About the job

Job summary

The Covid Inquiry 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 across a variety of teams in 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 properly support anyone called to give oral 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 and narratives that form witness statements. 

Sitting within 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 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. Managing two HEOs, you will play a vital role in coordinating the team’s response to evidence requests from the Covid-19 Public Inquiry. To do this you will work across four broad areas: using our cloud-based eDisclosure system you will ensure that information documenting the responses to the pandemic is properly maintained and can be deployed as necessary; you will manage the process for delivering evidence and witness statements; you will manage the process for supporting our own witnesses; and you will take a role in drafting witness statements and associated briefing.

This is a broad and varied portfolio which involves extensive engagement with our legal team, demands effective relationship-building with policy teams across the department and works across boundaries within the team to address changing priorities. This will mean matrix management of two other HEOs as necessary. 

The Inquiry is a long-running project and the department's engagement varies in intensity. As time allows, you may also lead other priorities across the wider division and directorate.

Person specification

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

Essential requirements:

• Strong communicator able to present written information clearly and concisely to a range of audiences
• Good leader who supports and challenges their team to deliver high quality work
• Detail-oriented manager who can organise delivery of complex pieces of work involving over a dozen different teams
• Comfortable with learning new skills, particularly technical (use of a complex eDisclosure platform is an essential part of the role)
• Clear and proven ability to deliver in fast paced environments, responding quickly and calmly as priorities change and as short deadlines are imposed.

Desirable skills:

• Have some understanding of how a public inquiry functions

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

Thursday 9 May 2024 at 1pm.

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 £49,839, Department for Culture, Media and Sport contributes £13,456 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 Monday 13th May 2024 at 23:55 pm 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 include a scenario based task which will be provided at interview.

The behaviours to be tested at interview are:

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

You will not be made aware of the strengths being assessed 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.

Further Information

If the vacancy is offered as FTA/Loan, existing Civil Servants must join on a Loan basis only., Prior agreement to be released on loan must be obtained before commencing the application process. In the case of Civil Servants, the terms of the loan will be agreed between the home and host department and the Civil Servant. This includes grade on return.

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

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

Any move to insert 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  

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

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.

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.

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.