Head of Rail Environment Policy
Department for Transport
About the job
Job summary
We recognise the challenges that people with (multiple) 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.
Do you enjoy collaborating and building meaningful relationships with a range of stakeholders?
Would you like the opportunity to get involved in policy delivery, working on long-term strategic objectives and the chance to influence Ministers and industry?
If so, we are looking for a motivational leader to join our Rail Environment and Digital team, and we would love to hear from you!
Job description
The Head of Rail Environment Policy sits within the Rail Environment Team. We are part of the wider Integration and Security Directorate within the Rail Strategy and Services Group (RSSG).
Our teams’ objective is to make sure the railway supports the Government’s commitment to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, improves air quality, reduces noise, waste and water use, increases biodiversity, and develops a green sustainable railway.
In this role you will be working closely with colleagues across the Department, senior leaders and a range of external stakeholders, including Network Rail, Great British Railways Transition Team and Other Government Departments.
This is a challenging and rewarding role that provides the unique opportunity to be involved in new policies for the future of a world-class railway, making a real difference for people and businesses.
Responsibilities
Your key duties will include: but not limited to:
- Line management responsibilities for G7 led teams who develop and embed environmental policies on air quality & noise, traction decarbonisation, biodiversity, waste, water etc, ensuring the timely delivery of workstreams and creating a whole team ethos.
- Stakeholder engagement – ensuring the timely, accurate flow of information and discussion between partners including internal DfT teams, Network Rail, RSSB and other government departments etc. This includes ensuring environmental principles are considered in all policy and decision making.
- Project management – reviewing policy development and managing risks and milestones.
- Working with the team to deliver the rail section of the Department’s Transport Decarbonisation Plan (TDP). You will develop policy initiatives which are consistent both with TDP commitments and with likely future budgets, developing the strategic case to support future DfT options and decision-making.
- Completing a regulatory review of air quality on the railway, making recommendations to Ministers on changes to standards and introduction of targets, and publishing the conclusions.
If you would like to find out more about what it's like to work at DfT Rail, please click here.
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Person specification
About you
We are looking for a motivational leader to drive a team to be fully engaged in their work. You will be supportive during challenging periods and encourage an inclusive team spirit.
You will be someone with strong personal impact who can look beyond the norm and see the bigger picture. You will need to be pragmatic and enjoy proactively taking the initiative to find solutions to problems and will be confident in providing constructive challenge where necessary to ensure the best outcomes are delivered. You will have excellent interpersonal skills, be a strong communicator, and someone who champions engagement and gains rapport quickly with others to build effective working relationships with your colleagues and senior officials across Government and key industry partners.
Additional information:
You will have the option to be based in our London office attracting the London salary, or in Leeds or Birmingham attracting the National salary. If based in Leeds or Birmingham, occasional travel to our London office will be required for key meetings and team events.
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, Experience and Technical skills.How to Apply
When considering applying please look at how your experience relates to the role. Please tailor your CV to match the role and its responsibilities and within your Personal Statement (max 750 words) please provide detailed evidence of the following:
- Building effective relationships with senior stakeholders.
- Demonstrate strong analytical skills and the ability to spot risks and opportunities.
- Excellent communication skills, with strong personal impact and ability to produce high quality written material.
You are also required to provide one Behaviour Statement (max 250 words each) for Leadership.
When writing your statements, it may be helpful to use the STAR approach to show examples of specific instances where you have met these criteria. That is:
Situation - Describe the situation you found yourself in?
Task - What was the task that you had to complete and why?
Action - What did you personally do?
Result – What was the result of your actions?
If you are shortlisted, you will first be invited to complete a written policy exercise which will take approximately 75 minutes, details will be sent to you beforehand. The written exercise will be conducted online and will be used to assess your ability as noted on the Role Profile against level 1 of the
Policy Profession Standards
Policy Profession Descriptors
Candidates will then progress onto a video interview.
You will be sent individual invites for the interview and written exercise that may or may not be held on the same day.
The sift is due to take place from 28 March 2024.
Interviews/assessments are likely to be held from week commencing 15 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
- A written exercise
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.
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
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.