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Senior Policy Advisor

Employer
Department for Transport
Location
Birmingham, Hastings, Leeds, London
Salary
£38,654 - National & £42,466 - London
Closing date
21 Jun 2021

Job Details

About the job Summary

The transport system is at the heart of the UK economy and responsible for keeping the UK moving.

This is an amazing moment to join the Department for Transport. Successful candidates will join the Policy Profession at a challenging yet rewarding time as we support the UK through unprecedented challenges. We have a number of exciting opportunities within the Policy Profession family at the Department for Transport which will enable successful candidates to grow and play a pivotal role in delivering our departmental objectives and priorities.

On 15 March the Secretary of State officially announced our plans to broaden our office locations by creating an initial 650 roles across Birmingham and Leeds by 2025. This announcement marks a further step towards a more flexible and regionally diverse DfT and Civil Service. We are really excited about recruiting in Birmingham and Leeds. Advertising in these new locations enhances opportunity, unlocks latent potential and helps attract an agile, skilled and diverse workforce to meet the ever-increasing demands on the Department. This is our chance to change the London-centric perception of the Civil Service and to ensure we are more inclusive and more closely connected to the cities and regions we serve. There are plenty of exciting opportunities waiting for you at DfT. We are looking for passionate individuals who are keen to join our dynamic, vibrant and continuously improving department.

We have already been successful recruiting in these locations. Hear from our new joiners in Birmingham and Leeds as well as our existing staff here to find out more. You can also use this link book onto one of our Open Evenings to find out more about working in the Civil Service as a Policy Professional.

Job description

We are currently recruiting for a number of roles within the Policy Profession here at the Department for Transport, please see the attached role profile and below for more detail.
 

Responsibilities

• Contributing to policy advice for Ministers, the ‘centre’ (Cabinet Office, No10 and HM Treasury) and senior officials, including but not limited to, Ministerial briefings, Parliamentary business, freedom of information requests and correspondence.
• Supporting delivery of the strategic overview of policy matters impacting the policy area.
• Supporting senior managers to manage the policy creation/implementation.
• Gathering information, including engaging with frontline experts, and bringing it together for oral and written briefing and correspondence etc.
• Developing and maintaining good working relationships with the internal and external stakeholders to support policy development. 

To be successful in this role you will have good leadership and interpersonal skills and the ability to work effectively with a broad range of people. You will have the ability to research complex issues, drawing on a range of data sources and opinions to support the development of policy.

Essential experience
• Leading on discrete projects by developing and taking forward your own initiatives.
• Experience of researching and interpreting information from a range of complex sources to form well-considered, logical opinions.
• Good communication skills with the ability to vary your approach based on the needs of the audience.
• Experience producing high quality written work against tight deadlines.

Please refer to the attached Candidate Information Pack for further information about this role and working for the Department for Transport

Behaviours

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

  • Seeing the Big Picture
  • Making Effective Decisions
  • Working Together
  • Communicating and Influencing
  • Managing a Quality Service

Technical skills

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

  • Level 1 Policy Profession Standards
  • Level 1 Policy Profession Standards

Benefits

Being part of our brilliant Civil Service means you will have access to a wide range of fantastic benefits.

This includes:
- a generous annual leave entitlement,
- attractive pension options,
- flexible working,
- good career development opportunities,
- a variety of career paths,
- inclusive working environments and much more to support a healthy work/life balance.

Things you need to know Security

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.

This campaign will run on a rolling basis with applicants progressing through the recruitment process in strict merit order. There are 4 stages to the application process:

Stage 1
1. Register your initial interest and complete your basic information
2. Civil Service Verbal Reasoning Test (CSVRT)

We encourage you to complete the online test as soon as possible. Please note there will be no technical help or guaranteed assistance with online tests after 5pm on Monday 21st June. Please contact [email protected] should you require any technical support.

The online test for this vacancy is not timed and there are no restrictions on how long you take to complete this, but must be fully submitted before 23:55 pm on Monday 21st June 2021.

Guidance for the online tests will be available when you are invited to take the test and can also be found here. The tests are administered online and accessed via the Civil Service Jobs website.

Stage 2
Full Application Form
 - As part of your application form you must provide evidence against the following Civil Service Behaviours:
• Seeing the Big Picture 
• Making Effective Decisions 
• Working Together 
• Communicating and Influencing
• Managing a Quality Service

You will also be asked to provide a CV, this will be used to match you to an appropriate team should you be successful in securing a role, you will therefore not receive a rating for your CV following the sift.

Please note the deadline for completion of the online test and the full application is 23:55 pm on Monday 21st June 2021. Full applications not submitted ahead of this deadline will be withdrawn.

Stage 3
Written Assessment
 - If you are shortlisted, you will be invited to complete a written policy exercise which will take approximately 75 minutes. The written exercise will be conducted online and will be used to assess your ability against the Policy Profession Standards outlined in the role profile. Candidates with the highest score on the written exercise will progress to video interview first.

Stage 4
Video Interview
 - You will attend an online video interview where you will be asked questions against the Civil Service Behaviours listed above.

Full details of the interview process will be made available to shortlisted candidates.

We reserve the right to raise the pass mark at each stage of the selection process to determine how many candidates progress to the next stage. Applications that meet the minimum standard but do not have the highest score, will remain in a talent pool until called forward to the next stage of the recruitment process in merit order. Meeting the minimum requirements for each stage is no guarantee of an invitation to continue the next stage of the selection process.

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

DfT is a Disability Confident employer. Our aim is to help everyone to reach their potential. We offer workplace adjustments throughout the recruitment process as well as part of our standard offering to all staff. Please contact [email protected] to discuss your specific requirements. At DfT our commitment to inclusion goes both ways and we look for our people to value inclusion just as much as we do.

Further Information

A reserve list will be held for 12 months. Candidates placed on the reserve list will be managed in strict merit order based on location preferences.

Successful candidates must pass a Disclosure and Barring Security check and meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The majority of roles we are recruiting for will require BPSS Clearance only however, some of our roles may require SC clearance. The clearance required will be communicated to candidates upon receiving a job offer.

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.

For more information on job share please click Here

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 :   DFT Recruitment 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

Company

Transport matters – what we do matters.

Transport touches the lives of everyone in the country. Across road, rail, air, sea and space, our transport networks affect homes, businesses, schools, hospitals and more. It’s how we deliver goods to our shops, get people to work and reunite with our loved ones. Our staff know how important their work is and how they fit in.

 

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