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 experience of providing a range of administrative support?

Could you provide high quality business support to our Rail Workforce Transformation (RWT) Team during a defining moment for the railways?

If so, we are looking for a confident, adaptable person who enjoys dealing with people, and we would love to hear from you.

Job description

The Department for Transport (DfT) and the rail industry are undergoing the largest transformation in decades. The sector needs a workforce and staffing landscape that supports a commercially viable environment and a passenger-focused service.

As Business Support Manager, you will play a key role supporting a team which is working through the implications of these and other changes, with the goal of ensuring the long term operational and financial sustainability of the industry.

In this role, you will be responsible for running a reliable working environment for our team, working closely with colleagues both internally and externally as you strive to deliver a customer focused business support. You will be empowered to identify improvements, implement ideas and shape the role to best support the team and set us up for success.

You will provide operational support to a range of corporate functions which may include finance, HR, governance, business continuity, staff engagement and internal communications to ensure the smooth running of our Rail Workforce Transformation Team.

The work is diverse, giving you a fantastic opportunity to develop a wide range of skills whilst working on projects which clearly align with organisational priorities. Anyone coming into this role can expect to be working in a fast-changing environment.

The responsive, and evolving nature of our Directorate’s work has created a friendly, flexible and co-operative team who develop innovative solutions, take ownership of projects and develop their leadership skills, often working to challenging timescales.

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

Operational Support

• Managing records such as our Local Recognition Awards (LRA’s) and vouchers, leave and budget trackers.
• Acting as an IT Focal Point and Local Information Manager (LIM) for the Directorate.
• Supporting resource and recruitment requirements and improving and contributing to the induction of new starters.
• Identifying opportunities to make improvements to business processes across the Directorate.
• Managing Teams channel and SharePoint site.
• Supporting corporate projects, identifying requirements and providing options to improve ways of working across the Directorate.

Leadership and Management

• Supporting line managers to set up and monitor team professional standards, coordinating training, development and recruitment activities across the team and supporting the delivery of the annual performance review process and compliance with statutory and mandatory regulations.
• Building strong relationships with Senior Leaders and colleagues across the Department.
• Treating sensitive and personal information with discretion and ensuring it is carefully managed.
• Providing resilience and support to other parts of RTW and covering the Director’s Diary Manager as required.
• Line management responsibilities for two Personal Assistants and managing administrative functions to ensure flexibility and capacity to meet the Directorate’s needs.

Person specification

About you

You will have excellent interpersonal and stakeholder management skills to confidently communicate at all levels across the Department, to build and maintain quality relationships.

You will be proactive and enjoy taking the initiative in a fast-changing work environment, balancing competing demands and delivering to challenging timetables.

You will be exceptionally organised and demonstrate good judgement to prioritise urgent requests and monitor progress.

You will be able to create and maintain processes and be comfortable working in ambiguity, using your initiative to create improvements and efficiencies within the team.

You will work well independently and as part of a team, and apply a flexible, friendly, and supportive working approach to accommodate an often demanding and evolving environment.

Additional Information 

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 your experience, please tailor your CV and Personal Statement (maximum word count 750) to provide evidence of the following:

• Experience of providing administrative support across a range of duties.
• Experience of building working relationships across teams to deliver results.
• Experience of handling multiple workloads to challenging deadlines.

The sift is due to take place from 16/02/2024.

Interviews/assessments are likely to be held on 29/02/2024 and 01/03/2024.

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.

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.