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

Have you got experience of working in a fast-paced environment, delivering against competing priorities?

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

Job description

This role jointly leads DfT’s Operations Team which manages the Department’s planning for and response to civil contingency and security issues impacting the transport sector. This role sits within the Transport Security Operations Centre (TSOC).

This is an exciting and high-profile leadership role within the Department for Transport, where you will have regular exposure to senior officials and Ministers. Alongside another G7 Head of Operations, you will be responsible for leading and co-ordinating whole of Department response activity.

This role is an exciting operational response role. You will be required to lead emergency responses dealing with high pressure situations that emerge suddenly. As this job responds to the unexpected, there will be times when you will need to be available outside of normal work hours, including being on-call on a weekend and evening duty rota.

Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Coordinating the Operations team’s 24/7 response to a range of potentially disruptive events that affect transport and travel. Your portfolio would include naturally occurring incidents, such as extreme weather, as well as predicted disruption to the transport network from industrial action or demonstrations.
• Leading the Department’s planning for major responses (such as Covid and Brexit as past examples) by designing and maintaining the Command, Control and Communication structures for the Department.
• Work with subject matter experts within DfT and its agencies to ensure DfT has effective operational crisis management procedures in place.
• Represent the Department at cross-Government meetings acting as an advocate for DfT’s interests, including attending Ministerial meetings such as COBR.
• Line management of a team of Response and Operations Advisers and Watchkeepers.

For more information, please see the attached Role Profile.

Person specification

About you

To thrive in this role, you will:

• Possess experience in dealing with a wide range of senior stakeholders/senior officials
• Have experience of demonstrating effective leadership in motivating others to get the best out of them, ensuring everyone clearly understands their responsibilities and priorities
• Be able to communicate effectively across teams and at all levels, including senior managers.
• Have experience of delivering work on multiple priorities quickly in a fast paced environment/

Additional information

The current Department expectations are that you spend a minimum of 60% of your time in the office. As head of an operations team with potential requirements to access classified material you may be required to work in office up to 100% of your time depending on business needs, and you may be called into the Department at any time in the event of a significant incident.

The role holder will need to take part in evening and weekend duty on-call rotas, and will need to be available to work in the event that an out of hours incident requires it. You will therefore receive a Recruitment and Retention Allowance, in addition to your salary, in recognition for fulfilling on-call duties and working out of hours.

You will be on a rota approximately one week in six to monitor and receive any emergency calls.

This allowance will be subject to regular review and may be changed or removed.

You will receive a 6 week notice of any change, or withdrawal of this allowance.

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 complete a CV and personal statement. Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.

Please provide:

1. A tailored CV that demonstrates suitability to the role and the essential criteria.

2. A personal statement in 1000 words providing detailed evidence of the following:

• Experience in dealing with a wide range of senior stakeholders/senior officials.
• Experience in communicating effectively across teams and at all levels, including senior managers.
• Experience of demonstrating effective leadership in motivating others to get the best out of them, ensuring everyone clearly understands their responsibilities and priorities.
• Experience of delivering multiple pieces of work to tight deadlines.

3. A written behavioural example in 250 words that provides evidence of you having demonstrated the following:

• Working Together

Should a large number of applications be received, an initial sift may be conducted using your behavioural example of Working Together. Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift or progressed straight to interview.

The sift is due to take place from 25th March 2024

Interviews are likely to be held from week commencing 8th April 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. 

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. 

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.

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.