About the job

Job summary

Do you enjoy creating strong working relationships with your colleagues and stakeholders? 

Can you provide leadership and direction to ensure strategic objectives are met? 

Would you like the opportunity to work in a role where forward thinking and best practice is key to delivering objectives? 

If so, we would love to hear from you!

This is a fantastic opportunity as you will have an influential role in ensuring that people are aligned and developed in accordance with the needs of the business for the benefit of the customer.

Job description

As the HR Business Partner for the Operations Directorate of around 4000 staff, you will be responsible for providing HR insight and input into the development of our people to deliver business strategy, in line with the Agency’s People Strategy, and operational business needs. You will translate business goals into prioritised HR requirements and ensure the effective delivery of HR services.  

You will support Directors/Business Heads in enhancing business performance through improving the performance, capability and motivation of people and you will act as a catalyst for the development and implementation of professional people management policies, capabilities, and practices.  

In this varied and diverse role, you will play a vital part in driving the People Strategy to support the business, in helping to deliver a best in class service to our customers. With over 50 million driver records and over 40 million vehicle records, the opportunity to work at this scale is unrivalled across the region.  

Responsibilities

Key accountabilities of the role include:  

• Working with the business to lead the design and prioritisation of the People Strategy aligned to the Business Strategy, taking account of diversity issues 
• Working with Directors/Business Heads to proactively plan, advise and support the implementation of change, its impact on people and working practices to enable improved business performance
• Lead and develop a team of HR professionals, ensuring the delivery of first-class HR service 
• Forming strong and influential relationships between self, Directors/Business Heads and HR colleagues in order to deliver good value to the Business 
• Working with HR Centre’s of Expertise and the Business to ensure the effective development of HR policies and practices to meet business needs 

For a full list of responsibilities, please refer to the attached Role Profile. 

Additional information  

This role will be based in Swansea, and we will be operating a hybrid working model that allows you to work between home and on-site giving you greater flexibility about where and when you work, subject to business needs and this also allows for ongoing support, development, and collaboration with colleagues.   

Therefore, the expectation is that you will spend a minimum of 60% of your working time based at your principal workplace (DVLA). We would encourage you to discuss the working arrangements for this role with us during the recruitment process.  

Occasional travel will be required to attend our office in Birmingham.

Person specification

• We are looking for a confident and bold individual who has the passion and drive to succeed in this role. You will be professionally curious, taking an interest in the wider community and always looking at the big picture.
• You take a proactive approach to work; displaying a high degree of integrity, resilience and resourcefulness, and are happy to use your own initiative and take a hands-on approach to problem solving and bring constructive challenge. 
• With your natural communication skills, you have no problem in varying circumstances and can tailor your tone and language to your audience. You will have the ability to influence and negotiate, to take senior leaders and teams through organisational change. As a natural networker, you enjoy liaising with stakeholders of all levels and can express yourself in a confident and concise manner.
• You will have excellent time management skills and can make well-informed decisions based on sound data analysis and understanding of customers’ requirements, the business context and wider HR people strategy to drive the right outcomes.
• If you are not already CIPD qualified to level 7, you must be willing to work towards this if successful.

We strive to ensure that DVLA is a great place to work where everybody can be their true self, be treated with dignity and respect, and according to their individual needs. We have a number of staff network groups run by staff to support their colleagues. 

Due to the evolving nature of the business, vacancies can become available at any time. Therefore, this campaign may create a reserve list to fulfil demand if it arises which will be held for a period of 6 months. 

Benefits

Being part of our brilliant Civil Service means you will have access to a wide range of fantastic benefits. 

• Best in class learning and development tailored to your role  
• An environment with flexible working options where we encourage a great work-life balance 
• Generous average employer contribution of 27%, depending on rate of salary and chosen pension scheme 
• 25 days holiday, increasing by one day each year up to 30 days pro rata 
• Access to the staff discount portal 
• 24-hour Employee Assistance Programme providing free confidential help and advice for staff   

There are many more opportunities and great benefits of working at DVLA, visit our Careers website for further information.   

 

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 

For this role you will need to submit a CV and personal statement of up to 1000 words. We need to understand how your skills and experience meet all the essential criteria for this role. You can use any part of your life to demonstrate your skills and experience, but it must be relevant to the role. You can refer to your work experience, education, hobbies, or interests. 

You can decide the best way to structure your personal statement. You may choose to address each of the essential criteria on their own. Or you can give one example that covers all the essential criteria we are looking for. Click here for further guidance on submitting your CV and personal statement. 

It is essential when submitting your personal statement that you provide as much detail as possible, within the word count, against the essential criteria outlined below as this will be used in conjunction with your CV to assess candidate suitability to move to the next round in the recruitment process. 

For your CV and personal statement, please provide detailed evidence of your experience of the following essential criteria: 

• Political awareness, the ability to make reasonable conclusions and decisions and bring a strong understanding of wider civil service / departmental strategies
• Providing leadership and direction, ensuring a delivery of professional excellence, with the ability to challenge decisions and identify risks
• Excellent communications skills and the ability to influence across all grades within the organisation
• Strong advocate for change and continuous improvement, recognising and understanding the benefits of promoting a change culture 

The sift is due to take place on Wednesday 7th February 2024. 

Interviews will be held from Tuesday 20th February 2024.

This interview will be conducted on site at DVLA, Swansea. Further details of which will be provided to you should you be selected for interview. 

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. 

If invited to interview, this may consist of a range of question types. These could include questions around behaviours and how you would respond in any situation as well as specific examples of things you have done. 

The selection process will be designed specifically for the role. As a result, your assessment will include: 

• An interview and presentation  

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.

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 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.