This guidance is for professionals focused on establishing modern, standardised technical workforce structures that support more consistent and objective recruitment.
Introduction to use cases
This guidance is for professionals focused on establishing modern, standardised technical workforce structures that support more consistent and objective recruitment.
It provides a shared language to move beyond reactive hiring, helping councils define the specific capabilities needed to compete effectively with the wider market. Because roles often involve "blended" specialisms unique to local contexts, the framework avoids rigid job titles. Instead, it advocates using standardised skills as building blocks to create custom role profiles that remain aligned with national professional standards. When assessing these requirements, remember that proficiency levels do not directly map to seniority. A role may require "Expert" level knowledge in one specific skill while only needing high-level "Awareness" of others, regardless of the individual's grade or pay scale.
Using the framework to update job descriptions
Why this is important
Many councils struggle with outdated job descriptions that fail to reflect modern technical requirements. It is often difficult to map traditional functional roles to the specific capabilities needed today, especially when managing hybrid positions or those unique to a local context. While many technical skills are universal, their application in local government is often distinctly sector-shaped, requiring a blend of technical oversight and community-focused service delivery that may not directly mirror standard templates found in the private sector or central government.
How to do this using the framework
Use the framework to define the broad expertise required for a role rather than a list of daily tasks. These generic levels should be tailored to your specific needs. To keep descriptions clear and manageable, aim for four to skills skills, and eight to ten responsibilities (lines within a proficiency level description), per role.
You can download the Role Skill Profile Tool below. This tool simplifies the process of drafting consistent job descriptions by acting as a single source of truth for skills. Think of it as a competency builder that fetches precise professional definitions for you, removing the need to start with a blank page. It is most effective during service restructures or Job Evaluation (JE) preparation to ensure technical responsibilities are accurately reflected for formal grading and pay-scale benchmarking.
Download the Role Skill Profile Tool
Using the framework for recruitment clarity
Why this is important
Many councils fall into the trap of "reactive recruitment," where a departing staff member is replaced with a like-for-like role. This often involves reusing outdated job descriptions or relying on subjective "wish lists" that can introduce bias into the selection process. Without a shared language for skills, it is difficult for team leads and hiring managers to communicate what they actually need, and candidates can be left unclear about the technical expectations of the role.
How to do this using the framework
The CDDaT framework provides the recruitment clarity needed to move away from these habits. It allows you to strategically rethink what a role needs to deliver in the future and select the exact capabilities required to achieve those goals. Using these objective standards makes the process fairer and more transparent, while helping to attract talent by showing a clear, professional path for career progression.
Use the framework to define the requirements of new roles based on existing skills gaps, ensuring every hire supports the council’s future goals. You can use the specific skill descriptions to write essential criteria and interview questions that accurately assess a candidate's technical proficiency.
You can download the Role Skills Profile Tool below. This tool helps you assemble the exact skills required for a vacancy in minutes. It standardises requirements across the entire organisation, meaning a Project Manager in Waste Management will be held to the same high standards as one in Children’s Services. This provides applicants with a clear understanding of whether they need awareness or expert knowledge.
Download the Role Skill Profile Tool
Using the framework to manage external suppliers and procurement
Why this is important
Procurement in local government often focuses on the "what" (the system being bought) rather than the "who" (the expertise needed to run it). This often leads to consultant dependency, where external vendors deliver a solution but fail to transfer the underlying technical logic to internal staff. Without a clear view of the technical skills required to build or maintain procured products or services, it can be difficult to understand exactly what expertise a contractor is bringing to a project and, more importantly, what is being left behind once the contract ends.
The goal is to move away from buying generic "consultancy" and instead define the specific technical ingredients of a project. By understanding the details of the skills being procured, councils can ensure that external expertise is used to strengthen the organisation rather than creating long-term dependency on a single vendor.
How to do this using the framework
Use the framework to translate vague project goals into a precise list of technical requirements. This ensures that both the procurement team and the supplier have a shared understanding of the specific skills being delivered.
- Define technical requirements in the Statement of Work: Use the framework to break down a project into its core technical skills. Instead of asking for a "specialist team," specify the exact capabilities required (e.g. Data Modelling or Systems Integration) and the proficiency level expected for each. This ensures the council gets the specific expertise it needs for its local context.
- Structure the handover for knowledge transfer: Use the "You can..." descriptors as a detailed checklist for the end of a project. Rather than a generic "handover meeting," require the supplier to evidence that your internal staff have been coached against those specific framework definitions. This ensures that the technical logic and "thinking" behind a system are successfully transferred to the council.
- Identify long-term staffing needs: By documenting the exact skills a contractor uses, you can see which technical capabilities the council is currently missing. This allows you to plan for the future, deciding whether to recruit for those specific skills or train internal staff to take over once the external support is removed.
You can download the Role Skills Profile Tool below. Use this tool to define the technical requirements for contractors. It allows you to select the exact skills needed for a project and generates a professional, readable set of requirements that can be pasted directly into a Statement of Work or tender document.
Download the Role Skill Profile Tool
Further use cases
The CDDaT framework is a foundational resource designed to be adapted to the specific operational and workforce needs of your council. These additional use cases are intended to inspire creative ways to use these standards to solve recruitment hurdles and build a more flexible, modern workforce.
- Navigate Local Government Reorganisation (LGR): Use the framework to audit digital capabilities across merging authorities, helping to identify talent shortages and plan for a unified workforce structure.
- Facilitate internal mobility: Deploy staff more flexibly by moving people between departments based on their transferable skill families rather than traditional, rigid job hierarchies.
- Manage AI-driven workforce changes: Identify roles where tasks may be eroded by automation and use the framework to plan the targeted redeployment or upskilling of staff into higher-priority areas.
If you have used the framework in creative ways to support your council, please get in touch to share your experience with the sector. Send your use cases and case studies to [email].
