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.

Do you enjoy building strong working relationships with colleagues and a wide range of stakeholders?

Would you like to help level up the economy and spread opportunity?

Are you passionate about issues that matter to people living and working in our biggest cities?

If so, we have an exciting and varied role on offer, and we’d love to hear from you!

Job description

There is an exciting opportunity to join the newly formed City Region Strategic Partnerships team in DfT. The team will have a key role in helping to deliver the Regions, Cities and Devolution Directorate’s aims of promoting a place-based approach to achieve better transport outcomes, local and regional economic growth and wider Government objectives.

Our major cities are our key economic drivers and therefore a key focus for the Department's investment and inventions. Good city region transport not only drives economic growth but is a lever towards Net Zero and Levelling Up, as well as supporting pride in place. The newly formed team will work across the Department – in a way that brings together modal interests and other cross-cutting interests in the Department – in order to create the greater alignment that leads to better transport and economic outcomes.

Responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Working to establish, embed and drive forwards the City Region Strategic Partnerships (CRSP) team’s cross-modal work on transport challenges in large Mayoral Combined Authorities (MCAs) within England.
• Developing effective working relationships within the Department (including with Area Leads, modal leads and thematic policy leads such as Levelling Up and Devolution), with a view to understanding the local transport landscape in key city region areas and advising on policy interventions required to achieve desired outcomes in these places.
• Drafting Ministerial submissions, briefings and wider papers for senior boards within the Department.
• Providing administrative and governance support within the team and across the Regional Partnerships and Delivery Division in response to business needs.
• Working collaboratively across the division to support reactive workloads and ensure high quality outcomes.

For further information, please see the attached Role Profile.

Person specification

About You  

Excellent organisational skills are required and you will be able to manage and filter workflow as well as organise and prioritise your work to maximise productivity and achieve all deadlines. You will be highly adaptable and flexible, adjusting to the requirements of the role.

We are looking for someone who has strong written and oral communication skills and can tailor their communication to suit the audience. You will be experienced in gathering data from a range of sources and presenting this to clearly to support decision making.

Additional Information 

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. 

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. 

There may be occasional travel required to meet stakeholders.

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, Strengths, Experience and Technical skills.

How to apply

As part of the application process, you will be asked to provide a CV and Personal Statement (1000 words).

Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.

Please tailor your CV to suit the role. For your Personal Statement, please provide detailed evidence of the following:

• Strong communicator who can tailor messages to suit your audience and produce high quality written work to tight deadlines.
• Skilled at managing competing demands to deliver high quality outcomes at pace.
• Experience building effective working relationships at all levels and working collaboratively to achieve desired outcomes.
• Experienced at gathering data from a range of sources and presenting it coherently to support decision making.

The sift is due to take place 22nd-24th January 2024.

The written policy exercise is due to be conducted 5th February 2024.

Interviews are likely to be held 6th & 7th February 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 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.

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.