About the job

Job summary

About the Division

The Policy and Products Division (PPD) ensures that UKEF has the range of financial products and effective internal policies needed to support UKEF’s wide variety of transactions, from major overseas infrastructure projects to UK multinationals and SME exporters. To do this, PPD:

1. Structures UKEF’s range of financial products to meets the needs of exporters and banks.
2. Manages the implementation of relevant government policies across the department.
3. Ensures UKEF’s transactions follow internal policy and international agreements.
4. Conducts market research on potential demand for UKEF support.
5. Advises other government departments, UKEF teams, banks and exporters on the application of UKEF’s policies and practices to the transactions we support.

 

Recent divisional achievements include the implementation of both UKEF’s climate change policy and the Government’s policy on aligning support for clean energy transition, as well as the delivery of innovative working capital products to support UK exporters of all sizes.

 

PPD sits in the Strategy, Sustainability and Impact Group (SSIG). SSIG is responsible within UKEF for managing UKEF’s financial products, setting policy, contributing and responding to HMG strategy, overseeing corporate strategy and planning, managing UKEF’s approach to Climate Change matters and Sustainable Development Goals, reviewing environmental and social impacts of projects supported, and engaging internationally in UKEF’s capacity as an Export Credit Agency (ECA).

Job description

About The Role

The role is responsible for supervising work undertaken in the Policy and Products Division, supporting the Deputy Director leading the team.  Alongside two other Grade 6 roles, the main responsibilities of the successful candidate will be to ensure that UKEF is supported by: 

• a suite of products to meet the needs of exporters, complementing those available from the private market;
• underwriting policies, practices, processes and procedures in fulfilment of UKEF’s statutory and international regulatory requirements and the policies set for it by HMG, in delivering its products;
• advice to colleagues and stakeholders relating to the application of our policies and practices; and
• engagement across government on policies that are relevant to UKEF’s activities and application of those policies to UKEF’s activities.

Person specification

Main Activities

Leadership and Management

1. Play a leadership role within the Policy and Product Division and across the wider Strategy Sustainability and Impact Group.
2. Work alongside colleagues, ensuring work is allocated effectively within the Division.
3. Direct line management of up to two Grade 7 managers, monitoring the achievement of performance management objectives and supporting team members’ career development.
4. Support the Deputy Director in planning activities over the longer term to achieve strategic goals.
5. Collaborate with and assist the Director of Strategy, Sustainability and Impact and other teams within the Directorate as required in relation to the workload of the Directorate.

 

Underwriting policy

1. Oversee the development, review, maintenance and promulgation of UKEF underwriting policies and practice across all products.
2. Manage high profile, novel or contentious issues, ensuring compliance with statutory obligations, international agreements and that appropriate approvals are obtained. This may require mobilising and leading teams from across the organisation and within government.
3. Manage the provision of advice on the application of all underwriting policies and ensure improvements are made where necessary, supported by associated training and communication.

Products

1. Ensure the completion and quality of a rolling programme of product reviews to ensure that UKEF’s range of financial products remains fit for purpose, meeting the requirements of stakeholders.
2. Ensure that UKEF financial product delivery mechanisms are appropriate, in line with wider Government policy, adequately protect the Department and taxpayer, and reflect Departmental policies.
3. Provide support and advice to team members on the development of new financial products, including feasibility, design, approval and launch.

 

Policy and Engagement

 

1. Ensure that UKEF operates policies that are consistent with HMG requirements, public law requirements, UKEF strategy and Accounting Officer responsibilities.
2. Manage the development and updating of policies to consider cross-Whitehall initiatives and ensure that other Government Departments are consulted where relevant.
3. Represent HMG and the Department in various forums, e.g. marketing UKEF’s services, negotiator, adviser. Contacts will be various but may include high level representatives from commercial organisations or foreign governments.
4. Assist in the development and implementation of policy areas of responsibility by working alongside other teams in UKEF.
5. Ensure that development of UKEF products and policy is evidence-based, drawing on market research and staff feedback, in particular from UKEF’s regionally based Export Finance Managers and internationally based Country Heads.
6. Ensure that the work of the team is effectively communicated within the Department and that training is delivered to internal staff on relevant issues. Represent the Department in external meetings to promote awareness and understanding of UKEF’s activities.

This list is not exhaustive; you may be required to carry out additional duties according to business need.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £73,150, UK Export Finance contributes £20,408 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

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Experience and Technical skills.

You will be invited to complete the online application form.  The application form must be completed by 23.55 on the day of the closing date for it to be accepted.

All applications will be sifted against our minimum selection criteria outlined in the personal specification.

You will be asked in the relevant sections of the application form to provide examples of evidence against a range of the success profiles (refer to appendix 1).  Where applicants are asked to apply with a personal statement, you should fully articulate in 1000 words how you meet the essential criteria outlined in the person specification within the Information Pack.

In the event of a high volume of applications we will be assessing against the desirable criteria as outlined in the Person Specification. If you feel that you meet any of the desirable criteria, please address this in your application.

 

For the initial sift your application will be evaluated against:

• Experience
• Ability
• Technical
• Behaviours

If you are successful following the sift stage, you will be invited to an initial interview; this will include the following assessment:

• Behaviours/Technical/Experience - a formal panel interview where you will be interviewed across all five behaviours highlighted and your technical ability to successfully carry out the role.
• Technical - a short presentation (this will be on a topic determined by UKEF and will need to be prepared in advance).

Details of interview panel members will be e-mailed to all successful candidates who are invited for interview.

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.