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.

Would you embrace the opportunity to sit at the heart of the programme reforming the railway?

Are you a proactive individual who would seize the chance to visibly impact the delivery of our ambitious programme?

If so, we have an exciting opportunity available and would love to hear from you!

Job description

You will join the Rail Reform Directorate at an exciting time, as we deliver the most fundamental reform of the railways in a generation and provide a unique opportunity to shape a key part of the future transport network. Following an extensive review of the rail industry, the Government set out its plans in the May 2021 Plan for Rail. The proposed transformation includes all parts of the rail sector and will fundamentally change the way all organisations within it operate.

The railways are not currently delivering the services customers deserve. The current fragmented network can be confusing, lacks accountability and leads to a clear sense that no one is ultimately in charge – particularly when something goes wrong. Now is the time to reinvigorate the process of rail reform, to tackle the fundamental inefficiencies caused by fragmentation, restore customer confidence, deliver strong cost control for taxpayers, ensure clear accountability and re-energise the private sector to drive innovation, growth and improvement.

You will be based within the Rail Reform’s Strategy and Programme Management Office Division, who lead on the cross-cutting work to deliver and drive rail reform, working closely with other teams across the wider Department and the sector.

As part of the Benefits team, you will be responsible for ensuring that benefits are embedded across the Programme and that they achieve the desired impacts. This will include better passenger experience on the railway and unlocking the potential of the private sector’s involvement in the railway. You will collaborate with a diverse range of teams, both within the department and external stakeholders, including the Programme Management Office and Great British Railways Transition Team.

If you would like to find out more about what it's like to work at DfT Rail, please click here.

Your key responsibilities will include:

• Horizon scanning, identifying opportunities for benefits across the portfolio to be unlocked and for benefits-realisation to be accelerated.
• Improving how different workstreams feed into benefits management and measuring benefits, taking an innovative approach to meeting diverse needs.
• Proactively working with the Evaluation team on the long-term Evaluation of the Programme.
• Responding flexibly to senior and Ministerial steers on benefits and the Programme.
• Delivering innovative, engaging workshops for teams, that help colleagues to better understand how their day to day work and long-term objective aligns with the programme’s benefits.

For further information, please see the attached Role Profile

Person specification

About you

You will be a proactive self-starter who has a good understanding of working in or with central government. You will be naturally inquisitive with a strong desire to get involved in this interesting role, gaining knowledge and understanding. You will have strong analytical and project management skills, which you will utilise to inform policy and strategy on benefits.

You will have excellent interpersonal skills, enabling you to develop positive working relationships with your colleagues within the department, and key partners, actively considering diverse views and perspectives. You will be an articulate communicator with the ability to adapt your communication styles to credibly influence and challenge effectively.  

You will remain calm and flexible when faced with ambiguity, enabling  you to make difficult decisions with confidence. You will have the capability to prioritise and handle challenging demands, working under pressure to organise and deliver high quality outcomes, whilst still enabling innovation.

Additional Information

This role is available to individuals who wish to be spending their office time in London, Leeds or Birmingham, and we would also expect the individual to be willing to travel to visit different locations relevant to the route.

A minimum 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. 

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

Selection process details

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

How to Apply

When considering applying please look at how your experience relates to the role, and within your CV and Personal Statement (maximum 750 words) please provide detailed evidence of your experience of the following:

• Excellent interpersonal skills, using appropriate styles to credibly influence and challenge effectively, and displaying resilience dealing with ambiguity and uncertainty when making difficult decisions.
• Positive collaborative skills, building strong working relationships with your colleagues and key partners, actively considering diverse views and perspectives.
• Strong analytical and project management skills, using these to inform policy and strategy on benefits.

The sift is due to take place from 11/01/2024.

Interviews are likely to be held from 26/01/2024.

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

This interview will be conducted online via 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, we are 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.