Department for Education Sector Head

The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) are the public sector’s property valuation experts and advisers. We are one of the largest employers of surveyors in the country offering access to a whole host of learning and development opportunities to support your career development.

We’re looking for talented people who are eager to contribute to vital public services and assist us to deliver taxation and benefits support to the government and local authorities. Your skills and experience will enable us to provide an efficient, effective service right at the heart of the public interest.

At the heart of the agency, we are committed to providing our people with a work environment which is accommodating and accessible to all and which values diversity and inclusion in everything we do. We encourage our people to bring their whole selves to work by providing a culture that values different perspectives to help tackle complex problems, promote innovation and deliver stronger decision making in a safe and supportive environment. We therefore welcome applicants from a diverse range of backgrounds to join our organisation and enable us to be representative of the communities we serve.

Our people have the freedom to manage their own diaries and are empowered to deliver under their own autonomy. We trust our people and look forward to welcoming your skills into the VOA community.

Department For Education Sector Head – Role Overview

District Valuer Service (DVS) provide professional property advice across the public sector, including private and third sector clients involved in delivering public services and functions of a public nature. Our clients include the Central, Regional, Local and Devolved Government, Health, Transport & Infrastructure and the Environment.

As a Sector Head, initially for the Department for Education (DfE) Project and thereafter for wider sectors across DVS the role holder will co-ordinate and lead across DVS and play an active role in both the DVS senior leadership team and the senior leadership community across the VOA.

DVS is the business stream tasked with providing a range of statutory and non-statutory functions, these are:

• Provision of advice on valuations and apportionments for national taxation purposes.
• Provision of valuations and property advice for Other Public Bodies (OPBs) to support their implementation of a wide range of regulatory and legislative functions.
• The delivery of government policies and estate strategies in situations where there is a property requirement related to the exercising of a public function and / or public money is involved.
• This majority of the work is untied and undertaken on a contractual ‘earned funding’ full cost recovery charging basis, some is fix funded.

Department For Education Sector Head– Key responsibilities

• Oversee high profile, complex, and contentious work ensuring considerations VOA reputation, while implementing appropriate assurance steps. Apply advanced analytical skills to effectively resolve these most complex and sensitive issues.
• Provide programme management, delivering large scale asset valuations with large portfolio values, produced on time and within budget.
• Responsible for the overall management of Net Capacity Assessment Programme for DFE.
• Providing strong leadership on operational delivery, ensuring successful delivery of Key Performance Indicators to ensure value for money is delivered.
• To co-ordinate with other Sector Heads in DVS, ensuring work is delivered to agreed budgets with full cost recovery.
• Ensure quality of outputs and compliance with Valuation Integrity requirements.
• To offer advice on Agency policy implementation, including escalating key issues as part of the DVS Senior Management Team.
• Planning for resource deployment within client budgets together with pipeline planning for work alongside Unit Heads to ensure delivery of annual income target, DVS income and cost contribution.
• To develop and maintain client liaison, delivery strategy and effective processes with clients agreeing the terms of the Service Level Agreements (SLA's) including timeliness, budgetary and quality standards.
• Build and maintain strong collaborative working relationships, whilst demonstrating adaptability within SLA’s.
• Oversee line management responsibilities ensuring effective performance management, team skills development and ensuring effective succession/knowledge planning, whilst also providing regular coaching and development discussions with direct reports, putting in place and actively managing their development plans.
• Act as a mentor/sponsor, making sure leaders and specialists use their experience, skills, and expertise to develop their teams.
• Effectively maintain own caseload dealing with complex cases, provide strategic and high-level technical advice and assist others with peer reviews to ensure appropriate quality standards are met.
• Be a visible and active member of the DVS Senior Management Team, Chief Valuer Group (CVG) and wider Corporate Leadership Community contributing to the strategic objectives of the team, including embedding VOA vision and values.