About the job

Job summary

The Security function’s role is to protect the Department’s people, assets, and information from those who wish to damage it. We do this by building a diverse team with expert, generalist, and entry level roles to work together to solve the challenges we face. This mix allows us to develop talent and to benefit from a wide range of life experiences.

The Security function has two separate elements, the Core Security Team and the Trade Negotiations Security Team. This role sits in the Core Security Team. The successful candidate will report to the Grade 6 Departmental Security Adviser.

The role is part of the Government Security Profession (GSP) under Corporate Enablers. The GSP is one of the recognised career progressions within the Civil Service and offers a challenging and rewarding career.

Job description

You will lead on Security Culture Education and Awareness (SCEA), and Business Continuity and Incident Management (BC & IM). Each of these functions has SEO leads who you will line manage. The team is also supported by additional HEO and EO officers; a team of seven in total.

You will ensure DBT complies with the required elements of the Government Functional Standard for Security (GovS 007) and industry best practices that fall under your functional areas.

You will oversee the provision of an expert and high-quality specialist business continuity function and incident management support. As a BC subject matter expert, your advice will be relied upon by senior managers across the department. Colleagues will look to you to resolve complex problems to ensure critical business activities across the department can continue during a BC incident.

You will do this by leading on the development of DBT’s BC policies and strategies, contingency guidance, and plans. You will therefore be expected to understand HMG standards and business continuity management best practices and advise on their integration into DBT. You will develop and implement a testing and exercising regime to assure our response plans and documentation.

You will also deliver appropriate policies, processes, and strategies to support your SCEA portfolio, reviewing and updating them as the need arises. You will work closely with the National Technical Authorities and government partners to ensure that DBT has access to the latest central security guidance and resources to support SCEA activities and campaigns, and horizon scan to identify key security risks to DBT’s objectives, providing appropriate advice and mitigations. Your team will manage the Security shared mailbox, often acting as the first point of contact for enquiries, incidents, and breach reporting. You will be expected to oversee and report on these activities, which can be unpredictable in content and number.

Across both portfolios, you will need to build and maintain relationships with your respective BC and divisional security coordinator networks and senior sponsors, sharing BC and security best practice, advice, and guidance, and offering specialist support to the wider departmental community.

As part of the Security Senior Management Team, you will be expected to provide security advice and briefings to senior officials including Ministers, DBT’s two Permanent Secretaries and other colleagues as required. You will also be a security stakeholder for major programmes, projects and campaigns and be required to review business cases and provide advice and guidance on security for new projects.

 You will provide support to the Senior Security Adviser and their deputies as required and will be expected to participate in an out of hours on-call rota (approximately one week in seven) to provide cover for security incidents. This attracts an on-call allowance.

Person specification

Essential Criteria

• Certificate of the Business Continuity Institute (CBCI) and a Membership of the Business Continuity Institute (MBCI) or a willingness to work towards this.
• Experience in developing and delivering BC and IM response arrangements, and knowledge and experience of Command, Control, Communications, and multi-agency working.
• Willing to travel to other DBT regional and overseas locations to support awareness campaigns and outreach activities.

Desirable Criteria

• Experience in government and/or large corporate environment of comparable scale with comparable risks.
• Experience of planning and delivering organisation-wide security or other awareness campaigns and engagement activities.
• Eligible and willing to undergo Developed Vetting. A minimum of SC clearance will be required before a candidate can be substantively appointed.

Personal Attributes & Skills

• Capable of working across organisational boundaries and across disciplines to deliver results, collaborating effectively with others.
• Be versatile in adapting to new challenges and ways of working to deliver results and build a successful team in a changing environment.
• Ability to influence senior leaders and stakeholders to drive change, using excellent people management skills.
• Take a strategic approach to business analysis using a variety of tools to prepare strategies by evaluating the opportunities and challenges faced by DBT as it moves forward.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £53,560, Department for Business and Trade contributes £1,446 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, Strengths, Experience and Technical skills.

Interviews for this vacancy will be conducted virtually. We will, however, consider in-person interviews by exception.

Please ensure that you check your emails regularly as all updates from us will be sent to you this way.

To apply for this post, you will be asked to complete the following as part of the online application:  

• A CV setting out your career history, with key responsibilities and achievements. Provide employment history that relates to the essential criteria, and that any gaps in employment history within the last 2 years are explained. The CV should not exceed more than 2 x A4 pages.
• A Personal Statement of up to 750 words, explaining how you consider your personal skills, qualities and experience provide evidence of your suitability for the role in reference to the essential criteria.

It is likely that the sift will take place 1-2 weeks after the closing date and interviews 3-5 weeks after the closing date though this is subject to change.

In the event of a large number of applicants, an initial short sift will be conducted on the Personal Statement only. Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift or progressed straight to assessment/interview. 

As part of your interview, you will be asked to deliver a short oral presentation, details will be provided prior to your interview.

Vetting

The requirement for SC clearance is to have been present in the UK for at least 3 of the last 5 years. Failure to meet the residency requirements will result in your security clearance application being rejected

Reasonable Adjustments

We are committed to supporting candidates so they can perform at their best throughout the recruitment process. This includes making reasonable adjustments to our process. In order to request an adjustment: 

Complete the ‘Assistance required’ section on the ‘Additional requirements’ page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process. 

Alternatively contact the Government Recruitment Service at DBTrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.  

If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section.

Candidate Support

You may want to join a virtual Candidate Support Session. These sessions include helpful tips and advice on the recruitment process, from application to interview.  

Please see attached Candidate Pack for further information on: Diversity and Inclusion; Benefits; Learning and Development; Working Patterns and what we deliver as a department. 

Further Information:

• A reserve list may be held for a period of 12 months from which further appointments can be made. Reserve Lists will be for each location and appointments made in merit order based on location preferences.   
• Any move to the Department for Business and Trade from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments.
• The Department will not consider sponsoring a visa or issuing a Certificate of Sponsorship. We are unable to offer advice on any Visa and Immigration cases.  
• New entrants are expected to join on the minimum of the pay band.  
• 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. Any applicant who has 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.  
• Terms and Conditions are attached.  Please take time to read the document to determine how these may affect you.
• Please note – the successful candidate will be expected to remain in post for a minimum of 18 months before being released for another role.

In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to Disclosure and Barring Service /Disclosure Scotland/Access NI on your behalf.

However, we recognise in exceptional circumstances some candidates will want to send their completed forms direct. If you will be doing this, please advise Government Recruitment Service of your intention by emailing Pre-EmploymentChecks.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk stating the job reference number in the subject heading. 

For further information on the Disclosure Scotland confidential checking service telephone: the Disclosure Scotland Helpline on 0870 609 6006 and ask to speak to the operations manager in confidence, or email Info@disclosurescotland.co.uk 

For further information on the Access NI confidential checking service telephone: the Access NI Helpline on 0300 200 7888 and ask to speak to the operations manager in confidence, or email accessni@ani.x.gsi.gov.uk 

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

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check. 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.