Location

Birmingham, Leeds, London

About the job 

We recognise the challenges that people with (multiple) protected characteristics may experience on the job market and in their career progression. We are fully committed to being an inclusive employer and ensuring equal opportunities. We are keen to make our workforce as diverse as possible, and we hope to attract applications from underrepresented groups, including Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) people, people with a disability, and people with gender diverse identities.

Salary: £48,774 (National) and £54,105 (London)
Depending on candidate skills and experience, an additional allowance may be available.

Find out more about the Commercial People Standards

Would you relish the unique opportunity to shape policy decisions for the future provision of railway pensions?

Do you have broad financial and commercial experience?

If so, we are looking for an ambitious Commercial Adviser to provide expert financial and commercial support to our policy and commercial teams, and we would love to hear from you.

Job description

As a result of the collapse in rail revenues arising from the Covid-19 pandemic, the Department has agreed Emergency Measures Agreements (EMAs) and Emergency Recovery Measures Agreements (ERMAs) with all privately-managed train operating companies. These suspend the normal financial workings of the underlying franchise agreements. Work is also underway to design the contractual arrangements to follow the emergency agreements, and you will have close involvement in some of the commercial and financial policy issues that arise.

Our team is responsible for contributing to elements of the Department’s commercial design for rail contracts, leading on key finance and commercial issues relating to railway pensions. The Pensions Regulator has been investigating the funding of the train operating company sections of the Railways Pension Scheme, and may take enforcement action if its concerns about the sustainability of the scheme are not addressed. This is a long-standing and complex problem, and any solution is likely to have significant consequences for the commercial relationship between the Department and train operating companies. You will play a key part in managing these consequences.

As Commercial Adviser, you will advise the workforce strategy and policy team on the financial and commercial aspects of rail pensions policy as it applies to rail contracts. You will provide high-quality advice to project and contract management teams on the implementation of existing pensions policies on current contracts and the application of any new policy developments to future contracts. You will show tact and persistence in guiding policy, project and contract management teams in the delivery of these policies to ensure their consistent application across a very high-profile portfolio of rail projects. On occasion, this will include analysing and developing alternative bespoke approaches to commercial models to reflect contract-specific issues.

You will have the opportunity work closely with internal teams, industry partners and external legal, financial and actuarial advisers to assess, implement and drive potential policy options.
 

Responsibilities

Your key responsibilities will include;
• Leading and managing the provision of finance and commercial advice and solutions to policy, project delivery and contract management teams on pensions and pensions policy
• Supporting and advising the contract management teams on the implementation of contractual provisions relating to pensions and pensions policy during the term of the Emergency (Recovery) Measures Agreements and any successor arrangements.
• Engaging with individual rail project teams, providing support and advice on finance and commercial issues relating to pensions and pensions policy to ensure that existing/new policies are embedded into contractual documents for future rail contracts.

You will have the option to be based in London attracting the London pay scale, or in Leeds or Birmingham attracting the national pay scale, with occasional travel to meetings in London.

About you

You will have a good working knowledge of key commercial, financial and economic principles and an understanding of public policy making and/or pensions. You will either have a broad experience of working in a finance and/or commercial environment or hold (or be working towards) a financial/accounting qualification.

If you don’t already have knowledge of pensions, you will have extensive experience of building subject matter expertise by developing your own technical skills and show a willingness to develop your expertise in pensions.

You will be highly numerate, with a solid attention to detail and be excellent working with data, including analysing, interpreting and presenting information in a meaningful way.

You will have outstanding interpersonal skills to build constructive relationships with a range of technical specialists, internal policy and commercial teams and industry partners. You will be a trusted adviser, with the capability to quickly grasp technical information and present solutions to support decision making.

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Seeing the Big Picture
• Making Effective Decisions
• Communicating and Influencing
• Working Together
• Delivering at Pace

Technical skills

We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:

• Commercial People Standards - Strategy and Policy Development
• Commercial People Standards - Understanding Needs and Sourcing Options
• Commercial People Standards - Contract and Supplier Management

Benefits

Being part of our brilliant Civil Service means you will have access to a wide range of fantastic benefits. We offer generous annual leave, attractive pension options, flexible working, inclusive working environments and much more to support a healthy work/life balance.

Find out more about what it's like working at the Department for Transport.

Things you need to know 

Successful candidates must pass a disclosure and barring security check.

People working with government assets must complete basic personnel security standard checks.

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles, and will assess your Behaviours, Ability, Experience and Technical skills.

We are closely monitoring the situation regarding the coronavirus, and will be following central Government advice as it is issued. There is therefore a risk that recruitment to this post may be subject to change at short notice. In addition, where appropriate, you may be invited to attend a video interview.

Please continue to follow the application process as normal and ensure that you check your emails regularly as all updates from us will be sent to you this way.

The Civil Service Nationality Rules has been updated following the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union. The new rules will come into effect on 1st January 2021. We urge people from the EU, European Economic Area and Switzerland to be familiar with the updated Nationality rules prior to applying for this role.

After submission of the first stage of your application you will be invited to complete a Civil Service Numerical and Verbal test. If you successfully pass the test, you will be invited to complete the final stage of the application.

Please complete the online tests as soon as possible (within 24-48 hours is recommended), the closing date for the tests is 23:55 on 15th March 2021. If you fail to complete the online test before the deadline your application will be withdrawn. Guidance for the test will be available when you are invited to take the test. The tests are administered online and accessed via the CS Jobs website.

As part of the application process you will be asked to complete a CV and personal statement. Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.

How to apply
When considering your experience, please tailor your CV and personal statement to provide evidence of when you have:
• Demonstrated a good working knowledge of key commercial, financial and economic principles in the transport sector or a regulated industry, and used your understanding of commercial objectives and drivers to deliver outcomes
• Effectively gathered, analysed and interpreted an array of financial, commercial and technical data
• Demonstrated experience of articulating commercial requirements, including working with complex contractual documentation and contractual language
• Built constructive relationships with internal and external partners to deliver solutions/results

The sift is due to take place on 17/03/2021.

Interviews/assessments are likely to be held on 30/03/2021 and 31/03/2021.

This interview could be conducted via a video interview, details of which will be provided to you should you be selected for interview.

We will try to meet the dates set out in the advert. There may be occasions when these dates will change. You will be provided with sufficient notice of the confirmed dates.

The selection process will be designed specifically for the role. As a result, your assessment could include:

• an interview and presentation

You’re encouraged to become familiar with the role profile, as you may be assessed against any of the criteria recorded within.

The Department for Transport alongside other Government Departments recruit using Success Profiles. This means for each role we consider what you will need to demonstrate in order to be successful. This gives us the best possible chance of finding the right person for the job, drives up performance and improves diversity and inclusivity.

For further information on Success Profiles visit our Careers website.

If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section

Further Information

To learn more about applying for a role within the Department for Transport, visit the Application Process page of our Careers website.

Before submitting your application, we encourage you to visit our Things You Need to Know page for further information about applying for a role within the Department for Transport and the Civil Service.

Throughout this job advert there are links to the DfT Careers website, which provides you further information to support your application. Should you be unable to access the information on our website, please email [email protected] for assistance.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals from the EU, EEA or Switzerland with (or eligible for) status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals working in the Civil Service
• relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals who have built up the right to work in the Civil Service
• certain family members of the relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals

Further information on nationality requirements

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles.

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

Apply and further information

Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants Job contact : Name :   Passenger Services Resourcing Email :   [email protected]   Recruitment team : Email :   [email protected] Further information

If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles and you wish to make a complaint, in the first instance, you should contact Government Recruitment Services via email: [email protected] If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Department, you can contact the Civil Service Commission: Visit the Civil Service Commission website at https://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk