Cyber Policy Advisor
Department for Transport
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.
Do you have a keen interest in Cyber, and are looking for the next step to pursue a career in Cyber or National Security?
Would you embrace the opportunity to work within a dynamic and ever evolving area of policy?
If so, we have a fantastic opportunity available for five Cyber Policy Advisors to join the Transport Security Directorate (TSD) and would love to hear from you!
Job description
TSD lead on national security matters, ranging from counter terrorism and cyber security to science and innovation. Within TSD, the National Security Division (NSD) sits at the centre of the department’s work to mitigate current and emerging cyber threats. We work across transport modes, Government and industry to develop policy and regulations to mitigate threats.
You will join the Cyber Team, which sits within NSD, and is responsible for identifying, understanding and mitigating cyber threats and vulnerabilities across the sector. The Team is made up of the Cyber Strategy and Incident Response Team (CSIRT), the Cyber Compliance Team (CCT) and Cyber Programme team.
As a Cyber Policy Advisor, you will support on cyber policy and projects, and will have the opportunity to become a subject matter expert on cyber security and resilience in the transport sector. You will play a key role in identifying cyber risks across transport and driving forward solutions to real-time and emerging issues in industry. This will include having exposure to senior officials and high-profile stakeholders across government and industry to deliver real impact and improve the UK’s transport cyber resilience.
The five Cyber Policy Advisor roles will all sit within the Cyber Team, and will support various aspects of policy development, risk identification and projects across the transport cyber landscape. In all five roles, you will be expected to work flexibly and adapt to changing environments and priorities across the team, wider Division and Directorate, and will be part of the Department’s response to cyber incidents. You can find more information about the roles available within the attached Role Profile.
Your key responsibilities will include:
- Providing policy and regulatory support that contribute to DfT’s work to improve cyber resilience across the transport sector.
- Developing and maintaining an understanding of current and emerging cyber security and resilience issues across the UK transport sector.
- Acting as a “cyber champion” across the department, working closely with operational and resilience leads in DfT and across government to support industry.
- Supporting on cyber incident management and exercising across DfT, working closely with modal teams and intelligence partners to develop DfT’s incident management policy.
For further information, please see the attached Role Profile.
Person specification
About you
You will have a keen interest in, or experience of, Cyber and/or National Security. You will be a proactive self-starter who remains resilient and flexible when facing ambiguity. You will have the ability to pick things up quickly, proactively find out information and work on multi-faceted issues.
You will have excellent interpersonal and influencing skills, be an articulate communicator, and demonstrate confidence in dealing with industry partners. You will have the ability to comfortably handle challenging conversations, enabling you to gain consensus from stakeholders.
You will be a trusted adviser with policy or strategy experience and the credibility to develop positive relationships within and outside of the Department. You will bring a creative approach to decision-making and coordinate effectively across DfT and the wider cyber community to deliver policy.
Additional Information
This role is available to individuals who wish to be spending their office time in London or Birmingham, and we would also expect the individual to be willing to travel to visit alternative DfT offices. There will also be occasional opportunities for the individual to attend site visits within the UK.
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.
https://careers.dft.gov.uk/senior-policy-roles/
You will be assessed against the Technical element of the Success Profile Framework. Two Policy Profession Standards are being assessed: Policy profession standards - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
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.
Kind Regards
When considering applying please look at how your experience relates to the role, and within your CV and Personal Statement (maximum 750 words) please provide detailed evidence of your experience of the following:
- Experience of working on strategy or new policy developments.
- Strong written and verbal briefing skills, with the ability to highlight key points in a clear way.
- Developing and maintaining positive working relationships, with both internal and external stakeholders.
The sift is due to take place from 22/02/2024.
Interviews/assessments are likely to be held from week commencing 07/03/2024.
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
- 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.
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.
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 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
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.