Head of Intelligence - JIT 

Location: Can be offered on either office- or home-based 

*** Fixed term until 31 March 2027 (open to secondments from public sector bodies) ***

About us

The Local Government Association (LGA) is the national membership body for local authorities. We work on behalf of our member councils to support, promote and improve local government.  
We are a politically led, cross-party organisation that works on behalf of councils to ensure local government has a strong, credible voice with national government. We influence and set the political agenda on the issues that matter to councils to help them deliver local solutions to national problems.  
We also provide councils with the tools and resources to respond to challenges present and emerging, and support improvement across the sector. 

We value diversity and encourage applications from all sections of the community to this high-profile role.

About the role

After a successful six years of getting landlords to remediate high rise blocks with unsafe cladding, JIT, the national fire safety Joint Inspection Team, is recruiting a Head of Intelligence.  The contract is for up to 31.3.27, but there are ongoing discussions with Government about extending the JIT team beyond then.

This is a unique opportunity to be at the cutting edge of making buildings safe and working with key regulators.

The JIT is a multi-disciplinary team comprised of a fire engineer, a building controller, Environmental Health professionals (we use Housing Act 2004 legislation to do HHSRS risk assessments of the fire safety in blocks), intelligence officers, and legal advisors.

Most of the team’s work involves site inspections (up to two days), preparation ahead of the inspection, and follow up work, including drafting reports and helping councils to enforce using Housing Act 2004.  The team also delivers training courses to local authority staff to help them undertake their own enforcement.  The team is based in London, but there are opportunities for home working. Hotels and travel to site inspections are paid for by the LGA.  The JIT team is funded by Central Government but is independent in all professional judgements - our clients are local authorities.

• The position is required to support immediate delivery needs

• The organisation is consulting on its operating model

• The grade and responsibilities are subject to confirmation

• Priority consideration may be given to employees at risk where they have the required qualifications and experience

Head of Intelligence Officer, salary £76,042 - £86,162 pa (excluding London Weighting).

If you would like more information or a chat about the role, please email Brian Castle brian.castle@local.gov.uk 

About you

We need a Head of Intelligence to lead a team of three Intelligence Officers and carry a caseload of reports. You will have excellent customer care and written skills, with a scalpel like attention to detail.  Some knowledge of the legal system and buildings is useful.  You will need to be a quick learner, flexible, and be a good team player.  You will not be expected to attend site regularly, but it’s useful to go once as part of the induction.

You must have the right to work in the UK, the LGA are unfortunately unable to offer sponsorship visas. Evidence for the right to work in the UK will be requested at the interview stage. 

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​Job Description

To apply 

If you would like to be considered for the role, please complete the online form and include a supporting statement with a maximum of 1000 words detailing how you meet the criteria for the role before the closing date. 

We are specifically assessing candidates against the following criteria:

*       Educated to degree level or equivalent

*       Experience of service delivery with customers

*       Ability to supervise, and motivate a team of staff

*       Understanding of how buildings work, of common disrepair problems, and some fire safety problems within a tall block of flats

*       Excellent organisational skills, with the ability to prioritise work to meet deadlines, and a concern for attention to detail, order and accuracy

*       Excellent written skills, with the ability to accurately summarise and convey complex information

To help us anonymise applications efficiently, please ensure your CV meets the following formatting requirements:

*       Please use standard fonts such as Arial, Times New Roman, or Calibri

*       Avoid complex graphics, logos, or images where possible

*       Keep formatting simple – use basic bullet points and standard paragraph formatting

*       Save your CV as a standard PDF file

*       Ensure the file size is under 5MB

*       Avoid unusual page layouts or multi-column designs

*       Use standard text colours (e.g., black, or dark grey) 

CVs that do not meet these guidelines may not be processed correctly by our system.

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Closing Date: 5pm 9 March

Interview Date : 23 March, interviews will be in person

Interview Panel: Brian Castle and Charles Harman

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We use anonymous recruitment, which is the practice of hiding candidates’ identities. This process involves removing any identifying information from candidates’ applications which includes names.

At the LGA we celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees where everyone is treated with dignity and respect. Our recruitment decisions are based on fair, open competition, with appointment on merit.  

The LGA are proud to be awarded a “Disability Confident Leader”.  Please contact us via Recruitment@local.gov.ukif you require a reasonable adjustment, which is a change to the format or conditions of the recruitment process to accommodate any disability-related needs you may have.

Our benefits

• LGA annual leave entitlement is 29 days, rising to 31 days after three years’ service and to 33 days after five years’ service, plus all UK public holidays (pro rata for fixed term and part time contracts).*

• Flexible & agile working – office-based staff are required to work in the LGA’s London office two days per week as a minimum, subject to business need and this may vary significantly between different roles and from week to week.

• Future development – face-to-face and virtual courses are scheduled in line with developmental goals

• The LGA offers 24/7 access to a free, confidential employee assistance programme managed by Health Assured. This service is also available for Dependants.

• Family friendly policies 

For more of LGA’s benefits and working with us, please view our webpage https://www.local.gov.uk/benefits-and-working-lga 

Our values & behaviours

Our Values and Behaviours are there to give us an understanding of who we are as an organisation and who we want to be. They are a framework to help us understand:

• how we work with each other 

• how we work with our members and stakeholders

• our expectations for ourselves and each other 

Our values are:

Collaboration – We value collaboration, to pursue shared goals by encouraging and utilising diverse perspectives and working with internal and external colleagues across the organisation.

Inclusion – We value inclusion, where everyone feels valued, understood, and supported to contribute meaningfully.

Ambition – We value ambition, reflecting our desire to achieve best possible outcomes for local government, communities, and individuals.

Respect – We value respect, to ensure fairness, recognition, and shared accountability.