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 work with a complex network of stakeholders?

Are you an experienced leader who can lead and build high performing teams?

Would you thrive at the opportunity to work in a government sector that is integral to the UK’s economy and energy security?

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

Job description

We are recruiting for a Grade 6 in the Ports and Shipping division within the Maritime Directorate. The ports and shipping team are responsible for championing Ports and Shipping across the department and government in order facilitate their economic contribution to the UK. Ports play an integral role within supply chains and economic growth, so our policies have a real positive impact on our sector and the wider economy.

The team is focused on understanding and overseeing ports legislation, maintaining close engagement and an in-depth understanding of the sector, their challenges and opportunities and the avenues within Government we can influence on the sector’s behalf to ensure it realises it economic growth potential and enables other sectors to grow and trade.

This is a dynamic team that is in the process of driving forward a number of policy and legislative improvement opportunities for the sector.

Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Oversee the review and revision of the National Policy Statement for Ports, which sets the policy decision making framework for major ports, and identify wider planning reform opportunities for ports with other government departments and agencies.
• Work with your team to identify funding and investment opportunities or barriers for the sector on a rolling basis, with a particular focus on offshore wind and the opportunities and investment challenges this creates for ports.
• Work across Whitehall to ensure that ports and shipping issues are well.
• Steer your team’s work on improving road and rail connectivity to ports, by working with National Highways and Network Rail to build robust evidence for priorities schemes – to ensure more of government’s road and rail investments goes toward schemes that unlock pinch points to/from ports.

For more information, please see the attached Role Profile.

Find out more about working within policy at the Department for Transport.

Person specification

About you

To thrive in this role, you will:

• Enjoy working with energy and pace and have the proven ability to be able to deal flexibly with uncertainty and change.
• Be someone who excels at leading and building a high performing.
• Need to be adept at working in partnership with a complex network of stakeholders.

Additionally, you will require:

• Excellent analysis and problem-solving skills to design policy positions and intervention approaches across a broad range of issues.
• Sound judgement to make the right calls on policy in a complex environment.
• Demonstrable resilience and calmness under pressure.
• Excellent prioritisation and organisational skills and the ability to keep ‘multiple plates spinning’. You will need to be able to prioritise, whilst maintaining sufficient oversight of the detail of the full breadth of your team’s work.
• Management and leadership skills to provide clear direction for a diverse team through uncertainty, balancing delivery with emotionally intelligent support.

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 post is offered on a Fixed Term Appointment (FTA) basis to complete a finite piece of work.  

Permanent Civil Servants will be appointed on an inward loan and subject to the terms of the agreed inward loan. You must have your home departments approval to return to them at the end of the loan before you apply. Internal candidates will return to their previous post at the end of the loan period, which will need to be agreed with your line manager in advance. If your home department cannot agree to release you on loan, there is the opportunity for you to move across to the department on a fixed term appointment. In this instance the Department for Transport would become your home department and if there is no role available for you at the end of this appointment, you would be subject to the redeployment and redundancy process. 

If you're employed by a non-departmental public body (NDPB) by moving jobs this will involve a change of employer and you may break the statutory rules on continuity of employment.

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 (1000 words). Please tailor your CV to suit the role. For your Personal Statement, please provide detailed evidence of the following:

• Experience of working with energy and pace with proven availability to deal flexibly with uncertainty and change.
• Experience of leading and building a high performing teams.
• Experience of working in partnerships with a complex network of stakeholders.
• Experience of displaying excellent analysis and problem-solving skills to design policy positions and intervention approaches across a broad range of issues.

The sift is due to take place 2nd-3rd July 2024.

Interviews are likely to be held from week commencing 15th July 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.

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.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check. 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.