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.

Are you an engaging leader with excellent collaboration and influencing skills?

Would you relish an opportunity that provides exposure working with senior leaders?

If so, we have a fantastic opportunity to shape the direction of Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) and deliver on its transformational objectives, and we would love to hear from you.

Job description

Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) is a major infrastructure project in its early stages of development.

In this role you will lead and develop a multi-layered programme of policy development and engagement with key external and internal partners across the NPR geography. You will shape and deliver our stakeholder engagement policy and build strategic partnerships to develop local growth and regeneration policies.

To be successful in this challenging role, you will bring a depth of policy, project delivery, and collaboration and influencing skills and experience. You will work closely with colleagues to advise Ministers, Members of Parliament, senior officials, and a wide range of internal and external partners.

You will be joining our dynamic, inclusive, and friendly team. We are committed to providing development and learning opportunities to ensure you either gain new skills or strengthen existing skills. Working on this project will offer considerable and unique career opportunities.

If you would like to find out more about what it's like to work at DfT Rail, please click here.

You will lead on the following responsibilities:

• Building relationships at all levels to ensure the successful delivery of NPR, collaborating with internal teams, delivery partners, other Government Departments and a broad network of external bodies.
• Leading development and delivery of the approach to stakeholder engagement to ensure a coherent and consistent experience for stakeholders across NPR.
• Leading and managing stakeholder relationships on day-to-day issues specifically affecting Liverpool to West Yorkshire sections of NPR.
• Acting as a focal point on communications, correspondence and Q&A pack for the programme.
• Ensuring the programme benefits from the intelligence and evidence gathered through engagement activities.
• Developing a cross-cutting local growth and regeneration policy for NPR.
• Leading the development, launch and response to an NPR wide strategic consultation, and overseeing subsequent route consultations.
• Leading the preparation of high-quality advice and briefings for senior leaders.
• Developing policy on third party funding, building on good practice examples from other infrastructure projects.

Person specification

About you

You will have excellent interpersonal and stakeholder management skills, and be an engaging leader, with the credibility to influence at all levels with a range of partners across the programme. You will enjoy working collaboratively to build trusted relationships to successfully deliver Northern Powerhouse Rail.  

You will demonstrate a depth of knowledge and experience of policy and project delivery and have the capability to grasp information quickly.  You will display high quality drafting skills to prepare written advice and briefings for senior officials.

You will embrace a fast-paced environment and apply a flexible approach to accommodate uncertainty and frequent change.

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. 

Regular travel to the North of England, in particular Liverpool, Warrington, Manchester and West Yorkshire areas will be required. 

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 25 hours per week.

For more information on the Policy Profession Standards

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 your experience, please tailor your CV and Personal Statement (maximum word count 750) to provide evidence of the following experience:

• Building positive working relationships, negotiating with, and influencing at all levels and across organisational boundaries.
• Working with energy and pace and dealing flexibly with uncertainty and change.
• Preparing written advice and briefings for senior leaders.
• Supporting the delivery of major infrastructure projects.

The sift is due to take place from 3rd July 2024.

Interviews/assessments are likely to be held from 18th July 2024 to 24th July 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 and a written policy exercise

This interview will be conducted online via Teams. Further details will be provided to you should you be selected for interview.

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. 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.