About the job

Job summary

This role offers the opportunity to work with stakeholder across all government departments, all arms-length bodies, senior staff in trade bodies and strategic suppliers. You will provide leadership, expert guidance, problem-solving solutions for complex scenarios and building capability through engagement with staff and supplier activities. You will input into ongoing policy and guidance development and ministerial correspondence and briefings.

This role will be pivotal in helping to ensure we can improve the social value commitments across government.

Job description

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Policy implementation

• Provide policy advice to ministers, including drafting replies to correspondence, parliamentary questions and policy submissions.
• Respond to advice on complex cases, submitting any proposals for policy developments where necessary to the Deputy Director, Small Business and Domestic Policy.
• Lead development of guidance documents via engagement with the Social Value Network and industry bodies.

Programme management administration

• Source and report on programme updates for the SV workstreams
• Set and arrange a schedule of regular engagement with trade bodies

Cross governmental advice

• Provide technical advice to departments to find solutions to implementing the policy in complex scenarios. This may involve working with a specific project team, the Social Value Network lead (responsible for implementing social value in the organisation) or with a policy team wanting to focus use of social value to contribute to their department’s policy delivery.

Supplier engagement

• Trade Body account management
• Present at conferences to raise awareness of key features of PPN 06/20.

Guidance development

• Based on engagement and input with the Social Value Network and industry bodies, develop targeted supplementary guidance to address any improvement areas as needed.
• Provide advice to and input into pan-government policies and guidance where needed, including, but not limited to Playbook documents, related policies e.g. Department for Business and Trade.

Person specification

EXPERIENCE - the knowledge or mastery of the following activities and subjects gained through involvement in or exposure to them: 

• Running procurement projects
• Implementing social value in procurements
• Managing policy casework and writing policy guidance
• Managing programmes and completing projects when dependent on others.
• Providing a subject matter expert advisory service, undertaking into account the policy parameters and the customer context and viewpoint 
• Establishing personal credibility and relationships with stakeholders to drive consistent implementation of policy.

Essential Technical Skills and experience - the specific professional skills, knowledge or qualifications that we require you to demonstrate. Candidates without these essential skills will not be invited to interview. If there is a high number of applicants, applications will be sifted on the basis of these essential technical skills/experience only.

• Knowledge of social value practices, PPN 06/20
• Working knowledge of running procurements and of the Public Contracts Regulations.
• Communications skills - experienced in drafting submissions, and policy advice to ministers (or Cabinet members or board members).

Essential Behaviours -  the actions and activities that the successful candidate will need to exhibit to result in effective performance in the job. 

• Managing a Quality Service - providing a commercial (/or social value) advisory service to multiple business areas, team programme management. Be able to work within a complex pan-government environment, willing to use your initiative to develop ways of getting the best outcomes to meet business needs across a wide stakeholder group.
• Delivering at Pace - bringing projects to completion. Collaboratively deliver improvement. While able to put forward your own ideas, you’ll be willing to adapt to new input from others too, while keeping to schedule.
• Communicating and Influencing - including stakeholder engagement and drafting of submissions, correspondence and policy. An ability to influence stakeholders, through drawing on commercial and social value expertise and demonstrating confidence and gravitas.
• Seeing the Big Picture, considering the context in which communications, policy advice and guidance will be considered and applied.

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 £53,400, Cabinet Office contributes £14,418 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, Experience and Technical skills.

Application process

As part of the application process you will be asked to complete a CV. Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form. 

Minimum essential skills will be required (knowledge of social value practices, PPN 06/20 and working knowledge of running procurements and of the Public Contracts Regulations). Also, Communications skills - experienced in drafting submissions, and policy advice to ministers (or equivalent) and Working knowledge of running procurements and of the Public Contracts Regulations.

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

Selection process

Panel interview including Strengths and Behaviours

Expected timeline (subject to change)
Expected sift date – w/c 15 July
Expected interview date/s – weeks commencing 22 July (subject to change and number of candidates).
Interview location - London or Norwich (based on interviewer availability).

Reasonable Adjustment

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. 

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

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 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

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 or Disclosure Scotland 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. 

For further information on the Disclosure Scotland confidential checking service telephone: the Disclosure Scotland Helpline on 0870 609 6006 and ask to speak to the operations manager in confidence, or email Info@disclosurescotland.co.uk

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

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

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

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.

This role is full time only. Applicants who wish to work an alternative pattern are welcome to apply however your preferred working pattern may not be available and you should discuss this with the vacancy holder before applying.

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.