About the job

Job summary

Transport plays a crucial role in connecting people across the country and is vital to our prosperity and quality of life. Transport is central to the UK’s growth agenda and ensuring that our transport network is secure and resilient is fundamental to the functioning of our economy and the wellbeing of our citizens and how we go about everyday life.

The UK maritime sector is at the heart of the government’s plans for economic growth and the UK’s position as a global trading nation. This is an opportunity to help lead a vitally important and hugely successful sector through a period of significant change. We are rightly proud of the UK’s position as a global maritime leader and the Department’s expertise and influence on maritime matters around the world. The UK remains the world’s most important maritime centre, servicing the majority of the world’s shipping on which the global economy depends. The UK is dependent on maritime trade to move much of the food, energy, goods and commodities on which we depend, moving 95% of everything that enters or leaves the United Kingdom. UK ports are also the crucial link in our export chain.

As Deputy Director you will ensure effective delivery of ministerial priorities on safety and this high-profile role offers the right candidate the opportunity to deploy their expertise across a wide range of safety, economic, commercial and procurement topics, engaging across Whitehall as well as working closely with minsters, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, maritime arm’s length bodies (ALBs), Industry, trade associations and with international organisations skills.

Job description

You will be responsible for Safety and Seafarers policy in the maritime directorate, working to ensure that maritime sector is a safe environment in which to work, and supporting the sector in attracting the skills and talent it needs to grow and be ready for the future. This includes diversity, talent, careers, and seafarer rights. You will set the direction for how the department works with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) and others on safety related matters to ensure the right regulatory framework is in place both now and in the future. You will be responsible for ensuring that the department is able to respond to maritime events both planned and unplanned and work with industry to ensure they are well placed to respond to events and to effects of climate change. 

This role requires strong leadership and policy delivery skills with a broad and deep policy, strategy, procurement and project delivery remit. This role involves working in close partnership across DfT, the MCA, the marine accident investigation branch and internationally. You will also work closely with the Secretary of State and Maritime Minister, their Private Offices and Special Advisers. You will be a key part of the Maritime senior management team, taking a key role in ensuring the leadership of the Directorate functions effectively. 

The post will require regular travel both within the UK and overseas as part of engagement with the maritime sector, executive agencies, arms-length bodies, other government departments and international organisations. 

Responsibilities

Responsibilities of the role include:

• Setting direction and leadership of multi-disciplinary teams
• Provide strategic oversight of the Department’s maritime safety programme working with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency and other Arms-Length Bodies to ensure the maritime sector is safe with a regulatory system that is modern and fit-for-purpose to ensure safe use of our waters.  
• Work with the maritime sector to ensure the sector has the skills and talent it needs for the future through training, increased diversity and careers programmes.
• Oversight of efforts to improve the working conditions of seafarers including taking forward measures under the Seafarers Wages Act to make the industry more attractive to potential employees.
• Oversight of the effective delivery of aids to navigation by the three General Lighthouse Authorities whilst maintaining support from the industry to light dues policy.
• Ensuring the department and industry has the necessary resilience to respond effectively to both planned and unplanned events including short-term disruption and longer-term challenges including the effects of climate change.
• Develop an approach to the effective management of maritime historic wrecks.

Person specification

You will need to be able to show, through your application, that you have the professional skills, breadth of experience and personal qualities for this post, as well as the leadership skills to succeed at Deputy Director level in the Senior Civil Service.

We are looking for a Deputy Director who can progress complex policies and programmes with energy and pace; can deal flexibly with uncertainty and change; adeptly work with external and Whitehall partners to deliver outcomes collaboratively; and excel at and building high performing teams.

The successful candidate must therefore be able to demonstrate their capabilities and experience in the following areas:

• An authentic and credible leader, with the ability to engage and motivate those around you and lead an inclusive culture including during periods of pressure and uncertainty.
• Excellent policy skills and strong decision-making ensuring policy delivery thinking is robust, identifying solutions to key risks and emerging issues,
• A strong track record of working with internal and industry partners across boundaries and building strong and effective professional relationship to influence and deliver and successful outcomes.
• Proven ability to implement and deploy policy, addressing complex commercial issues using project and programme management skills, governance, project and risk tools.
• Able to effectively analyse complex and inter-related issues and deliver information in a clear and concise manner.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £75,000, Department for Transport contributes £20,250 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

Application

To apply for this post, you will need to complete the online form. This should be completed no later than 23:55pm Friday 9th August

The application will include:

• A CV setting out your career history, with key responsibilities and achievements. Please ensure you have provided reasons for any gaps within the last two years.
• A Statement of Suitability (no longer than 1000 words) explaining how you consider your personal skills, qualities and experience provide evidence of your suitability for the role, with particular reference to the criteria in the person specification.

Failure to submit both documents will mean the panel only have limited information on which to assess your application against the criteria in the person specification.

As part of the online application process, you will be asked a number of diversity-related questions. If you do not wish to provide a declaration on any of the particular characteristics, you will have the option to select 'prefer not to say’.

All monitoring data will be treated in the strictest confidence and will not be provided to the selection panel. 

Should you encounter any issues with your online application please get in touch with us via scscandidate.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

Shortlist

Your application will be acknowledged when it is received.  

The panel will select a shortlist of candidates whose applications best demonstrate suitability for the role, by considering the evidence provided against the essential criteria set out in the Person Specification.

Candidates applying under the Disability Confident Scheme who meet the minimum selection criteria in the job specification are guaranteed an interview.

Assessment

Shortlisted candidates may be asked to take part in a series of assessments which could include:

• Staff Engagement Exercise - a presentation and Q&A with a representative staff group from across the DfT.

These assessments will not result in a pass or fail decision. Rather, they are designed to support the panel’s decision making and highlight areas for the panel to explore further at interview.

Interview

You will be asked to attend a panel interview in order to have a more in-depth discussion of your previous experience and professional competence in relation to the criteria set out in the Person Specification.   

The Success Profile Framework will be used to assess and recruit the most suitable candidate.  As well as Experience, we will also be using the following four behaviours will be used at the interview stage:

• Leadership
• Seeing the Big Picture
• Delivering at Pace
• Working together
• Making Effective Decisions

Further information about Success Profiles can be found here:

Interviews are expected to take place face to face in our London office, all shortlisted candidates will be asked to prepare a 5-minute presentation.

Offer and Feedback

Unfortunately, due to the anticipated number of applicants for this role, we are unable to provide feedback to those not successful at shortlist stage. Candidates who are shortlisted and attend an interview will be offered verbal feedback from a member of the interview panel.

The timeline later in this pack indicates the date by which decisions are expected to be made, all candidates will be advised of the outcome as soon as possible thereafter, and we will advise on any delays.

Expected Timeline

We will try and offer as much flexibility as we can, but it may not be possible to offer alternative dates for assessments or interviews. You are therefore asked to note the below timetable, exercising flexibility through the recruitment and selection process, in order to meet the dates given. Please note that these dates may be subject to change.

The anticipated timetable is as follows:

Advert Closing Date: 23:55 on Friday 9th August 2024 

Shortlist: Monday 19th August 2024

Staff Engagement Exercise: Week Commencing Monday 26th August 2024

Panel Interviews: Friday 6th September 2024, Monday 9th September 2024 or Tuesday 10th September 2024

Contact Us

The Vacancy Holder Lola Fadina is happy to speak to you about the role if you have any questions and will host sessions on Monday 22nd July (16:30 – 17:00) and Wednesday 24th July (16:30 – 17:00). 

Please email dftscsresourcing@dft.gov.uk to register your interest stating which date you would like to attend, and a TEAMS invite will be forwarded to you.

This campaign is being run on behalf of the department by the team at Government Recruitment Service, part of Government Business Services, a central government expert service specialising in the attraction, assessment and recruitment of senior civil servants.

The team is regularly commissioned by departments and other government organisations to deliver end-to-end recruitment for some of society’s most important leadership and specialist positions.

Our work is regulated by the Civil Service Commission where necessary and supported by the equality campaign group Stonewall.

Cabinet Office is a Disability Confident employer.

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.