Advice for candidates

We want to attract the best people to work at West Yorkshire Combined Authority. To help you succeed in your application, this is what you can expect from our selection process. 

Role Profile and Application

Before completing your application form, please ensure you read our 'Information for Applicants' guidance. This guide will provide you with information on how to complete the application form, ensuring that your skills, knowledge and experience are matched to the requirements of the role. Our shortlisting process is carried out by cross referencing the skills, knowledge and experience that is entered into the application form. Without this important information, your application will not proceed to the interview stage.

Vetting 

If the role you are applying for requires Vetting, please ensure you read this guidance before applying.

Disability Confident Scheme

The Combined Authority is a Disability Confident Employer (Level 2). This means that as an organisation we are committed to offering a guaranteed interview to any applicant who declares a disability on their application form and who demonstrates they meet the minimum essential criteria for a job role. This ensures disabled applicants get an interview opportunity if they meet the basic requirements, as part of our positive action towards disabled candidates. It is important to note that there may be occasions where it is not practicable or appropriate to interview all disabled people who meet the minimum criteria for the job. In certain recruitment situations such as high-volume, seasonal and high-peak times, employers may have the discretion to limit the overall numbers of interviews offered to both disabled people and non-disabled people. In these circumstances employers could select the disabled candidates who best meet the minimum criteria for the job rather than all of those that meet the minimum criteria, as they would do for non-disabled applicants. The Disability Confident website provides further details on the scheme.

Preparing for your interview 

We’re keen that both you and your interviewers get the best out of the interview and have a positive experience.  

Depending on the type of role, you may be asked to prepare a presentation, assessment, or simulation exercise as part of the interview. If this is the case, your ‘invite to interview’ letter will normally state this. 

Before your interview, you should review the Role Profile and think about which of your experiences matches our job requirements. Be ready to discuss these in your interview. 

We use a competency-based recruitment and selection process, splitting the interview into 3 parts that focus on different elements of the job, being a combination of: 

Technical questions aimed at uncovering what specific technical abilities or experience you possess that are necessary to do the job.   

Behavioural questions about how past experiences match the requirements of the job. They will want to briefly explain the situation or task, what you did or what was your role, and the result or outcome. Our questions may start ‘Tell me about a time when you…’, or ‘Give me an example of when you have…’ etc. 

Job Match questions to assess your suitability for the job overall. The examples you give can be related to your current job, previous positions, or even from outside work. The interview panel will likely ask you some follow-on questions, possibly to clarify a particular area. 

Finally, prepare some questions of your own to ask the interviewers as this is your opportunity to understand the role and culture at the Combined Authority. 

Visiting Wellington House 

If your interview is scheduled to take place at the offices in Wellington House, Leeds, this Visitors Guide may help you to locate and visualise the building before you arrive.  

If your interview is due to take place at another of the Combined Authority sites, for example at a Bus Station, please discuss with the recruiting manager if you require assistance with locating the site and/or any information regarding available facilities.

Our grading structure

Our roles are organised against a range of grades that go from 1 - 16. Roles at Grade 3 and above have a salary scale. We show the starting salary within the adverts only.

For ease, we have divided them up into groups: