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.

Are you a highly motivated, forward thinker with experience of inclusive leadership practice?

Do you enjoy working with a range of stakeholders and building relationships to deliver results?

Would you like the opportunity to sit within a team where you can build on continuous improvement of processes and contributing to change initiatives?

If so, then we would love for you to apply!

Job description

This role sits within the Business Support Unit (BSU), an area within the Operations and Continuous Improvement Division responsible for the administration and implementation of business-critical activities and delivery support, which aid the Directorate in its coordination of contract and procurement management within the DfT Group. The Continuous Improvement team supports work towards excellent commercial functional and business effectiveness to deliver the Group Commercial and Directorate Strategy.

The role will be primarily focused on successful implementation and monitoring of initiatives developing a culture of continuous improvement and performance with structured and pro-active use of measurements to share insights into key areas of value in decision making and future policies and strategies. The post holder will work across all four divisions within the directorate, together with commercial group of agencies as required, to deliver the support that they need, and will report to the Head of Continuous Improvement, Business Governance and Delivery Planning (CI, BG&DP).

This role is to help develop and manage several processes in the Operations and Continuous Improvement Division within Group Commercial Directorate with the aim of improving the way the Directorate does business with client teams and key stakeholders within the Directorate and across the wider DfT family. This is a complex area reporting both to the Government Commercial Function and corporate department with activities including functional as well as central department requirements.  The post holder will assist the Head of CI, BG&DP in commercial continuous improvement and ensuring the Senior Management Team have appropriate governance and reporting mechanisms in place, for example for business plan delivery, risk management and audit plans. 

Responsibilities

Include, but not limited to:

• Assist Head of CI, BG&DP in development of annual internal Business Plan for the Group Commercial Directorate (GCD); and support development of department Commercial Blueprint.
• Manage quarterly reviews of business plan progress, and risk workshops in conjunction with Head of CI, BG&DP.
• Understand the commercial self-assessment Commercial Continuous Improvement Assessment Framework (CCIAF) programme cycle and requirements.
• Lead input within a CCIAF on-line tool, evidence collection, utilisation of tool reports; and oversight of Continuous Improvement Plan action updates.
• Provide line management support and leadership for direct report.
• Foster collaborative working practice.

For an in-depth insight into the role please refer to the Role Profile.

Person specification

• You are a highly motivated, forward-thinking individual who has experience of stakeholder management and inclusive leadership practice.
• You are confident and enthusiastic about building relationships and have the ability to work with others to achieve the best outcome.
• You will have experience of developing dashboards, highlight reports, project plans and other key project deliverables.
• You have excellent organisation skills and will have can deliver at pace, managing conflicting priorities.

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.

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 please provide detailed evidence of your experience of the following:

• Ability to build strong relationships across a diverse range of stakeholders, managing multiple stakeholders in multiple locations.
• Experience of working in a project, governance or business planning context, and ability to produce reports and updates.
• Strong organisational skills and experience of managing competing priorities.
• Proven line management experience.

Your personal statement will be limited to a maximum of 1000 words.

The sift is due to take place from w/c 11th March 2024.

Interviews/assessments are likely to be held w/c 10th April 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.

Please see attached candidate notes for further information about our recruitment process.

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.

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.