Sue Gray to help Michael Gove find new £144,000-a-year levelling up director for Yorkshire

A job advert has gone out for 12 such posts around the country, with one director each for nine English regions and individual posts for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

It has suggested potential working locations of Sheffield or Leeds for the Yorkshire director and listed the salary as between £120,000 and £144,000.

Sue Gray, the civil servant responsible for the internal investigation of the Partygate scandal, will be on the selection panel choosing the 12 new directors. Ms Gray is Second Permanent Secretary in the Levelling Up Department. The recruitment process is to be chaired by Civil Service Commissioner Natalie Campbell.

The posts were proposed in last month’s Levelling Up White Paper, which laid out plans for the directors to act as a “key bridge” between local leaders and central government who would help co-ordinate levelling up efforts at a regional level.

The job advert describes the roles as a “once in a lifetime opportunity to work across local and central Government to fix deep-seated issues”.

In a foreword to the candidate pack, Mr Gove said the new roles represent “an opportunity for exceptional leaders to work collaboratively with local areas and central government to drive new and innovative local policy proposals, based on a real understanding of local issues and opportunities”.

He added: “Levelling Up Directors will play a critical function in empowering decision-making in local areas and ensuring that central government decision-making is informed and shaped by local insight.

"These roles are at the forefront of the Government’s levelling up mission. Levelling Up Directors need to be innovators, collaborators and challengers with a clear understanding of both the local and central Government contexts and a passion for addressing inequalities across the UK.”

The application pack said: “Candidates may also be invited to a meeting with a Minister or the Secretary of State, or other senior stakeholders.

“This is not a formal part of the selection process but an informal chance for candidates to find out more about the role and the organisation.”

The closing date for applications is April 18.

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