About the job

Job summary

The COBR Unit leads the Government’s response to acute emergencies - domestic and international, malicious and non-malicious - and drives further professionalisation of emergency management within government. The unit sits within the National Security Secretariat (NSS).

The NSS keeps the UK safe, secure and prosperous by bringing together the UK’s national security community, providing high-quality support to the Prime Minister and the National Security Council and maintaining centre-to-centre relationships internationally. Working within the wider Cabinet Secretariat and led by the Prime Minister’s National Security Adviser (NSA), we assist the Prime Minister and the Cabinet in the development, coordination and implementation of its highest priority objectives. 

In 2023 the Crisis Management Excellence Programme team (referred to as CMEP) was launched in the COBR Unit and focuses specifically on professionalising and building crisis management capability across Government. Operating across government your work as part of this team will be key in driving readiness at both the national and local level for the biggest risks that threaten the UK. You will be part of a small and highly dedicated team, working to enhance the UK’s crisis management capabilities.

Here at CMEP, our work is varied, interesting and impactful across government. Our vision is Enabling Excellence in Crisis and our objective is to deliver constantly high standards and professional expertise in central government crisis management. As a department we are committed to building and working in an inclusive and supportive working environment and will support talented people from all backgrounds to build a career and thrive. 

Job description

You will be an active member of the team. This will be a stretching and varied role and the post holder will need to be dynamic with the ability to pivot, work at pace and deliver a number of work streams.  

Key areas of responsibility include:

Engagement and Communication

• Be the first point of contact to manage the CMEP mailbox. This will include reviewing, responding to correspondence and, where necessary, liaising with the wider CMEP team to ensure suitable responses are returned.
• Produce high-quality content for various internal and external publications including the digital CMEP Newsletter. This content will need to be suitable  for various audiences, including a range of stakeholders across government.
• Provide secretariat support including draft updates/minutes on crisis management to Ministers and senior officials as required.

Community

• Support the identification, development and delivery of in person and virtual community events. It will be essential to be build and maintain relationships to support identifying new opportunities.    
• Lead the logistical coordination and on-boarding of delegates accessing/attending training, exercising and community events organised by CMEP. This will include both virtual and in-person events.
• Support the content and and management of the CMEP IT platform.

Person specification

Essential Criteria: 

• Excellent organisational skills - the job holder will have to work to tight deadlines, pay strong attention to detail whilst pivoting between multiple work streams and potentially conflicting priorities. 
• Planning and prioritising effectively, at pace, to deliver a quality service and results whilst maintaining a strong attention to detail 
• The ability to work autonomously in a fast-paced environment.
• To be flexible with the ability to be a resilient member of the team, remaining calm and effective under pressure.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills with the ability to build and maintain effective relationships with colleagues and stakeholders 
• Strong logistical skills to support delegates attend training along with the experience of organising and facilitating engagement events with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders.
• A can-do attitude with good problem-solving abilities and judgement, capable of thinking on their feet.
• Good analytical skills and the ability to collate, interpret and learn from evaluation, embedding lessons learnt into subsequent activities.

Desirable Criteria:

• Experience of working in a community engagement environment leading the logistical delivery of a programme.

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 will also count towards this level of attendance.

Responding to emergencies:

COBR Unit on call rota, you will be asked if you wish to join a formal COBR Unit on-call rota for civil emergencies, to monitor emerging risks and form the backbone of initial responses where necessary, for which an allowance is payable. 
Whether you join the COBR Unit on call rota or not, as a member of the COBR Unit, in addition to your normal day-to-day role, you may be called on to fulfil roles to assist the Government’s response during crises. On these challenging occasions, you may help lead the response to an evolving situation, often contributing outside your normal area of responsibility. You may occasionally be required to work long hours.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £38,250, Cabinet Office contributes £10,328 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

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.

Application process

As part of the application process you will be asked to complete a CV, 1000 word personal statement. Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form. 

Your personal statement (max 1000 words) should provide examples of how your skills and experience match those needed for this role. Consider giving examples that will help you meet the responsibilities described in the job description, and use work you have completed to demonstrate this. For your personal statement please display evidence of:

• Experience of management of administrative processes.
• Experience of effective communication with the ability to engage with key stakeholders.
• Experience of improving or developing a product or process to improve efficiencies or better meet user needs.
• Experience of working at pace dealing with competing priorities.

For guidance on how to construct your personal statement, you are encouraged to visit Civil Service Careers. Links – Statement

Should a large number of applications be received, an initial sift may be conducted using the personal statement. Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift, or progressed straight to assessment/interview. 

The CV will also be scored.

Selection process 

During the in-person interview you will be assessed against your experience, behaviours that are contained in this advert and strength based questions, the strength questions are ones in which we wish to gain your initial response.

Expected timeline (subject to change)

Expected sift date – w/c 15/4/24
Expected interview date/s – w/c 6/5/24
Interview location - Cabinet Office., 70 Whitehall London, SW1A 2AS

Further information

Please note terms and conditions are attached. Please take time to read the document to determine how these may affect you.

A reserve list may be held for a period of 12 months from which further appointments can be made.

Any move to Cabinet Office from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax Free Childcare. Determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk

Reasonable adjustments

If a person with disabilities is put at a substantial disadvantage compared to a non-disabled person, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes. 

If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should: 

• Contact Government Recruitment Service via cabinetofficerecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs. 
• Complete the ‘Assistance required’ section in the ‘Additional requirements’ page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional.

If successful and transferring from another Government Department a criminal record check may be carried out.

In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to Disclosure and Barring Service on your behalf.

However, we recognise in exceptional circumstances some candidates will want to send their completed forms direct. If you will be doing this, please advise Government Recruitment Service of your intention by emailing Pre-EmploymentChecks.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk stating the job reference number in the subject heading. 

New entrants are expected to join on the minimum of the pay band.

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.

Please note that this role requires SC clearance, which would normally need 5 years UK residency in the past 5 years. This is not an absolute requirement, but supplementary checks may be needed where individuals have not lived in the UK for that period. This may mean your security clearance (and therefore your appointment) will take longer or, in some cases, not be possible.

For further information on National Security Vetting please visit the following page https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/demystifying-vetting

This role is full time only. Applicants who wish to work an alternative pattern are welcome to apply however your preferred working pattern may not be available and you should discuss this with the vacancy holder before applying.

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

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check. Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check (opens in a new window).

See our vetting charter (opens in a new window). 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.