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.

Do you have a passion for delivering a quality service and pride yourself on having excellent attention to detail?

Do you enjoy communicating with others and being part of a supportive team?

If so, we have an exciting opportunity available for a Bus Service Operators Grant Administrative Officer to join our team and would love to hear from you!

Job description

Most journeys made in this country are short and local. They are the journeys that we all make, if not every day, many times a month. Our work makes a huge difference to the daily lives of millions, across England and across the UK, whether they are by bus, tram, walking or cycling.

As Bus Service Operators Grant Administrative Officer, you will join the Bus Funding Division, who support bus services across the country, helping keep fares low, and leading wider reforms of the bus sector in line with the national bus strategy.

This is a fast paced and sometimes challenging role, which will require you to have a good eye for detail and work as part of a team. You will be responsible for managing the payment of subsidy to bus companies in England in the form of the Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG), which is worth around £260 million a year and is one of the key forms of existing Government support to encourage the supply and demand of bus services. A key aspect of your role will involve checking the accuracy and validity of claims, including determining how much is to be paid and liaising with operators on the details of the claim, and accurately recording this information.

Your key responsibilities will include, but are not limited to:

• Dealing with general enquiries received in the dedicated email inbox.
• Contributing to improving our ways of working as a Support to the Bus Grants Management Digital System, including assisting digital support for the claims process. 
• Drafting and issuing correspondence to recipients of the grant.
• Supporting your line manager and team lead on more complex queries and solutions.
• Supporting the Bus Grants Management Digital System, including to assisted digital support for the claims process.

For further information, please see the attached Role Profile.

Person specification

About You

You will have excellent communication skills, both verbally and in writing, allowing you to effectively liaise with a range of contacts within and outside of the department. You will enjoy working as part of a team to support each other with complex queries and will feel comfortable sharing your thoughts and ideas for improvement with the wider team.

You will have an excellent eye for detail, enabling you to analyse complex information and maintain a consistently high level of accuracy within a fast-paced environment. You will be a motivated individual who enjoys being given direction in their work and can quickly learn how to use digital systems and understand departmental terminology.

Additional Information

This role is available to individuals who wish to be spending their office time in Hastings, and there will be the opportunity to occasionally travel to visit different alternative office locations.

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, Strengths 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 written and verbal communication skills, enabling clear and effective conversations.
• Meticulous attention to detail and commitment to accuracy in all tasks undertaken.
• Demonstrated ability to collaborate within a team environment, providing support and advise when required.

The sift is due to take place from 22/05/2024.

Interviews are likely to be held from 05/06/2024.

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 could be conducted online via Teams or face to face at one of our offices. 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.

This post is offered on a Fixed Term Appointment (FTA) basis to complete a finite piece of work.

For permanent Civil Servants, this role is only available on loan, so you must have your home departments approval to return to them at the end of the loan before you apply. There is no opportunity for a permanent Civil Servant to take on this role as a fixed term appointment. OGD applicants will be appointed on an inward loan and subject to the terms of the agreed inward loan. Internal candidates will return to their previous post at the end of the loan period, which will need to be agreed with your line manager in advance.

If you're employed by a non-departmental public body (NDPB) by moving jobs this will involve a change of employer and you may break the statutory rules on continuity of employment.

There could be the potential of extension up to 2 years or permanency, subject to the role being available (and for those coming across on loan, your home departments agreement).

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.