About the job

Job summary

The Parliamentary and Correspondence Team is a diverse and welcoming team, closely linked to Cabinet Office Ministerial Private Offices. Our role is to manage the Cabinet Office’s relationship with Parliament and the public.

Ministerial Private Offices and the Parliamentary and Correspondence Team (PCT) support Cabinet Office Ministers to deliver on their policy objectives and manifesto commitments. This involves providing timely and high quality policy advice, conveying ministerial decisions to the department, organising ministerial diaries, responding to ministerial correspondence, Parliamentary Questions and the full suite of parliamentary business (debates, legislation, select committee business etc).

Job description

The Correspondence Drafter role is an excellent opportunity to work at the heart of Government and to manage casework on a wide range of Cabinet Office policy issues. 

The successful candidate will be appointed to the Correspondence Branch, which is responsible for handling written correspondence from Parliamentarians, stakeholders and members of the public, liaising with relevant policy teams across the Cabinet Office and other Government departments to draft replies. The right of MPs to take up constituent cases and other issues directly with the Government is an important part of the democratic process and underlines the accountability of Ministers to Parliament and the public. As a result, we have ambitious targets and high standards for the quality and timeliness of all replies to correspondence.

You will need to be adaptable when working with the rest of the Parliamentary and Correspondence Team to ensure all queries are answered on time, as well as liaise with policy teams across the department to ensure our deadlines are met. We resource our team flexibly to fit current departmental needs which gives team members regular opportunities to build new skills and deepen their understanding of the department.

The successful candidate will be responsible for:

• Working with policy teams, other Government departments and private offices to draft high quality replies to ministerial and public correspondence.
• Managing the progression of casework to ensure responses are sent within the agreed Cabinet Office time frame of 15-20 working days.
• Ensuring that casework is accurately logged, processed, and tracked via our online casework management system.
• Ensuring the wider Parliamentary and Correspondence team is kept informed about policy areas relevant to ongoing casework.

The ability to manage your time effectively is crucial in order to successfully progress casework in line with our ambitious targets. The Cabinet Office plays a key role in coordinating Government work across Whitehall and you will be required to build positive working relationships with a wide range of teams and Other Government Departments.

Person specification

Successful candidates should be:

• Confident writers with a keen eye for detail.
• Proactive and able to manage their time effectively.
• Able to deliver at pace and manage multiple cases at once.
• Aware of policy developments and able to assess the likely impact on casework.
• Confident in building positive working relationships with a wide range of teams and other Government departments.

Essential Skills:

• Excellent written English and communication skills, including meticulous grammar, spelling and punctuation.
• Working knowledge of MS Office systems and Google Apps.

Desirable Criteria:

• An interest in current affairs.
• Some knowledge of Parliament.

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 will also count towards this level of attendance.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £27,750, Cabinet Office contributes £7,492 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 and Experience.

Application process

As part of the application process you will be asked to complete a CV detailing job history, as well as three 250 word behaviour statements. Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form. 

Should a large number of applications be received, an initial sift may be undertaken using the lead Behaviour, Managing a Quality Service. Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift, or progressed straight to assessment/interview.

Selection process

During the blended interview you will be assessed against your experience, behaviours that are contained in this advert and strength based questions, the strength questions are ones in which we wish to gain your initial response.

Tests

Following the interview, candidates will complete a written assessment. Instructions on how to complete the written assessment will be included in the email sent to you just after the interview has concluded.

Expected timeline (subject to change)

Expected sift date – w/c 8th April
Expected interview date/s – w/c 15th April
Interview location - Virtual (Google Meets)

Further information

Please note terms and conditions are attached. Please take time to read the document to determine how these may affect you.

A reserve list may be held for a period of 12 months from which further appointments can be made.

Any move to Cabinet Office from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax Free Childcare. Determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk

Please note that this role requires CTC clearance, which would normally need 3 years UK residency in the past 3 years. This is not an absolute requirement, but supplementary checks may be needed where individuals have not lived in the UK for that period. This may mean your security clearance (and therefore your appointment) will take longer or, in some cases, not be possible.

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

For further information on National Security Vetting please visit the following page: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/demystifying-vetting

If successful and transferring from another Government Department a criminal record check may be carried out.

In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to Disclosure and Barring Service 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. 

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.

New entrants are expected to join on the minimum of the pay band.

Reasonable adjustments

If a person with disabilities is put at a substantial disadvantage compared to a non-disabled person, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes. 

If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should: 

• Contact Government Recruitment Service via cabinetofficerecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs. 
• Complete the ‘Assistance required’ section in the ‘Additional requirements’ page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional.

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

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 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.