About the job

Job summary

At the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), we encourage applications from everyone, particularly groups currently underrepresented in our workforce. We pride ourselves on the positive impact diversity has and promote inclusivity and equality of opportunity for all. Our recruitment process is anonymised, which means that your name, date of birth and other personal details will not be seen by the sift panel. 

Are you a confident individual who can build strong working relationships with colleagues and a wide range of stakeholders?

Can you communicate concisely and accurately with sensitivity to confidentiality?

Do you have a keen interest in policy and law with a willingness to develop your knowledge further?

If so, we’d love to hear from you!

Job description

Policy professionals work at the heart of the Civil Service to design, develop and propose appropriate courses of action to help meet key government priorities and ministerial objectives.

You will work in a small, dynamic team on a range of high-profile tasks. These could include drafting briefings and ministerial correspondence, investigation, conducting research, identifying trends, and producing evidence-based advice and guidance in conjunction with subject matter experts.

You may have line management responsibilities as part of your role.

Responsibilities  

Your responsibilities will include but will not be limited to: 

• Providing initial draft responses to correspondence from customers, stakeholders and Ministerial and other official correspondence using agreed standard lines and precedents for task manager’s approval on policy area of responsibility within required deadlines. 
• Providing advice, guidance and briefing to operational and project colleagues and to support and assist task manager, providing first drafts of submissions, consultations and impact assessments. 
• Supporting pre-consultation data-gathering and research from a range of sources (stakeholders, customers, lawyers and operational colleagues) to help support the development and delivery of new, evidenced based policy initiatives as sanctioned by the Cabinet Office and Agency approvals processes or changes to existing policies. 
• Developing and maintaining appropriate knowledge within specialism, reviewing legislations and liaising with lawyers as necessary to help inform changes to existing policies or the introduction of new initiatives that align with Government Departmental or Agency strategy (with the focus on enabling digital services). 

For further information about the role please see 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. 

Person specification

About you:

You will have a keen interest in law with an eagerness to develop your knowledge and keep up to date with changes in legislation.

You will possess excellent organisational skills and the ability to work autonomously, managing priorities to maximise productivity and meet deadlines. You will be highly resilient, with the ability to adapt your work in response to changes in law and government policy.

You are a confident and professional communicator with high regard to sensitivity and confidentiality. You are proficient at working with colleagues at all levels and can adapt your communication style to suit a variety of audiences.

You will be a team player with the ability to apply your initiative and work autonomously under pressure, while contributing positively to a supportive working environment.

This is an incredibly rewarding role. No two days are the same, you will always have an exciting and varied workload! Training and learning opportunities will be offered beyond your immediate duties and you will be encouraged to continuously develop, learn and get involved with constantly evolving challenges.

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 12 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: 

• Working on your own initiative to solve a problem using research and evidence
• Developing and maintaining effective working relationships with stakeholders
• Using your excellent communication skills to produce draft correspondence and briefing to a quality standard.
• Delivering quality work to tight deadlines, efficiently handling competing priorities, working flexibly to achieve objectives.

The sift is due to take place on 23rd January 2024.

Interviews will be held from 6th February 2024.

This interview could be conducted via a video interview, 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

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.