About the job

Job summary

We recognise the challenges that people with 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 ethnic minorities, people with a disability, and people with gender diverse identities.

Can you work at pace and demonstrate a forward-thinking approach?

Have you got strong leadership skills?

Do you have excellent communication skills and the ability to influence senior stakeholders?

If so, we’d love to hear from you!

Job description

Do you enjoy working in a fast faced, high profile and varied policy area? If so, this role in the aviation consumer team offers an exciting opportunity to join a friendly team delivering policy that sits at the heart of the aviation industry and has a real-world impact on consumers.

The team is entering a new phase of work to deliver a range of policy reforms (both legislative and non-legislative) with the aim of strengthening passenger protections and ensuring industry provides the best possible service. Our work is varied, including aviation accessibility, protections for flight disruptions, disruptive passengers, cabin air quality, allergies and regulation.  

You will have the opportunity to be responsible for your own diverse policy areas, to build expertise, deliver impactful policy, and manage others. There will be the opportunity to be involved in legislation (secondary and potentially primary), consultations, project management and stakeholder engagement, including with international stakeholders.     

Responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Leading policy development/implementation and providing proactive advice on current challenges and opportunities for senior officials. You will be expected to take ownership of your own policy areas.
• Building and maintaining effective relationships with a range of stakeholders including other Government departments and industry to assist collaborative policy making.
• Supporting policy work on international engagement (Europe and wider) on consumer issues, including accessibility.
• Undertaking other ad-hoc consumer policy work as required, including drafting of submissions, briefings, parliamentary work, and correspondence on behalf of the team.
• Exercising autonomy and innovative thinking, making well-founded decisions in the absence of established guidelines or precedents.

For further information, please see the attached Role Profile.

Person specification

About you:

We are looking for a self-starter, who is keen to develop their policy and stakeholder engagement skills. The work is varied and challenging, and the post holder will be working in a busy, sometimes reactive environment. We are looking for someone who:

• Is flexible and able to prioritise their work, often at short notice to meet demand.
• Is able to project manage and demonstrate forward thinking.
• Is proactive in developing policy to address emerging issues.
• Is a creative thinker and problem solver who can work independently through complex issues, helping to create innovative solutions while keeping in mind the bigger picture.
• Is able to work autonomously and make effective decisions using available evidence.

Additional Information:

A minimum of 60% of your working time should be spent at your principal workplace, although requirements to attend other locations for official business, or carry out detached duty in another DfT workplace, will also count towards this level of attendance. 

This role may require occasional travel to other DfTc offices.

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.

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 required to provide evidence of 3 behaviours. Each behaviour example will be limited to 250 words.

Should a large number of applications be received, an initial sift may be conducted using the lead behaviour which is Communicating and Influencing. Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift or progressed straight to interview.

The sift is due to take place from week commencing 8th January 2024.

Interviews are likely to be held from week commencing 22nd January 2024.

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 will include:

• An Interview
• A written exercise

This interview will be conducted online via MS Teams. Further details will be provided to you should you be selected for interview.

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.

Reasonable Adjustments 

As a Disability Confident Leader employer, DfT is committed to ensuring that the recruitment process is fair, accessible and allows all candidates to perform at their best. If a person with a visible or non-visible disability is substantially disadvantaged, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes. 

Complete the “Assistance required” section in the “Additional requirements” page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need during the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at an interview, or if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional.  

If you need a reasonable adjustment so that you can complete your application, you should contact Government Recruitment Service via dftrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs. 

Document Accessibility

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

This job advert contains links to the DfT Careers website. Our website provides useful guidance and information that can support you during the application process. If you cannot access the information on our website for any reason, please email DRGComms@dft.gov.uk for assistance.

Further Information

For more information about how we hire, and for useful tips on submitting your application for this role, visit the How We Hire page of our DfT Careers website. You can find detailed information about the recruitment process and what to expect when applying for a role.

Pre-employment Checking

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 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.