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 confidently distil wide-ranging and complex data and research into clear, actionable communications insight?

Have you got strong analytical skills and a passion for working with both data and communications?

Do you enjoy making an impact and utilising your skills to influence others?

If so, we’d love to hear from you!

Job description

This is an exciting opportunity to join the Communications team within the Department for Transport. Your role as an Insight and Evaluation Manager will be interesting and varied. You will be responsible for enabling colleagues across Communications to embed insight and evaluation at the heart of everything we do.

You will manage qualitative and quantitative research agencies and projects; manage the department's social media listening contract and ensure colleagues are trained and able to use the system; deliver regular insight updates to Ministers, Special Advisers and senior stakeholders across the Department and government; ensure that all communications colleagues have access to the latest insight on public attitudes and behaviour related to key transport issues; lead the communications evaluation products and cycle; ensure that insight and evaluation are embedded in all communications planning to a high standard. 

Responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Gather and generate communications insight from a wide range of internal and external sources, including by commissioning bespoke research projects (both quantitative and qualitative) and analysing the results;
• Turn insight into concise, actionable recommendations, making sure that DfT’s audiences are at the centre of communications strategies and delivery;
• Help to design, implement and oversee the communications evaluation cycle to measure the impact of communications, including media and digital activity, and inform continuous improvement;
• Share insight and evaluation findings in an engaging and impactful way, including with Special Advisers, Ministers and senior leaders.
• Use social media monitoring / listening tools to build audience insight, and measure and improve the impact of our own social media and other communications activity.

For further information, please see the attached Role Profile.

Person specification

As the successful candidate, you will have:

• Excellent spoken, written and visual communications skills, including the ability to visualise data in clear and impactful ways;
• Strong analytical skills, and the ability to scrutinise qualitative and quantitative data and identify key findings;
• Knowledge and experience of qualitative and quantitative methods of generating insight;
• Strong knowledge of Excel, PowerBI, PowerPoint and other tools relevant to analysing data/research, developing evaluation dashboards and presenting findings in an accessible and engaging way;
• Experience and skills to confidently influence communications strategies and campaigns, providing insight, advice and challenge, and training;
• Knowledge and ideas that will help us to continuously improve our evaluation and insight function;
• Experience/ confidence to work with a range of stakeholders, including senior leaders, and experience of managing research suppliers;
• Strong project management skills, the ability to manage competing priorities, and deliver to tight deadlines;
• Experience of evaluating a range of communication methods and market activity – including digital research.

Additional Information:

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. 

This role may require occasional travel to other DfTc offices.

Whilst we welcome applications from those looking to work with us on a part time basis, there is a business requirement, for the successful candidate to be able to work at least 30 hours per week. 

To ensure we can offer an Insight and Evaluation service throughout the week, we are looking for someone who can work on Fridays as part of their working pattern.

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 . 

https://careers.dft.gov.uk/our-agencies/department-for-transport-central/

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.

As part of the application process, you will be required to provide evidence of 1 behaviour. Each behaviour example will be limited to 250 words.

Should a large number of applications be received, an initial sift may be conducted using the lead behaviour which is Communicating and Influencing. Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift or progressed straight to interview.

When considering applying please look at how your experience relates to the role, and within your CV and Personal Statement please provide detailed evidence of your experience of the following: 

• Excellent spoken, written and visual communications skills, including the ability to visualise data in clear and impactful ways
• Strong analytical skills, and the ability to scrutinise qualitative and quantitative data and identify key findings that can help improve communications
• Experience and skills to confidently influence communications strategies and campaigns, providing insight, advice and challenge, and training
• Strong knowledge of Excel, PowerBI, PowerPoint and other tools relevant to analysing data/research, developing evaluation dashboards and presenting findings in an accessible and engaging way

Please fully utilise the 1000-word count when completing your personal statement.

The sift is due to take place from week commencing 15th January 2024.

Interviews are likely to be held from week commencing 29th January 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

This interview will be conducted online via MS Teams. 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.

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.

Please be aware the levels of national security clearance are changing which may impact on the level needed for this role by the time of appointment. All efforts will be made to keep candidates informed of any changes and what that will mean in terms of vetting criteria. For more information please See our vetting charter

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 counter-terrorist 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.