About the job

Job summary

We are seeking a talented and ambitious individual to fill a SEO Policy Advisor role to the Minister for London. This role will sit within the Department for Business and Trade and is embedded within the Minister’s Trade Policy Private Office, reporting directly into the Head of Office.

The successful candidate will work closely with the Minister of London supporting the Minister in his day-to-day business, as well as acting as a policy advisor, working closely with the Communities and Local Growth Unit, to shape, to drive and deliver the Minister’s priorities for London.

This role provides exposure to strategic decision-making, as well as offering significant responsibility and autonomy. The successful candidate will possess the ability and experience to develop policy independently and with minimal support and will be able to represent the Minister for London and his priorities in his absence and with external stakeholders.

Job description

• Work independently to provide strategic thinking to inform the Minister for London’s priorities and drive those priorities forward, in close collaboration with the Cities and Local Growth Unit.
• Writing speeches and briefings for the Minister’s external engagements where necessary and responding to reactive commissions from the minister.
• Work collaboratively with officials from across central government, keeping abreast of key policy developments and considering what these mean for London.
• Engage regularly with London’s key stakeholders to explore the long-term challenges and opportunities facing the capital.
• Working closely and collaboratively with the minister’s wider private office to ensure that his time is balanced between his various priorities.
• Oversee the flow of correspondence requests from external stakeholders, working with the relevant policy team to manage replies in a prompt and accurate fashion.
• Commissioning briefing and submissions, as well as providing background and high-quality box notes to guide decision-making. This means taking ownership of the production of advice and material, tactfully challenging where it is not of the appropriate quality.
• Accompanying the Minister for London to external meetings, taking precise and accurate readouts.
• Providing comms support to the Minister, working with our press team to draft social media content.

Person specification

Skills and Experience

Essential Criteria

The skills and experiences listed below are essential for this role:

• Experience working independently to develop strategy.
• Experience of working in a pressurised, fast-paced environment, which requires high levels of personal organisation and resilience.
• Robust written communication skills, able to translate complex policy detail into simple and strategically consistent briefs and speeches.
• Excellent oral communication and influencing skills, able to build rapport with colleagues from different backgrounds and experiences.

Desirable Criteria

The skills and experiences listed below are desirable but not essential for this role:

• Experience working on, and demonstrable knowledge of London related policy.
• Experience of working directly with Directors General, Permanent Secretaries, and/or Ministers.
• Experience of working collaboratively with, and delivering through, a large and diverse group of stakeholders.

Personal Attributes & Skills

This role is ideally suited to someone with an ability to work independently to deliver strategy and policy, whilst possessing the skills to work collaboratively with those around them.

This role is ideally suited to someone who likes to be at the centre of the action and thrives in an evolving environment. You will need to be flexible and responsive to ministerial direction, take pride in high quality and timely work and have a proven track record for delivering in a pressurised environment.

We are looking for someone with impeccable organisational skills, strong written and verbal briefing skills, confidence in their own judgement and strong political awareness.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £43,007, Department for Business and Trade contributes £11,611 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, Ability and Experience.

After submission of the first stage of your application you will be invited to complete a Civil Service Judgement Test. If you successfully pass the test, you will be invited to complete the final stage of the application.

Please complete the online tests as soon as possible (within 24-48 hours is recommended), the closing date for the tests is 23:55 on 18/03/24. If you fail to complete the online test before the deadline your application will be withdrawn. Guidance for the test will be available when you are invited to take the test. The tests are administered online and accessed via the CS Jobs website.

Interviews for this vacancy will be conducted virtually. We will, however, consider in-person interviews by exception. 

Please ensure that you check your emails regularly as all updates from us will be sent to you this way. 

To apply for this post, you will be asked to complete the following as part of the online application:    

• A CV setting out your career history, with key responsibilities and achievements. Provide employment history that relates to the essential criteria, and that any gaps in employment history within the last 2 years are explained. The CV should not exceed more than 2 x A4 pages. 
• A Personal Statement of up to 750 words, explaining how you consider your personal skills, qualities and experience provide evidence of your suitability for the role in reference to the essential criteria.

In the event of a large number of applicants, an initial short sift will be conducted on the Personal Statement. Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift or progressed straight to assessment/interview.   

It is likely that the sift will take place 1-2 weeks after the closing date and interviews 3-5 weeks after the closing date though this is subject to change. 

 As part of your interview, you will be asked to deliver a short oral presentation, details will be provided prior to your interview.  

Following the sift stage of the campaign and before the interview stage, all short-listed candidates will be invited to attend a short meeting with the Principal. 

The 'fireside' chat is an unassessed, informal conversation which may be conducted either 1:1 or as a group meeting. This conversation will give both parties an opportunity to meet and ask questions that may not be covered in the interview. The chat can also be used to discuss the leader’s priorities and the candidates’ proposed approach to the role.  

Location and working arrangements 

Your office location will be at Old Admiralty Building and the role will be office based. Travel to your primary office in London will not be paid for by DBT, but costs for travel to an office which is not your main location will be covered.

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.

Existing Civil Servants and applicants from accredited NDPBs are eligible to apply, but will only be considered on loan basis (Civil Servants) or secondment (accredited NDPBs). Prior agreement to be released on a loan basis must be obtained before commencing the application process. In the case of Civil Servants, the terms of the loan will be agreed between the home and host department and the Civil Servant. This includes grade on return.

Reasonable Adjustments 

We are committed to supporting candidates so they can perform at their best throughout the recruitment process. This includes making reasonable adjustments to our process. In order to request an adjustment:  

Complete the ‘Assistance required’ section on the ‘Additional requirements’ page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process.  

Alternatively contact the Government Recruitment Service at DBTrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.   

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

Candidate Support

You may want to join a virtual Candidate Support Session. These sessions include helpful tips and advice on the recruitment process, from application to interview.  

Please see attached Candidate Pack for further information on: Diversity and Inclusion; Benefits; Learning and Development; Working Patterns and what we deliver as a department.

Further Information: 

• A reserve list may be held for a period of 12 months from which further appointments can be made. Reserve Lists will be for each location and appointments made in merit order based on location preferences.    
• Any move to the Department for Business and Trade from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. 
• The Department will not consider sponsoring a visa or issuing a Certificate of Sponsorship. We are unable to offer advice on any Visa and Immigration cases.   
• 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. Any applicant who has 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.   
• Terms and Conditions are attached. Please take time to read the document to determine how these may affect you.   

In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to the 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.  

Vetting 

The requirement for SC clearance is to have been present in the UK for at least 3 of the last 5 years. Failure to meet the residency requirements will result in your security clearance application being rejected.

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

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 security 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.