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.  

Can you effectively build and maintain relationships with various stakeholders?

Are you a effective leader who is confident in motivating a team to get the best out of everyone?

Have you got experience of collaborating and working with senior stakeholders?

If so, then this is the perfect role for you!

Job description

The Maritime People, Resilience, Safety and Sponsorship Division has an exciting opportunity to head up our Maritime Resilience team. This is a high-profile and fast-paced role for a self-starter that provides the opportunity to work on important maritime resilience issues across Government, with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency and with industry stakeholders in the UK and internationally.

The post holder will have the opportunity to engage with the full breadth of the maritime and resilience sectors in order to develop and deliver DfT’s maritime resilience programme, ensuring that contingency planning, data and technology are at the heart of protecting the UK’s ports and maritime critical national infrastructure.

Resilience and contingency planning is an essential capability for the UK. It ensures continued operations in times of crisis at our critical national infrastructure (CNI) and other major ports; for example, in response to extreme weather, industrial action and geopolitical events.

This is a linchpin post in the Maritime Directorate, and you will be at the centre of a transformational agenda, leading resilience policy development to ensure that our programme meets the needs of the changing maritime resilience landscape.

Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Significantly grow the Government’s maritime resilience capability to meet the high expectations of our Secretary of State by developing and embedding enhanced maritime engagement, monitoring and reporting tools.

• Lead DfT’s response to maritime incidents, including disruption at major ports or vessel incidents. This will necessitate close working with a range of public and private agencies and organisations, including port and vessel operators, the MCA and the Kent Resilience Forum, amongst others.

• Build deep relationships and shared understanding of our respective operational and resilience objectives with key players across the maritime sector, including ports, freight and passenger vessel operators and trade bodies.

• Have leadership responsibility across Maritime, being a visible member of the management team and having line-management responsibility, including of a cohort of out-of-hours resilience coordinators.
  

For more information, please see the attached Role Profile.

Person specification

About you

To thrive in this role, you will

• Be able to build strong and productive relationships with senior industry colleagues and stakeholders.
• Hold experience of working with Ministers and/or senior executives to understand their requirements to improve service delivery.
• Possess experience of working in an operational delivery or resilience environment.

Additional information

A minimum of 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.  This role will also allow opportunities for international travel.

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, Strengths and Experience.

How to apply

As part of the application process, you will be asked to provide a CV and Personal Statement (750 words). Please tailor your CV to suit the role. For your Personal Statement, please provide detailed evidence of the following:

• Experience of building strong and productive relationships with senior industry colleagues and stakeholders.
• Experience of working with Ministers and/or senior executives to understand their requirements to improve service delivery.
• Experience of working in an operational delivery or resilience environment.

The sift is due to take place 29th April 2024.

Interviews are likely to be held from week commencing 13th May 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 and a presentation

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, we are 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.

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

Please be aware the levels of national security clearance are changing which may impact on the level needed for this role by the time of appointment. All efforts will be made to keep candidates informed of any changes and what that will mean in terms of vetting criteria. For more information please See our vetting charter

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 counter-terrorist 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

Open to UK nationals only.

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.