About the job

Job summary

Do you want a career where you can make a real difference? Do you want to work in a government department that is at the forefront of current policy making decisions that will impact the UK and beyond? If yes then a career at the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) could be for you.   

Here at DESNZ we are securing the UK’s long-term energy supply, bringing down energy bills and halving inflation. We are seizing the opportunities of Net Zero to lead the world in new green industries and encouraging greater energy efficiency across the UK. The work of the department has never been more timely or relevant, and by joining us you will be part of making that difference. 

Our work is varied, interesting and most importantly it's impactful. Our DESNZ Values are interwoven into everything we do; we are Bold, we are Collaborative, we are Inclusive and we Learn. As a department we are committed to these values to build a culture where everyone can thrive.    

We offer great working benefits including a world-class pension, flexible working options and a career where your learning and development is taken seriously. We are enormously proud to be a Disability Confident Leader employer. We support candidates with adjustments throughout our recruitment process. Information about disability confidence and just some examples of the adjustments that you can request can be found in the reasonable adjustment section below.  

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is 

found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan and the Civil Service D&I Strategy. 

Find Out More 

You can also follow our LinkedIn Careers Page: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/desnz-careers/  

Job description

What will the successful candidate be doing?

The UK is charting a course to net zero emissions by 2050, boosting jobs, reducing our need for expensive, pollutant producing energy, and securing our position as a world leader in low carbon generation. The Government enshrined the world's most ambitious climate change target into law in 2021: to reduce emissions by 78% by 2035 when compared to 1990 levels.

Delivering this ambition is not going to be possible without renewable electricity, and these roles offer an exciting opportunity to be a part of this journey.

We are the Renewable Strategy Team, working as part of the Renewable Electricity Directorate, a high-profile, friendly, and diverse group at the heart of delivering this vision. We support part-time and flexible working at all grades and particularly encourage applications from people with a diverse set of backgrounds and experience.

The post holders would form part of sub-teams who are responsible for the development and delivery of policies to support growth of the UK Solar and Onshore Wind sectors in line with the Government’s ambitions. Successful candidates will have the opportunity to work flexibly across the Solar and Onshore Wind teams in response to emerging business priorities.

Solar and onshore wind are an important part of our energy mix: taken together they make up around a half of installed renewable energy capacity in the UK today. They are also the cheapest technologies and can help to control increases in consumer costs. The Net Zero Strategy concludes that a low-cost net zero system of the future is likely to be predominantly comprised of wind and solar, which is why we have committed to a sustained increase in onshore wind and solar over the next decade and beyond.

There are three  roles available that will be focused on the strategic policy required to increase deployment of solar and onshore wind and address barriers to deployment. The roles will offer a great opportunity to work in a fast-paced priority area, in teams that are growing substantially to meet the increasing policy and project delivery demands.

These exciting posts are rich and varied and, in supporting Government policy on renewables, is topical, sensitive, and involves working on policies that attract national media and senior political attention.

Person specification

Key Responsibilities:

• Planning and managing a range of projects and pieces of work;
• Using interpersonal skills to work collaboratively with teams in DESNZ, other Government departments and external stakeholders ; involve partners in policy discussions, analyse their input and facilitate effective implementation;
• Conducting independent research and analysing complex information to provide policy options advice based on evidence;
• Performing secretariat functions, writing agendas, minutes and keeping actions logs to ensure the delivery of cross-government policies;
• Drafting briefing for Ministers and senior officials, communicating complex arguments clearly and concisely to a senior audience, in both written and oral form;
• Preparing, checking, and advising on correspondence, Parliamentary Questions, Freedom of Information requests, and responses to other ad hoc requests to help deliver Ministerial communication;
• Adapting flexibility across the team to meet changing priorities.

Skills & Experience:

We are looking for applicants who have a demonstrable interest in working in renewable energy; strong, written, and oral communication skills to explain complex issues to ministers, special advisers, senior management, and others; credibility and confidence working with partners across government and externally to drive forward discussions and negotiations and deliver projects; good political sensitivity.

You will also be able to work self-sufficiently; balance multiple priorities and projects efficiently, and collaborate well with other Departments, devolved administrations, industry, and other key delivery partners.

We welcome applications from people who bring transferrable skills from other fields or sectors.

We would love to hear from you if you have:

• Excellent interpersonal skills and confidence in building relationships with colleagues and different stakeholders;
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to clearly and concisely communicate sophisticated ideas to senior audiences through a variety of means;
• Ability to plan, prioritise and quality assure you own work and the work of others to deadlines;
• Comfortable working closely with analysts and legal to understand technical advice;
• An ability to grasp issues quickly and understand the big picture for DESNZ and HMG;
• Good problem-solving skills with an eye for detail.
• Experience of working in a project environment.

It would be useful but is not essential to have experience in a relevant energy policy field.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £33,635, Department for Energy Security & Net Zero contributes £9,081 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

Things you need to know

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Strengths and Experience.

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

Please note - the CV incorporated into the application form is for information purposes only and will not be scored.

Applications will be sifted on behavioural statements. 

In the event of a large number of applicants, applications will be sifted on the lead behaviour statement Making Effective Decisions.

Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift, or progressed straight to assessment/interview.

Sift and interview dates

Expected Timeline subject to change

Sift dates: w/c 08/07/24

Interview dates: w/c 15/07/2024

Interview Location: MS Teams.

Candidates are asked to note the above timetable, exercising flexibility through the recruitment and selection process.

The interview will consist of behaviour and strength based questions.  

Further Information

Reasonable Adjustment

We are proud to be a disability confident leader and we welcome applications from disabled candidates and candidates with long-term conditions.

We fully support adjustments throughout our recruitment process and we encourage candidates to discuss their adjustment needs by emailing the job contact which can be found under the contact point for applicants section.

We do not have an exhaustive list of adjustments that we support but just some examples include additional time to complete your application form, behaviour questions up to 72 hours prior to interview and having extra time at interview. 

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

If successful and transferring from another Government Department a criminal record check may be carried out.

New entrants are expected to join on the minimum of the pay band.

A location based reserve list of successful candidates will be kept for 12 months. Should another role become available within that period you may be offered this position.

Please note terms and conditions are attached. Please take time to read the document to determine how these may affect you.

Any move to the Department for Energy, Security and Net Zero  from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax Free Childcare. Determine your eligibility https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk

DESNZ does not normally offer full home working (i.e. working at home); but we do offer a variety of flexible working options (including occasionally working from home). 

DESNZ cannot offer Visa sponsorship to candidates through this campaign. DESNZ holds a Visa sponsorship licence but this can only be used for certain roles and this campaign does not qualify.

In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to Disclosure and Barring Service /Disclosure Scotland on your behalf.

However, we recognise in exceptional circumstances some candidates will want to send their completed forms direct. If you will be doing this, please advise Government Recruitment Service of your intention by emailing Pre-EmploymentChecks.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk stating the job reference number in the subject heading. 

For further information on the Disclosure Scotland confidential checking service telephone: the Disclosure Scotland Helpline on 0870 609 6006 and ask to speak to the operations manager in confidence, or email Info@disclosurescotland.co.uk 

Applicants who are successful at interview will be, as part of pre-employment screening, subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database (IFD). This check will provide information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences. This check also applies to employees who resign or otherwise leave before being dismissed for fraud or dishonesty had their employment continued. Any applicant’s details held on the IFD will be refused employment. 

A candidate is not eligible to apply for a role within the Civil Service if the application is made within a 5 year period following a dismissal for carrying out internal fraud against government.

Feedback

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

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check. People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) 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 (opens in a new window). 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. The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.