-council and cross-partnership working; as such, success depends on building and maintaining strong, positive relationships with these stakeholders. This will include the management of key relationships with specific service areas, key partnerships and other support services. The post-holder will also need to demonstrate knowledge and experience of delivering comprehensive aspects of one or more of the IPS functions and of managing staff and teams.

Should the role require specialist knowledge, skills and/or experience in a particular functional or service area, this will be detailed in the job advert, though the post-holder will need to be flexible with the role evolving in line with the council’s and IPS’s priorities. The post-holder will also have cross-council responsibilities.

Responsibilities

The post-holder will play a key role in the development and delivery of IPS priorities in one or more of the following areas.

Data Analysis

Provide responsive, timely and accurate intelligence and analysis that meets the needs of stakeholders, including face-to-face contact with service users and the general public.
Support intelligence capacity through enabling self-service, contributing to innovation, involving partners and thereby making data more accessible, better integrated and readily used; in a manner that is consistent with good information governance.
Ensure intelligence informs improvement conversations and consequent actions, supporting managers and colleagues to own and use intelligence, linking data with other evidence and taking consideration of trends, benchmarking, forecasting, underlying need and equalities characteristics including disadvantage.
Support managers and colleagues with further developments, improvements to and implementation of intelligence and data analytical systems and processes, including support to underlying data quality and the promotion of data as an asset. These may include Business Intelligence tools, GIS and specific applications such as the Leeds Observatory. This will include cross-council, city partnership and regional/national sector best practice.

Business Planning

Contribute and support the development of the council’s corporate plan, working with colleagues to ensure consistency with other key council and partnership strategies and in line with the authority’s policy direction and strategic narrative.
Support managers and colleagues with further developments and improvements of the corporate risk management and performance management frameworks, facilitating informed decision-making, benchmarking and service improvement.
Support managers and colleagues with further developments of the corporate business continuity management framework, providing advice and guidance to support the council in preparing for and responding to significant service disruption.
Provide practical advice and guidance of a co-ordinated approach to online and offline consultation and engagement, including survey design and analysis and community engagement.

Policy Development and Support

Provide support to colleagues, managers and elected members around key national, regional and local policy areas.
Collaborate with colleagues across the organisation to improve cross-policy co-ordination and promote a common strategic narrative, aligned with the council’s corporate plan.
Contribute and communicate socio-economic insights and analysis to inform council and city policies, priorities and decision-making.
Contribute to the representation of Leeds City Council at external policy meetings, ensuring the views of the council are reflected.
Contribute to partnership working across the Leeds City Region, including the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, to support proactive input to policy development.

General Responsibilities

Promote, demonstrate and evidence the council’s values and expected behaviours through your own role and through the work of the service.
Support colleagues with the delivery and improvement of key areas of work within IPS, ensuring that strategic and service outcomes and priorities are delivered successfully to a high standard.
Work flexibly across the service and wider organisation to meet council and city priorities and exploit opportunities for personal development.
Work closely with commissioners of IPS services to inform both service prioritisation and the evaluation of service delivery.
Maintain knowledge of local, regional and national issues as they relate to IPS functions.
Develop and manage staff within the service, especially those for whom the post-holder directly line manages, including agreeing responsibilities and objectives, ascertaining training and development needs, work planning, monitoring performance, assessment and appraisal.
Support the team with the procurement, implementation and ongoing management of IPS technical solutions and processes, maximising the use of technology to facilitate efficiencies and improved performance.
Build strong, dynamic relationships and networks, positively engaging with relevant stakeholders.
Contribute and support colleagues in the preparing and deliver briefings, reports and presentations to senior managers, elected members and partners.
Support colleagues with delegated budgets, resources and assets effectively and efficiently and in line with the council’s financial and contract procedures rules.
Ensure compliance with relevant legislation, national standards and best practice in pursuit of excellence in service delivery.
Work within all relevant policies, procedures and systems established corporately or locally. These include the council’s arrangements for Health and Safety, Human Resources, Information Governance and Equality and Diversity.
The duties outlined are not meant as an exhaustive list and will also comprise any other duties within the spirit of the post commensurate with the job evaluation outcome for this post.

Qualifications

Relevant qualifications are welcomed but not essential.

Essential requirements Candidates will only be shortlisted if they can demonstrate that they meet all the following essential requirements.

Able to manage and monitor performance, setting clear objectives for the review of individual, team and service level performance
Able to engage and influence senior managers and partners
Able to analyse and interpret complex qualitative and quantitative information from multiple sources
Able to effectively communicate and distil complex information and challenging messages in person, in presentations and in writing
Able to write reports and communicate in a business context for a variety of audiences
Able to undertake a senior role promoting organisational values within the service and in relationships with other services and partners
Able to support the negotiation of service commitments, ensuring commitments are manageable and that resources are being used for the greatest benefit
Able to work flexibly, at pace and manage a demanding workload
Able to develop resolutions to complex issues
Able to work flexibly across a range of simultaneous initiatives and as part of a larger team adapting to changing needs and priorities
Able to use Microsoft packages proficiently
Project management skills
Change management skills
Use of analytical software and tools appropriate to the focus of the role
A good understanding of Leeds City Council strategies, policies and current direction
An understanding of the council's political context, including the pressures facing public services in their drive to improve service delivery and outcomes
Detailed and up-to-date knowledge of one or more of the Intelligence and Policy functional areas, as described in the job advert. This includes good practice, methodologies and legislative / regulatory requirements.
Knowledge of the area of public service this role is focused on, as outlined in the job advert, including national policy direction, the local authority role, sector-led improvement, intelligence needs, practice requirements and performance expectations.
Experience of working at a principal officer level in one or more of the specific responsibility areas outlined in the job advert: data analysis, business planning and/or policy development and support
Experience of managing staff
A record of building positive and collaborative relationships that have enabled the effective application of insight to improve services and outcomes
Experience of delivering performance improvement
Managing and contributing to delivery within complex environments involving various stakeholders to achieve positive outcomes
Managing and prioritising competing work pressures and the relationships underpinning these
Delivering work to expected quality and to meet deadlines
Experience of changing and evolving how services are delivered in terms of approaches used, service priorities and service relationships
Prepared and able to pick up and lead new areas of work as required
Take personal responsibility for delivering work on time and for managing your own and your team’s workload

Essential behavioural and other characteristics

Understand and embrace Leeds City Council values and behaviours and codes of conduct
Committed to continuous improvement in all areas and work towards delivering the leedsambitions.co.uk of Health and wellbeing, Inclusive growth, Thriving strong communities, and a Resilient sustainable city
Able to understand and observe Leeds City Council policies and procedures
Carry out duties having regard to an employee’s responsibility under Health, Safety and Wellbeing
Participate in appraisal, training and development activities to ensure up, to date knowledge and skills
Be aware of and support difference and ensure equality for all working in an anti-discriminatory manner, upholding equality and diversity of Leeds City Council
Recognise and appropriately challenge any incidents of racism, bullying, harassment, victimisation, and any form of abuse, reporting any concerns to the appropriate person
Flexible and adaptable to change to assist other services as required commensurate to grade.
The Council has adopted a flexibility protocol and the role will be expected to work within these parameters

Desirable requirements Candidates are not required to meet all the following desirable requirements however these may be used to distinguish between candidates.

Knowledge of national frameworks and sources of intelligence specific to the focus of this role, as outlined in the job advert. This includes, where relevant, the local authority role in the management, collection and submission of the underpinning data.
Controlling and managing budgets
Managing and / or commissioning research projects
Supporting the specification and contracting of technical solutions and processes to support the Intelligence and Policy Service’s work

#INT

#LI-DNI

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