FAQs

To create an account and apply for a job at WMCA, follow these steps:

• Click on the 'Apply' button. If you already have an account, simply log in.
• On the first screen, the 'Welcome Page', click on 'Register Now.'
• Provide your name, email address, and create a password as prompted.

You can upload your CV here to build your profile effortlessly. Uploading your CV will automatically input your career and education details, streamlining the process.

Our application process is anonymised. This means that your uploaded CV won't be visible to our recruiting teams. Be thorough in completing each section, providing comprehensive information. Our shortlisting decisions rely on your profile rather than the CV, so accuracy here is key to ensuring your application stands out.

Once you've completed these steps, you'll be all set to explore job opportunities and submit your application. 

You can upload your CV when you are creating an account. This will automatically fill in the career and education history sections of your profile.

It's important to note that our application process is designed to ensure anonymity. This means that when we are shortlisting, we will only have access to the information provided in your profile. Therefore, it's advisable to invest some time in tailoring your profile before completing your application

We’re glad you ask! Your Supporting Statement should highlight how your experience and skills match the essential criteria of job that you are applying for. It should be concise and to the point – if it is longer than 1 to 2 pages, try to shorten some of your points.

Before you apply, we recommend that you carefully read the advert and the job description, but also look at our careers site and company website, where you will find lots of great content about who we are and what we do.

If you know you have the potential to do the job - but your experience does not straightforwardly sell you as the ‘perfect candidate’ - try focusing on your skills instead and highlight those that are transferable.

Tell us what you are looking for. If you are looking to apply for the role on a part-time basis, or for flexibility over start and finish times to better balance your work and home commitments, let us know. Oh, and always run your Supporting Statement through spell-check before you submit it.

Absolutely! If you believe that your experience and abilities match more than one vacancy, then we would encourage you to apply for any vacancy where you think there is a good fit. If you are thinking about applying for a job that you have previously applied for, but were unsuccessful, we would just ask that you consider how your experience has changed since you last applied, and how this now more closely matches the needs of the job.

If your application has been unsuccessful, we will let you know, usually by email. Given the volume of applications received, we are sorry to say that we cannot commit to providing detailed feedback to everyone who applies for a job with us. However, if you have been interviewed for a role, we will do our best to ensure we feedback to you on your performance.

The beauty of being based in Birmingham city centre means that we are well connected with great transport links, including bus and rail. 

Parking is available at Summer Lane, although limited at busy times. Parking is free for those coming to the office to interview and is charged at £3 daily for employees.  

There is no parking at our Midlands Connect office but there are plenty of car parks nearby – although not free of charge. There is bike storage available at Summer Lane and ramp access to both buildings for those with reduced and limited mobility.

We’re dedicated to providing a broad range of rewards and benefits and constantly benchmark our benefits packages to ensure they are attractive for all our people. Look at the benefits section of our careers site for more information.

WMCA can only employ those who have the legal right to work in the UK.

Your right to work in the UK depends on your immigration status - this is also called your ‘leave’. If you don’t have the right to work, you might be able to apply for it.

You automatically have the right to work in the UK if:

• you’re a British or Irish citizen
• you have pre-settled or settled status from the EU Settlement Scheme - or you’ve applied and you’re waiting for a decision
• you have a family permit from the EU Settlement Scheme
• you have indefinite leave to enter or remain in the UK
• you have right of abode in the UK

You might have a right to work in the UK if you have a visa with a time limit. This is called having 'limited leave to enter or remain’. You’ll have limited leave to enter or remain if you have a visa with a time limit.

You’ll usually have a document which says if you have the right to work - for example, a biometric residence permit.

If you have limited time to remain, you might have restrictions on the type of job or work you can do, or the number of hours you can work. This may also impact the type of employment contract that we can offer you.

Once we make you an offer, we will ask you for up to two references (one from your current or most recent employer or education provider, and one from a previous employer or education provider, if appropriate). If we are unable to obtain a reference, we may ask you to provide a character reference point of contact.

For some roles, a DBS check may be required. We’ll let you know if this applies to the role you are applying for.

We’ll let you know whether your interview is going to be held virtually (via Teams) or in-person, at one of our offices.

Once you select an interview slot, you will be sent an email confirming the details – who you will be meeting, the time and date. If your interview is over MS Teams, we’ll send you a calendar invite direct to the email address used when you applied. In most cases, invites will show in your calendar app on your iPhone or Android device.

Some email providers (Google/Gmail) have advanced filtering algorithms which occasionally filter out emails as spam. If you haven't received your invite within 24 hours of your interview date and time, please check your Junk or Spam folder. If you need to get in touch with us, please email careers@wmca.org.uk and someone from the team will be in touch.

MS Teams works best over a strong and reliable internet connection. Most issues are caused if a network is too busy (too many people trying to use a limited amount of bandwidth), or the signals used for Wi-Fi or 4G are poor. We recommend testing your connection ahead of your interview.

It is always a good idea to be clear on what is meant by ‘flexible working.’ When you apply for a job, we ask that you tell us what you are looking for so that can look to accommodate your needs as best as we can. If you are looking to work on a part-time basis, let us know.

We run a hybrid working model. This means some of us splitting our time between working remotely and using our office space to come together to share ideas and learn from each other.

Sadly, not all our people are able to work in a hybrid way. Those roles which are customer facing (for example, positions in our bus stations) often work on a shift basis and are required to present on site during each shift.

Please check your Junk or Spam folder. Some email providers (Google/Gmail) have advanced filtering algorithms which occasionally filter out email notifications as spam. When you apply, our systems will send an automated acknowledgement email to you using the email address that you provided when you applied. We use this email address throughout the selection process, including sending out interview invitations – and so it is important to make sure you are receiving these.

Employees joining West Midlands Combined Authority who are moving from, or have previously worked for, another local authority or other government body may be entitled to retain their previous service for the purpose of continuity of some contractual entitlements.

This will apply where the previous organisation is included within the Redundancy Payments (Continuity of Employment in Local Government etc) (Modification) Order 1999, generally referred to as the Modification Order.

More information can be found here: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1999/2277/contents/made

For most roles, the standard working hours are 36.5 hours over 5 days (Monday to Friday). However, there are some roles which involve working on a shift basis that could include weekends. These roles will be advertised as such. If you have any questions about hours of work, please email us at careers@wmca.org.uk and we will be in touch.

If you would like to apply for one of our roles on a part-time basis, please let us know this in your Supporting Statement and we’ll consider this as part of your application.

We understand that Hybrid working will mean different things to different people, and will vary depending on the needs of the role.

For some, it offers flexibility to split their time between working remotely and having essential face-to-face time in the office. For others, for example those working in customer facing roles, it may mean working on site all the time.

We're unable to support fully remote working and everyone who joins the WMCA must be able to get to and from their place of work without restriction.

Please note that reasonable adjustments will be considered for those with mobility problems.

In very general terms, it supports the Combined Authority’s vision of being a better connected, more prosperous, fairer, greener and healthier region, with the emphasis on being fairer with respect to recruitment, retention and development. 

When you disclose your diversity data, you entrust us to monitor, analyse and report on whether the range of applicants for our vacancies reflects that of the West Midlands region. If the evidence shows that we are not attracting a reflection of the West Midlands population, we will take further steps to address this in future recruitment campaigns. Our aim is to recruit the best person for the job from a diverse pool of candidates.

Being transparent about our processes to support workforce diversity is an important step towards applicants having the confidence in the Combined Authority’s drive to deliver meaningful and inclusive change in our commitment to promote equity and address inequalities.

No. We can’t guarantee this, but we can guarantee that you will be treated fairly and without prejudice for doing so. We are a ‘Disability Confident’ employer and as part of our commitment to improve how we recruit, retain, and develop disabled people, we will interview people, who disclose as disabled, where they have evidenced in their application that they have met all the essential criteria required for the job.

It is used by our recruitment team to monitor, analyse and report on the range of applicants with protected characteristics as defined by the Equality Act 2010 that apply for our vacancies. Names, addresses and other personal information that is shared as part of the application process are not used.

Diversity information falls within the scope of ‘sensitive personal data’ under GDPR 2018. The Data Protection Action 2018, which supplements the provisions of the GDPR, includes a limited provision that specifically allows these types of special category data to be processed for the purpose of monitoring equality of opportunity or treatment between different groups.

WMCA will make reasonable adjustments to remove or reduce a disadvantage or barrier related to someone’s disclosed disability at all stages of the recruitment and selection process.

Reasonable adjustments will be made for your specific disability or impairment where practicable. In the recruitment and selection process, examples of a reasonable adjustments could be:

• Allow an extension to the job application deadline due to an applicants declared temporary or permanent health condition.
• As requested by a wheelchair user who has been invited to interview, ensure that they have a reserved accessible parking space and that the interview takes place on the ground floor where there is an accessible toilet.
• At the request of a diabetic employee, allow fixed and regular break times and/or longer break times to check their blood sugar levels.

WMCA understands that an individual’s disability status can change over time and therefore, the nature of the reasonable adjustment for an employee may change accordingly. In making the adjustment, WMCA will carefully consider if the adjustment will remove or reduce the disadvantage or barrier, is practical to make, is affordable, and whether by making the adjustment could harm the health and safety of others.