About the job

Job summary

The Covid Inquiry and Incident Response Team leads DCMS’s engagement with the Covid-19 public inquiry. We work closely with a large legal team and the inquiry itself to ensure that DCMS can meet requests for information and evidence in a timely manner. We work with teams across the department to help them understand what the inquiry needs; to construct a clear understanding of what DCMS did throughout the pandemic; and to ensure that records are properly organised. We maintain close relationships with senior leaders as we produce detailed, accurate witness statements for public record. We are also building a comprehensive approach to witness support so that we can support anyone called to give evidence. 

The key functions of the team include programme management and disclosure, ensuring that work is properly sequenced and handles the technicalities of our information and evidence management system. In addition, our policy priorities include building the evidence base and narratives that form witness statements. 

The team sits within the Performance, Projects, Inquiry & Response division in the Project Delivery and Major Events directorate. We’re a close knit team located across multiple offices, including Manchester, and we work effectively with others across the team and directorate. 

Job description

This is an exciting opportunity to join a team working at the heart of the department's engagement with the largest, most complex public inquiry in the history of the UK. Your role will be essential in organising the department's evidence base, supporting the delivery of witness statements and assembling supporting documents. This will see you building constructive, mutually beneficial relationships across the department.

You will develop excellent user knowledge of our third party e-Disclosure platform, working with the Disclosure Manager to gather, search and present evidence, including exhibit tables. You will work closely with our external legal team as you manage documents from across DCMS during the pandemic to find the key ones that will form the backbone of our witness statements. You will also work closely with another HEO to drive the witness support workstream, ensuring witnesses have access to necessary material and are well-prepared to give evidence. 

The Inquiry is a long-running project and the department's engagement varies in intensity. As time allows, you may also lead on or support other priorities, such as research projects, drafting desk instructions, making redactions to documents or assisting with projects in the wider directorate.

Person specification

The ideal candidate would have the following key skills and experience:

Essential requirements:

• Ability to drive forward work independently and prioritise time effectively, shifting priorities as needed
• An analytical and methodical approach
• Familiar with spreadsheets and managing data, plus a willingness and ability to quickly develop a strong technical ability with a new digital platform
• Strong communication skills and ability to communicate vast or complex information effectively, including some experience of briefing/drafting
• Ability to build effective relationships with internal and external stakeholders 

Desirable skills:

• Experience of/interest in project management
• Experience/knowledge of the public inquiry process 

We are running an information session where prospective applicants can find out more about the role. This will be hosted by Becky Denton, and will take place on:

3.30pm on Wednesday 1 May

The session will be an opportunity to hear more about the role, the team and wider directorate and the department. It will also be an opportunity for you to ask any questions.

Please register your interest by filling out this form and you will be sent an invitation. 

Please note that the session will not focus on the DCMS recruitment process - please direct any queries that you have on this topic (timelines, reasonable adjustments, onboarding etc) to recruitment.team@dcms.gov.uk

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £33,095, Department for Culture, Media and Sport contributes £8,935 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.

To apply for this post, please send us the following documents no later than 23:55 pm on Tuesday 7th May 2024 via the CS Jobs portal:

• A CV setting out your career history, with key responsibilities and achievements. Please ensure you provide employment history that relates to the essential and desirable criteria, and that any gaps in employment history within the last 2 years are explained. The CV should not exceed more than 3 x A4 pages and you should insert your CV into the "Job History" section on Civil Service Jobs on the Civil Service Jobs application form.
• A Statement of Suitability (max 750 words) explaining how you consider your personal skills, qualities and experience provide evidence of your suitability for the role in reference to the essential requirements highlighted. You may also choose to reference the desirable skills listed.

For the shortlist, we will assess your experience and select applicants demonstrating the best fit for the role by considering the evidence provided in your application.

In the event of a large number of applicants, an initial sift will be conducted on the statement of suitability. Those who are successful in the initial sift will then be scored on all elements of the application.

For support in writing your application and interviewing, please refer to the ‘Application and Interview Guidance’ document attached to the job advert.

The interview process will assess behaviours and strengths and may potentially include a scenario based task or presentation which will be provided at interview.

The behaviours to be tested at interview are:

• Making Effective Decisions
• Communicating and Influencing
• Working Together
• Delivering at Pace

You will not be made aware of the strengths being assessed prior to your interview. 

As part of your interview, you may be asked to deliver a short oral presentation. Full details of this, including the topic, and whether or not you will need to use visual aids, will be sent to you prior to your interview. 

Your interview will take place remotely via GoogleMeets. 

For indicative sift and interview dates please refer to the attached Candidate Information Pack.

A reserve list may be held for a period of 6 months from which further appointments can be made.

Any move to Department for Culture, Media and Sport 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  

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

DCMS has a London and a National pay scale. For more information on this, including the circumstances in which each pay scale will apply, please see the ‘Information for Applicants’ document.

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. 

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.

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.

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

Reasonable Adjustment

We are committed to supporting candidates so they can perform at their best throughout the recruitment process. This includes making reasonable adjustments to our process.

In order to request an adjustment, please:

Complete the ‘Assistance required’ section on 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 a verbal test rather than a written one. 

Alternatively, contact the Government Recruitment Service via dcmsrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.

Accessibility

If you are experiencing accessibility difficulties with any of the attachments, please contact us. Contact details can be found in the 'contact point for applicants' section of the job advert.

Feedback

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.