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Job Title: Building Schools for the Future Programme Director
Job Ref: OXFORDSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL/09/6402
Oxford
37 hours per week
Up to £74,317 pa
INFORMATION FOR CANDIDATES
Please indicate clearly on your application form how you meet
the selection criteria.
Closing date: 4pm Friday 13 November 2009
Interview date: Monday 23 November 2009
You can apply online at http://jobs.oxfordshire.gov.uk
To discuss the post further, please contact: Paula Tansley on 01865 815212,
alternatively you can email Paula.tansley@oxfordshire.gov.uk
If you have any queries about completing your application form please call
01865 323994 or email County.Jobs@oxfordshire.gov.uk.
Contents
1. Oxfordshire County Council
2. About Oxfordshire
3. Information on Directorate and Service Area
4. Job Description
5. Person Specification
6. Conditions of Service
7. How to apply
8. Recruitment Charter
Please quote the job reference on all correspondence
Please note that if an email address is provided we will use this for
correspondence. We therefore advise that you check your emails
regularly.
1. Oxfordshire County Council
Council services are provided through four directorates and the Corporate
Core. The Chief Executive is in overall charge. Each directorate has a director
and a number of heads of service responsible for particular areas of that
directorate's work.
CORPORATE CORE SOCIAL & COMMUNITY
SERVICES
Chief Executive – Joanna Simons Director – John Jackson
ENVIRONMENT & ECONOMY CHILDREN, YOUNG PEOPLE &
FAMILIES
Director – Huw Jones Interim Director – Jim Crook
COMMUNITY SAFETY DIRECTOR FOR PUBLIC
& HEALTH
SHARED SERVICES Director – Jonathan McWilliam
Director – John Parry
The County Council Management Team (CCMT) consists of the Chief
Executive, the four strategic directors and the Head of Finance and
Procurement.
The Council has adopted a set of values, which guide everything we do.
They are:
Customer Focus
Honesty
One Team
Involvement
Can do
Effective and Efficient
Oxfordshire County Council has 74 elected councillors representing all parts
of the county. The council is Conservative-controlled and its decision-making
body is called the cabinet.
Oxfordshire County Council has responsibility for many key local services and
employs over 20,000 people to deliver them. Each year the council manages
£900 million of public money in the provision of these services on behalf of
Oxfordshire's 632,000 people. This includes schools, social services, the fire
service, roads, libraries and the museums service, trading standards, land
use, transport planning and waste management.
Councillors
We have 74 elected councillors, representing all parts of the county, who
decide how our services should be managed. They are elected every four
years and the most recent election was in June 2009.
How the council is organised
The political management system is based on the Leader and Cabinet model
with a separation between decision-making and scrutiny. A written constitution
governs relationships between council, cabinet and scrutiny.
Council Constitution
The Constitution sets out the rules and procedures under which the council
operates.
Aims and values
The key aims, strategic objectives and values of our county council.
2. About Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire forms a near perfect economic region, known the world over
because of the city of Oxford at its centre. It is well-positioned and has strong
links to London and the Midlands, as well as west to the Cotswolds and along
the M4 corridor. The county has the greatest concentration of research and
development in Western Europe and is globally competitive in areas such as
high performance engineering, bioscience, medical instruments and
publishing: maintaining that competitiveness is central to the long-term
prosperity of the county.
Oxfordshire is the most rural county in the south-east region, with very
beautiful countryside and many thriving market towns and villages. Over half
the population lives in settlements of fewer than 10,000 people.
It is a fantastic place to live, work and raise a family with opportunity in
abundance.
Sources of information about living in Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a vibrant county in which to live and work. To help you find out
more, here are some useful websites.
Warning: all links will open in a new window.
General information:
www.oxfordshire.gov.uk
Oxfordshire County Council promotional DVD
www.thisisoxfordshire.co.uk
The five district council websites:
www.southoxon.gov.uk - South Oxfordshire District Council.
The main towns are Wallingford, Didcot, Thame and Henley
www.westoxon.gov.uk - West Oxfordshire District Council.
The main towns are Witney, Carterton and Chipping Norton
www.whitehorsedc.gov.uk - Vale of White Horse District Council.
The main towns are Abingdon, Wantage and Faringdon
www.cherwell-dc.gov.uk - Cherwell District Council.
The main towns are Banbury and Bicester
www.oxford.gov.uk - Oxford City Council
Housing
www.housingnet.co.uk
www.fish4.co.uk (click on fish4homes)
www.thisisoxfordshire.co.uk
www.finders.co.uk
www.chancellors.co.uk
www.thomasmerrifield.co.uk
www.qbman.co.uk
www.dailyinfo.co.uk
If you would be relocating with school aged children and would like to
find out more about education in Oxfordshire, admissions brochures for
primary and secondary schools can be obtained from the Admissions
Team, Children's Services on 01865 815175 or email:
admissions.schools@oxfordshire.gov.uk
3. Information on Directorate and Service Area
About the Children, Young People and Families Directorate and
Oxfordshire Children and Young People's Trust
This is a rapidly improving directorate with ambitions to be rated as
outstanding in every aspect of work. Outcomes are generally improving,
though in some areas further improvement is still required. We are confident
that strong foundations are in place to achieve this.
In the past three years the directorate, and partners, working as the
Oxfordshire Children and Young People's Trust has:
Strengthened partnership working arrangements to ensure that
different organisations share priorities and take a common approach.
Focused on increasing prevention and early intervention across all
our services, preventing serious escalation of issues and allowing us to
further invest in improving front line services.
Restructured to enable integrated delivery of children's services.
There are now three areas (northern Oxfordshire, central Oxfordshire
and southern Oxfordshire), with 13 locality based partnerships served
by multi-disciplinary teams; capable of working together more
effectively through a common assessment framework and creating
teams working with children and families to meet their needs.
Improved our use of data in making decisions, so that our resources
are effectively targeted.
Taken seriously the importance of involving and listening to
children, young people, parents and carers in all stages of shaping
and targeting our services to ensure that their needs are met.
The Children and Young People's Trust
The Children and Young People's Trust brings together young people, senior
managers, parents and politicians from across the public sector in
Oxfordshire.
It is a partnership that has overall responsibility for planning and delivery of
services for children and young people. The Trust is responsible for publishing
a single Children and Young People's Plan and for making sure that services
deliver the commitments outlined in that Plan. The Trust, led by the county
council, is currently drafting a new plan, due for publication in January 2010.
The three priorities that have been identified for the new plan are:
Keeping all children and young people safe and healthy
Raising achievement for all children and young people
Narrowing the gap in life chances for our most disadvantaged and
vulnerable children and young people
The trust is supported by four working subgroups, chaired by trust members:
Joint commissioning subgroup
Participation and involvement subgroup
Performance management subgroup
Workforce development subgroup
Three area trust boards (northern, southern and central) have also been
established to ensure the trust is responding to local needs and drives
performance locally.
For more information please visit the Oxfordshire Children and Young
People's Trust website
Directorate structure
The directorate underwent a significant restructure in September 2008. The
new structure comprises of four roles at second tier (head of service)
reporting to the director: three roles with both geographical area and
countywide professional responsibilities and one post with oversight of
commissioning, performance and quality assurance. The three sets of
professional responsibilities are school improvement, young people and
access to education and children's social care and each of these senior post
holders leads multi-disciplinary children's services teams for one of three
regions of the county. Given the scale of the county, the regions covered are
broadly equivalent to a small children's services authority.
Performance
The 2008 Annual Performance Assessment (APA) rated the overall
effectiveness of Children's Services as two star.
The report highlighted a number of successful and improving areas:
"Strong senior leadership has driven significant reorganisation recently. There
is vision and ambition across all services. This is underpinned by clear needs
analysis, risk assessment and quality assurance. The council has accelerated
the pace of improvement and has implemented the recommendations from
the Joint Area Review and the 2007 APA".
Ofsted awarded the highest possible grade to the council's work on helping
children and young people to make a positive contribution.
"There are outstanding mechanisms for consulting with children and young
people including travellers, unaccompanied asylum seekers, looked after
children and those with learning difficulties and/or disabilities. Children and
young people meet regularly with senior officers and elected members, their
views are carefully considered and have a positive impact on decision-
making."
Inspectors identified strengths in child protection and safeguarding work:
"Robust action has been taken to increase the effectiveness of the Local
Safeguarding Children Board. Action taken in response to serious case
reviews has been prompt and comprehensive and has raised the profile of
safeguarding across agencies.
Care placements are of good quality and good use is made of kinship care.
Performance on the adoption of looked after children has improved strongly
and is at higher levels than for similar councils."
Inspectors also noted that:
Good performance has been maintained in Be Healthy
Outstanding performance has been maintained in Making a Positive
Contribution
The recent refocusing on raising educational achievement has had
some success
A robust 14-19 strategy has been developed
The report maintains that 'the trend of improvement in performance in key
service areas is not yet secure'.
Particular concerns were expressed about some aspects of Staying Safe, our
relatively poor performance at key stage 1 and 4, and inadequate services to
achieve economic well being.
Since the period covered by the 2008 APA:
Two reports from Government Office of the South East have confirmed
the enormous progress in 14-19, which is now rated as good, having
been judged inadequate in the 2007 Joint Area Review and 2008 APA.
An independent report, commissioned by the DCSF, praised our rapid
Safeguarding Board improvements and judged the board's
performance as good. This had been criticised by Ofsted in 2007.
GCSE results are still not good enough (we are in line with the national
average but know that we should be doing better given the relative
affluence of most of our population) but they have risen at twice the
national rate for the past year
The number of schools in special measures has reduced to only one
primary school.
We now have four outstanding secondary schools; there were none up
until 2008.
However, there is still much to do in order to secure the trend of improvement.
The priorities fall under three key headings:
1. Raising achievement - Oxfordshire should be performing in the top
quartile of its statistical neighbours
2. Safeguarding - Implementation of the post Baby Peter quality
assurance framework throughout the county
3. Narrowing the gap - Ensuring that vulnerable children and young
people do not miss out on opportunities and are effectively supported
when they face additional challenges.
About Children and Young People in Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a county of contrasts; although the most rural county in the
South East of England with over 50% of the population living in settlements of
fewer than 10,000 people, there are also urban areas including Oxford and
Banbury. Significant growth is planned in the county with 55,000 new houses
planned between 2006 and 2026 and significant growth in the population
expected.
There are 156,000 children and young people (0-19 years) living in
Oxfordshire.
Oxfordshire is a relatively affluent county and although the recession has led
to unemployment more than doubling in the past year, it remains under 2.5%
(May 2009) compared to a national figure of over 4%.
Despite the overall affluence of the county there are several small areas of
serious deprivation, where children and young people are less successful at
school, experience ill health, are more likely to become involved in or
experience crime, may become teenage parents, face higher unemployment,
lower earning capacity and, ultimately, an earlier death than their peers.
Oxfordshire has nine urban areas across the county which are in the worst
10% of areas in the UK for child poverty. And a further 16 wards (out of a total
of 136) that are in the top 25%.
Additionally there are small pockets of poverty in some of our rural areas
which are sometimes overlooked where data is hidden by the general
affluence of the general population. Poor transport can compound the
problem of deprivation in rural areas making access to services difficult and
contributing to feelings of isolation.
There is a significant military presence in the county which means some of
our children in military families experience turbulent lives and live with
anxieties that sometimes impact upon their well being.
While the child wellbeing index (covering health, education, crime, housing,
the environment, overall wealth and children in need) for Oxfordshire ranks
the county as 18th best out of 149 councils and three of the district councils
have high rankings the other two districts are ranked much lower - Cherwell is
140th out of 354 and Oxford city is 259th out of 354.
4. Job Description
Job Title: Programme Director Building Schools for the Future
Directorate: Children, Young People & Families
Section: Commissioning, Performance & Quality Assurance
Responsible To: Head of Commissioning Performance &Quality
Assurance
Grade: CO Grade C
Salary: up to £74, 317 pa
CONTEXT
On the 2nd March 2009 Oxfordshire was advised that its first BSF project had
been ranked 22nd out of 70 submitted by Local Authorities not yet included in
the national BSF programme. On 17th September Oxfordshire submitted its
Readiness to Deliver statement, seeking inclusion in the BSF programme in
the current financial year.
Oxfordshire is now seeking to recruit an experienced and enthusiastic
Programme Director to ensure that Oxfordshire is ‘ready to deliver’ and to
steer it through the procurement and delivery of its BSF programme which
consists of up to 6 phases worth in the region of £1/2 billion that will be
delivered in partnership with a chosen private sector consortium over a 10 to
15 year period. The LEP (the local education partnership) may also deliver a
much wider infrastructure programme that supports the Council’s wider place-
shaping agenda, subject to its performance on the core BSF programme.
JOB PURPOSE
To provide leadership to the BSF programme which is an important catalyst in
the delivery of children and young people objectives to transform services
within Oxfordshire County Council. This will require management of the
project initiation, pre-procurement, procurement and delivery phases of the
Authority’s Building Schools for the Future (BSF). Longer term, other
significant infrastructure programmes may also be delivered via the Local
Education Partnership (LEP) and therefore fall within the remit of this
postholder.
PRINCIPAL ACTIVITIES
The job will include, inter alia,
Ensuring that Oxfordshire County Council has a clear vision, agreed
with key stakeholders, for what it wants to achieve, using BSF as a
catalyst for change.
Ensuring that all relevant stakeholders can inform and contribute to
BSF in ways which are appropriate, timely and effective through
appropriate communication and engagement processes
Building an effective, appropriately skilled and resourced BSF team,
making the best use of external advisors to supplement and
complement in-house skills as necessary
Ensuring compliance with both the local and national requirements of
the overall programme to ensure the highest levels of probity,
transparency and effectiveness.
Producing all the key submissions required by Partnerships for
Schools (PfS) to secure approval to go to market to procure a LEP
partner, to reach financial and commercial close and to deliver all
phases of the programme.
Developing suitable governance arrangements to facilitate the
delivery of BSF to time, budget and specified standards
Stimulating market interest in Oxfordshire County Council’s
programme to secure a competitive process that delivers value for
money and high quality bid submissions.
Managing all the requirements of external gateway reviews and PfS
approval processes
Developing a robust, EU compliant procurement process for securing
a Local Education Partnership that will deliver value for money and
better service outcomes for children and young people.
Managing the delivery of the competitive procurement process
(including the production of all bid documents) in accordance with an
agreed programme, and within agreed parameters of probity, cost,
time and quality.
Taking principal responsibility for the framing and implementation of a
negotiation strategy with that preferred bidder.
Overseeing the process by which a Preferred Bidder is formally
appointed, ensuring that all appropriate contractual, financial and
commercial issues are resolved and that there is a proper audit trail
for all decisions.
Working with the selected LEP partner to mobilise the partnership,
and to bed down all processes and procedures to ensure that an
effective, long term partnership is formed which delivers a learning
infrastructure that supports transformational change through the
delivery of the Strategy for Change (SfC).
Developing and sustaining key relationships with all the key partners
in BSF including the schools, Partnerships for Schools (PfS), the
Department for Children, Schools & Families (DCSF), other agencies
and private sector bidders to ensure that local BSF proposals
reconcile the demands of different stakeholder groups within the
parameters of the national PfS framework.
Ensuring that there is a strong client team for the operational phase of
the LEP, including not just individual school delivery but the delivery
of partnering services.
Working with the LEP partner to ensure that the LEP is set up and
managed in a manner that accords with national best practice and
local needs.
Ensuring that lessons learnt are collated and fed back in an
appropriate manner, both within the Authority and to the national
programme via PfS.
Carrying out such other reasonable duties as may be required by the
relevant line manager, commensurate with the function and grade of
this post.
Personal attributes
A natural ability to: work well under pressure, develop and manage multi-
disciplinary teams and an ability to think and act strategically.
Ability to communicate effectively and in doing so, forge strong relationships
with a diverse range of stakeholder groups that straddle disciplines, services
and both the public and private sectors.
Strong organisational abilities.
A strong leader who can naturally command the respect of others.
5. Person Specification
Essential Desirable
Qualifications
Degree or equivalent qualification, with some public sector
experience.
Qualification in PRINCE II
Experience
Substantial experience of managing highly complex, high value
commercial or public sector programmes (including capital
programmes over £20m)
Experience of managing BSF procurements
Experience of disseminating information, pursuing defined action
plans and initiating procedures and providing progress reports in
order to meet defined objectives.
Experience of dealing with a wide range of stakeholders to secure
deliverable outcomes (including elected members, headteachers,
governors, local communities, PfS and private sector BSF
consortia members).
Experience of developing Public Private Partnerships and
knowledge of PFI contracts and achieving value for money and
continuous improvement.
Senior management experience in the public sector
Knowledge
An understanding of and commitment to Equal Opportunities
issues within the workplace.
In depth knowledge of public sector management practices
including financial regulations, standing orders and procurement
processes.
Knowledge of Local Authority processes and timelines.
Knowledge of current educational and regeneration policy agendas
and how they can be translated into strategy and improvement
Knowledge of PfS policies, documents and processes for BSF
Knowledge of private sector consortia and their modus operandi
Skills
Ability to encourage large, multi-disciplinary and cross-
organisational teams of people to work together constructively.
Ability to apply sound project management thinking to complex
situations.
Ability to take ownership of problems from start to finish.
Ability to concurrently manage a large number of open issues and
requests.
Practical and ‘can-do’ approach in stressful situations.
Ability to offer creative and innovative solutions to complex
problems
Demonstrable negotiating and influencing skills that work equally
well with both public sector stakeholders and potential private
sector partners.
Ability to communicate well in both written and verbal forms.
Demonstrable leadership qualities.
Excellent time management skills.
Commercial and business acumen
Core competencies
Strategic awareness - develops effective internal and external
relationships and networks that enable the understanding and delivery
of broad organisational goals
Motivating and influencing - ability to influence and effectively motivate
others to achieve goals and embrace change
Personal effectiveness - ability to demonstrate high levels of trust and
personal accountability. Ability to respond positively to change and
opportunities for personal development
Delivering results - ability to deliver stretching objectives through
effective prioritisation, project management and the efficient use of
resources
Active communication - actively consults and supports the flow of
communication through the organisation and provides a compelling
vision to others
Customer focus - retains responsibility for high levels of external and
internal customer service through active feedback and a strong
understanding of diverse customers
Decision making - makes clear management and financial decisions
that take full account of value for money, cost management, efficiency
and risk
Improving performance - ability to improve performance through
appropriate feedback, management of poor performance and respect
for individual difference
Special requirements:
Satisfactory standard/ enhanced Criminal Records Bureau disclosure.
Health and safety
For managers - you must ensure you all fully aware of your responsibilities
for health and safety, and the relevant activities expected of you as a
manager including the need to ensure
All new employees, that you manage, are fully briefed at induction
Your team are regularly reminded of key issues and responsibilities
Your staff are set appropriate targets at appraisals
Your staff undertake appropriate health and safety training, including
refresher training as necessary
You carry out risk assessments, and implement them, for processes,
operations and activities under your control
Health and safety is a regular topic at team meetings
For all staff - You have specific responsibilities under health and safety
legislation to ensure that you:
Take reasonable care for your own health and safety, and that of
others affected by what you do, or do not do
Cooperate on all issues involving health and safety
Use work items provided for you correctly, in accordance with training
and instructions
Do not interfere with or misuse anything provided for your health,
safety or welfare
Report any health and safety concerns to your line manager as soon
as practicable
6. Conditions of Services
This post is a permanent appointment
Your appointment is subject to the Conditions of Service of the Joint
Negotiating Committee for Chief Officers of Local Authorities as
supplemented by the county council's locally negotiated conditions.
Payment
Your salary will be paid monthly in arrears by bank credit transfer.
Annual leave
Number of days (pro rata for part-time):
Up to 10 years' service 29
Over 10 years' service 32
Working hours
Standard working hours are 37 hours per week (normally Monday to Friday
unless otherwise stated).
Probationary period
New entrants to local government, or previous local government employees
who have had a break in service, will be subject to a probationary period of six
months.
Pension scheme
The scheme is a final salary pension scheme. You will automatically join the
Local Government Pension Scheme unless you specifically opt out. It is
contributory and 7.2% of your salary is deducted for pension contribution. See
the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS): A Short Guide (.pdf format,
218 Kb) for further information.
Medical clearance
The appointment is subject to a satisfactory health declaration.
Asylum and Immigration Act 1996
If you are appointed you will be required to provide, on or before your first
day, documentary evidence that you are entitled to work in the UK.
Politically restricted posts
The post is politically restricted under The Local Government and Housing Act 1989.
No smoking policy
In line with legislation the council operates a no-smoking policy. Smoking is
therefore prohibited in all county buildings.
Equal and social inclusion
The council is opposed to any form of unfair discrimination and is publicly
committed to be an equal opportunity employer. It is our practice to eliminate
discrimination in employment practices by disregarding assumptions or
preferences which are not strictly job related whether in selection for
appointment, promotion or transfer, or in the application of conditions of
service.
Car allowance
If you use your car for work, you will be paid in line with the Inland Revenue
All Car' mileage rate. Current rates are 10,000 miles at 40p/mile per financial
year and any further mileage will be paid at 25p/mile.
Cycle allowance
If you use your bicycle for work you can claim 20p per mile travelled.
Travel loans
The employee travel loan scheme aims to support staff who already travel to
work by bus, bike or train, and to encourage those staff who drive to consider
the alternatives. The interest free loans are available to all permanent staff as
well as staff on temporary contracts provided that they are able to repay the
loan before their employment contract ends.
Retirement
The normal retirement age for men and women is 65 and an employee is
normally required to retire then. However, you have a legal right to request
that the council allow you to continue working beyond age 65. The council will
write to you at least six months and no more than 12 months before your 65th
birthday informing you of your options.
Notice
Three calendar months notice are applicable to both employer and employee.
Relocation
A relocation package of up to £8,000 may be payable in certain
circumstances.
7. How to Apply
You can apply online at http://jobs.oxfordshire.gov.uk
Searching and applying for jobs online allows you to:
Register to receive email alerts when new jobs are advertised.
Store application form details online so you only ever need to enter
these details once.
Applications should reach us no later than 4pm on Friday 13th
November.
Please make sure that in your application you provide evidence of your
achievements against the selection criteria, as this will be the basis of the
shortlisting process.
Please provide phone, fax and e-mail contact details for your referees where
possible.
Interviews will be held on Monday 23 November 2009.
The selection process will include a presentation, in-tray exercise, and a panel
interview.
If you are unable to apply online please return your completed application to:
Post: Catherine Wilson
Strategic HR
2nd Floor
County Hall
New Road
Oxford
OX1 1ND
Email: County.Jobs@oxfordshire.gov.uk
8. Recruitment Charter
What you can expect when you apply for a job with Oxfordshire County
Council
The County Council has adopted a Recruitment Charter, which sets out the
standards which you can expect from Oxfordshire County Council during the
recruitment process, including how your information will be held and used
under the Data Protection Act (1998).
Please let us know if we don’t meet these standards by ringing (01865)
797384 or email jobs@oxfordshire.gov.uk.
The County Council will not base any part of its recruitment and selection
process on your:
ethnic origin sex
age marital or parental status
religious belief sexual orientation
involvement in a trade union criminal convictions which are
“spent”
Any exceptions to this policy will be clearly set out in the application pack.
Applications
The County Council welcomes applications from candidates with disabilities.
We will make any reasonable adjustments to the recruitment and selection
process that may be required to enable you to pursue your application,
provided you let us know about these.
If you have a disability and would like help with your application please contact
the Oxfordshire Employment Service (an Oxfordshire County Council Service)
on (01865) 791606.
The advert will give clear contact details for further information. We aim to
answer the telephone within five rings. In some cases you may be asked to
leave an answer phone message. We will immediately acknowledge enquiries
received by email.
We aim to send an application pack to you within two working days of your
request being received.
The application pack will provide the basis for you to make an informed
decision about whether to apply for the job. It will contain, as a minimum:
an application form
a copy of the job description
a copy of the selection criteria
information about the terms and conditions of the job
information about the selection process for the job
Information about how to apply
The information above is also available online for most advertised posts at
www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/jobs.
If you decide to apply online for a vacancy your online form will be received
and stored securely in a dedicated location.
If you complete your application form online you will be asked to sign it at
interview.
If you are handwriting an application form please write as clearly as possible.
Alternatively you can request an application form in Microsoft Word format or
apply online.
Applications are welcome from candidates wishing to job share or work on a
part-time basis unless the advert or application pack specifically indicates
otherwise.
We will acknowledge your application if you provide a stamped addressed
envelope or postcard. If you have applied online you will receive confirmation
of receipt by email. Please note that CVs will only be accepted as supporting
documents to a fully completed application form.
The information you provide will be treated in confidence.
Your details, once received, will be logged on a confidential recruitment
database and the hard copy held in a secure filing system. Only authorised
staff involved in the recruitment process have access to these details.
Eligibility to work in the United Kingdom
The Asylum and Immigration Act 1996 requires us to check that you are
entitled to work in the UK. Further details of evidence you will need to provide
will be given to you before your interview or before starting work with us.
Declaration of Unspent Convictions
It is the County Council’s policy that you declare any un-spent convictions
when you are applying for a job with us.
We are asking you for this information because, as a local authority providing
public services, we have a duty to balance our commitment to help ex-
offenders find work with our need to protect those in the Council’s care,
receiving its services and the public.
The Council’s policy states clearly that any relevant convictions are taken into
account. Please refer to the disclosures policy for further information.
Declaration of Spent Convictions
If the job you are applying for involves substantial access to children and/or
vulnerable adults we also need you to declare any spent convictions on your
application form as these posts are exempt from the provisions of section 4(2)
of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 by virtue of the Rehabilitation of
Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975. Please note that the Police will
disclose information about relevant investigations as part of the CRB checking
process.
Details of the provisions of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 can be
found in the booklet produced by the Home Office called "Wiping the Slate
Clean" (HMSO).
Sickness Monitoring
We ask you to declare how many periods of sickness absence you have had
in the last two years, and your referees will be asked to verify this information if
you reach the final stages of the recruitment process.
We ask you this because the Council regards high standards of attendance as
important and we will wish to discuss and seek to overcome any issues that
may prevent you from attending work regularly.
Equal Opportunities
The recruitment monitoring section of the application form (which gives details
of your sex, ethnic origin, date of birth and any disability) will be detached
before the form reaches the selection panel and this information will not be
made available to them. If you have indicated that you have a disability, the
recruiting manager will be made aware of this to ensure that you are given an
interview if you meet the essential selection criteria. The information you
provide on the recruitment monitoring section will be held in confidence by the
HR department and the details logged onto a confidential recruitment
database. The information will be used for statistical purposes to enable the
County Council to carry out its equal opportunities monitoring obligations.
Oxfordshire County Council is an equal opportunities employer and is
committed to promoting equality and social inclusion. The County Council
operates a policy whose aim is to ensure that unlawful or otherwise
unjustifiable discrimination does not take place in recruitment. To help the
County Council monitor the effectiveness of this policy (and for no other
reason) you are asked to provide the information requested on the recruitment
monitoring section.
Shortlisting
Shortlisting will be carried out by assessing the evidence provided on
application forms against the selection criteria.
We will shortlist all disabled applicants who meet the essential selection
criteria.
It is Oxfordshire County Council’s policy to advertise vacancies both internally
and externally wherever possible, and to give equal consideration to all
applicants.
We aim to tell you whether you have been shortlisted within two weeks of the
closing date.
Selection process
The manager responsible for making the selection decision will have
completed training in fair and effective recruitment and selection.
If you are invited to an interview or test, you will be given at least a week’s (i.e.
7 days) notice, unless stated otherwise in the advertisement.
If the job you are applying for asks for qualifications as essential selection
criteria you will be asked to bring certificates to your interview to verify this
information.
You will be informed in advance about the selection techniques to be used.
These will always relate directly to the selection criteria.
If the selection process includes checks with the Criminal Records Bureau you
will be advised how this is carried out.
If the selection process includes psychometric tests, you will be sent a copy of
the County Council’s policy on testing, together with practice papers.
Psychometric tests will only be used and interpreted by appropriately trained
staff.
If you are invited to an interview, you will be told how much you can claim for
travelling and other expenses. Expenses can only be claimed for travel to
interview from within the UK.
The final selection decision will be made by assessing against the selection
criteria the evidence which the panel has obtained from your:
application form references
interview any other tests or exercises used
At your interview you will be told when you will hear the final outcome of your
application. We aim to contact you within three working days.
Feedback about your performance in the selection process will be provided on
request. In the case of psychometric tests, this would be by a qualified test
user.
References
References will normally be obtained after interview for the preferred
candidate. As part of your application we ask you to provide the names of at
least two referees, one of whom must be your current Line Manager, or if you
are not working your former Line Manager. If you have never worked you will
need to provide the names of two people who can confirm that you meet the
selection criteria for the job. We will ask on the application form if we can
contact the referee without further authority from you. If you are already an
employee of the County Council then for certain posts you may only be asked
for one reference from your current Line Manager.
Medical Clearance
All offers of appointment are subject to obtaining satisfactory medical
clearance. You will be asked to complete a health questionnaire, and in some
cases a more detailed questionnaire and/or medical examination may be
required. If you are in any doubt about your health it is advisable not to resign
from your current job before clearance is obtained.
Data Protection
The personal data you provide during the recruitment process will be held on
file for a period of 12 months, at which time they will be destroyed/deleted.
This publication is available on the web at
www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/jobs
Alternative formats of this publication can be made available on
request. These include other languages, large print, Braille, audio
cassette, computer disk or e-mail. Please telephone: 08450509500
Updated February 2008
