About the job

Job summary

The Civil Society and Youth (CSY) directorate aims to build a fairer society, in which voluntary and community organisations, government, and businesses are able to work together to tackle social challenges and build stronger communities. We have over 100 staff working across the United Kingdom. 

This role is based within the friendly and welcoming Volunteering and Tackling Loneliness team, a part of CSY. This team is split into three parts: volunteering strategy, volunteering projects, and tackling loneliness. Our current volunteering priorities are: 

• Empower local communities through volunteering
• Unlock the potential of volunteering through innovation
• Promote the value of volunteering within and beyond Whitehall 

Volunteering Projects is a core function within the wider Volunteering and Tackling Loneliness team. 

Since the current post-holder has secured promotion to Band A we are looking for a high-performing individual with experience of developing and managing impactful grants for a Band B role in the supportive Volunteering Projects team, which sits in the Civil Society and Youth Directorate in DCMS. 

In this stretching and rewarding role you will work closely with colleagues across DCMS, other government departments, and the voluntary sector.

Job description

Responsibilities for the role include:

• Management and oversight of the delivery of the high priority £14m Know Your Neighbourhood (KYN) Fund grant by the UK Community Foundation and 9 Community Foundations. 
• Supporting day-to-day delivery of robust grant management processes and financial oversight.
• Working closely with DCMS analysts, oversee and provide policy support to the high profile £1m programme evaluation. 
• Supporting the delivery of other grants across the team, including day-to-day delivery of robust grant management processes.
• Drafting multiple briefings for a range of audiences (including ministers and senior officials), keeping core lines up to date, and responding to Parliamentary Questions & correspondence. 
• Engaging with a wide range of stakeholders, including senior officials, Ministers and voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) partners.
• Working flexibly with a changing portfolio as programmes mature and in response to evolving wider priorities, which may include developing new programmes and supporting business case development.

Person specification

The ideal candidate would have the following key skills and experience:

Essential Requirements:

• Experience of project, policy or programme delivery and/or grant management; managing suppliers and monitoring the delivery of outcomes by recipients of funding.
• The ability to work at pace on a number of complex issues, prioritising effectively and delivering timely, quality outcomes.
• Strong written and oral communication skills, able to set out complex ideas with clarity.
• Strong project management/delivery skills and experience of financial planning /management.
• Excellent stakeholder engagement skills, building strong interpersonal relationships and role-modelling a collaborative approach with both internal and external stakeholders. 

Desirable Skills:

• Experience of evaluation/research and working with analysts
• Knowledge of the ethos of the voluntary sector and volunteering

We are offering applicants to join a virtual information session on 10 - 11 am Tuesday 9th January 2024 hosted by the vacancy holder - Katy Owen

The session will be an opportunity to hear more about the role, the team and wider directorate and the department. It will also be an opportunity for you to ask any questions.

Please register your interest here and you will be sent an invitation. 

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £33,095, Department for Culture, Media and Sport contributes £8,935 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 and Experience.

To apply for this post, please send us the following documents no later than 09:00 Monday January 15th via the CS Jobs portal:

• A CV setting out your career history, with key responsibilities and achievements. Please ensure you provide employment history that relates to the essential and desirable criteria, and that any gaps in employment history within the last 2 years are explained. The CV should not exceed more than 3 x A4 pages and you should insert your CV into the "Job History" section on Civil Service Jobs on the Civil Service Jobs application form.
• A Statement of Suitability (max 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 requirements highlighted. You may also choose to reference the desirable skills listed.
• A behaviour statement of 250 words on Making Effective Decisions. 

For the shortlist, we will assess your experience and select applicants demonstrating the best fit for the role by considering the evidence provided in your application.

In the event of a large number of applicants, an initial sift will be conducted on the statement of suitability. Those who are successful in the initial sift will then be scored on all elements of the application.

Should you encounter any issues with your online application please get in touch with: dcmsrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk.

The interview process will assess behaviours and strengths and potentially include a presentation.

You will not be made aware of the strengths being assessed prior to your interview. 

As part of your interview, you may be asked to deliver a short oral presentation. Full details of this, including the topic, and whether or not you will need to use visual aids, will be sent to you prior to your interview. 

For indicative sift and interview dates please refer to the attached Candidate Information Pack.

In most cases interviews will take place remotely via Google Meet video call. However please refer to the Candidate Information Pack to confirm the interview approach.

Reasonable Adjustment

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, please:

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. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or a verbal test rather than a written one. 

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

Accessibility

If you are experiencing accessibility difficulties with any of the attachments, please contact us. Contact details can be found in the 'contact point for applicants' section of the job advert.

Further Information

DCMS has a London and a National pay scale. For more information on this, including the circumstances in which each pay scale will apply, please see the ‘Information for Applicants’ document.

If the vacancy is offered as FTA/Loan, existing Civil Servants must join on a Loan basis only., Prior agreement to be released on loan 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.

A reserve list may be held for a period of 6 months from which further appointments can be made.

Any move to DCMS 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 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.

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.

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.