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 relish an opportunity to lead on elements of contract development that will make a tangible improvement for rail passengers?

Do you enjoy collaborating with a range of partners to deliver outcomes?

If so, we have a fantastic opportunity to join our Future Contracts team, and we would love to hear from you.

Job description

Our Future Contracts team is responsible for the policy, design, development, and implementation of all new contracts for rail passenger services, including the forthcoming replacements for expiring National Rail Contracts (NRCs). Our team is responsible for developing the contract, and working with colleagues from the Department’s Procurement Excellence Team to ensure that the contract award process is robust.

The commercial model for these contracts must incentivise operators to work collaboratively with cross industry partners to deliver outcomes in the interests of all rail passengers, and our team ensure that the policy approach reflects that. These contracts are being considered as part of ongoing transformation within the rail sector, commencing with the publication of the Plan for Rail and the associated reforms, and as such, the contracts being designed will have to be flexible and responsive to a fast-changing environment.

As Commercial Design and Policy Manager, you will be responsible for various strands of contract development work, as well as the tackling of related commercial policy issues. In this complex and dense stakeholder environment, excellent stakeholder management skills will be critical.

In this role you will collaborate with various specialist teams across the Department, as well as with Great British Railways Transition Team and industry partners to address complex commercial policy problems and to ensure a robust approach to contract design.  You will need to ensure that the overall commercial proposition is attractive to both Government and the market.

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

Your key tasks and responsibilities while coordinating a portfolio of analytical, policy and commercial work will include:

• Addressing complex commercial policy problems and working with colleagues across the Department to identify appropriate policy solutions.
• Supporting the delivery of various commissions and projects that the team are responsible for in the field of future contract design and concerning potential future commercial models.
• Drafting briefings on complex rail policy issues for senior audiences.
• Engaging with a variety of Departmental and other governmental partners, with a particular focus on the relationship with the Great British Railways Transition Team.
• Leading defined elements of the development of a template contract product, including relevant incentive and specification approaches.
• Ensuring proposed solutions to contractual issues are robust and delivered within a legally, commercial, and politically sensitive environment.
• Ensuring future operators are incentivised to innovate and collaborate with industry parties and consider the scope for shared incentives to deliver improvements in overall industry performance.
• Working with the Finance Policy team to ensure alignment of contract design with the available funding envelope.
• Providing advice to senior leaders and Ministers.

Person specification

About you

You will bring experience and knowledge of the rail sector and working within a commercially sensitive environment.

You will have excellent stakeholder management and interpersonal skills to build constructive relationships with internal teams and industry partners. You will be articulate and confident to challenge and influence to gain consensus to drive policy development.

You will display excellent policy development skills, and the ability to communicate complex technical information and issues clearly to a diverse audience.

You will have highly developed analytical skills and an understanding of how to use data to inform robust decision-making.

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. Occasional travel to other DfT offices will be required.

You will have the option to be based either in London attracting the London pay scale, or in Leeds or Birmingham attracting the national pay scale.  

Policy Profession Standards Framework

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, Experience and Technical skills.

How to apply

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

Pplease tailor your CV and personal statement (maximum word count of 1000) to provide evidence of the following:

• Experience of the rail sector, and the associated legally, politically and commercially sensitive environment.
• Experience of building constructive relationships with internal and external stakeholders to deliver a business outcome.
• Experience of analysing data to inform robust decision-making.

The sift is due to take place from 18/03/2024.

Interviews/assessments are likely to be held weeks commencing 01/04/2024 and 08/04/2024.

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 and a written policy exercise.

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.