About the job

Job summary

Are you looking for an exciting new role where no two days are the same?

Do you want to be within the political sphere at the forefront of political announcements?

Would you like to work with ministers and the Secretary of State of Transport?

If so, then we would love for you to apply!

Job description

The Department for Transport is offering an exciting opportunity for a highly organised individual to lead the team delivering visits and engagement for the Secretary of State and Ministers. You’ll join one of the busiest departments in Whitehall, with some of the best visit opportunities around – from major infrastructure projects to world-leading transport technology.

Heading up the Ministerial Events and Visits team, you will be responsible for strategically planning the Secretary of State’s visit schedule, ensuring it fits with departmental priorities, and overseeing delivery of high quality, purposeful and engaging visits for the Ministerial team.

You will be experienced in organising visits from start to finish, from the recce to the delivery, and will be able to build strong relationships, winning the trust of the political team, colleagues of all grades within the department, and external stakeholders. Your organisational skills will be second to none, and you will also have strong leadership skills, enabling you to build and develop the Visits Officers within your team.

If you are a bright, motivated and creative individual, looking for your next role in a high-performing Ministerial visits and events team, this could be the job for you.

Responsibilities

Key accountabilities of the role include:

• Overseeing the department’s entire programme of domestic Ministerial events, leading the development of a strategic pipeline of opportunities, and collaborating with colleagues on the horizon scanner and invites triage processes.
• Planning, co-ordinating and leading on polished Ministerial events, visits and engagement opportunities.
• Ensuring Ministerial briefing documents are of a high standard, and providing the Ministerial team and advisers with what is needed, in good time.
• Ensuring all visits are of a high standard with all logistics and scenarios planned out ahead of time.
• Evaluating visits and continuously striving for excellence, learning lessons and implementing best practice as appropriate.
• Building and maintaining excellent relationships with colleagues of all grades within the department as well as working closely with external partners on managing events and visits.
• Providing strong leadership and line management to two Senior Events and Visits Officers, and others within the team.

For an in-depth insight into the role please refer to the Role Profile.

Person specification

Using your highly organisational skills and resilience, you will manage several visits and team members simultaneously delivering high quality, purposeful and engaging visits for the ministerial team. You will have a strong news sense and the ability to see the big picture and will use this to mitigate risks that can affect the day to day. You are an excellent leader who inspires and motivates the team that has mixed experiences enabling them to deliver key priorities by fostering positive team spirit and can do attitude. You will be a role model and can identify areas individuals and teams need to develop in order to achieve future objectives.

Additional Information

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. 

Occasional travel to other DfT offices will be required.

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

When considering applying please look at how your experience relates to the role, and within your CV and Personal Statement please provide detailed evidence of your experience of the following:

• Experience of developing and delivering high-profile visits and events.
• Experience of building positive relationships both internal and external stakeholders at all levels.
• Leading and developing a team, inspiring and motivating them to deliver high quality results.

Your personal statement will be limited to a maximum of 750 words.

The sift is due to take place from 9th January 2024.

Interviews/assessments are likely to be held w/c 22nd January 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

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.

Should a large number of applications be received, an initial sift may be conducted. Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift or progressed straight to assessment/interview.

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.

Please see attached candidate notes for further information about our recruitment process.

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

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.