About the job

Job summary

The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) is the department for economic growth. We support businesses to invest, grow and export, creating jobs and opportunities across the country.  

Almost all government policy is delivered through projects or transformation programmes. Thousands are carried out each year to improve the UK’s infrastructure, transform public services, safeguard national security and boost international trade and we are no exception, we use projects and programmes to further DBT’s objectives and to make DBT a great place to work for our people.    

In our projects, we are clear about the importance of bringing together project delivery – with its structures, processes, and tools to guide change – and effective change management – with its focus on people and ensuring that changes are embraced and used effectively.  

Flexible Resource Pool (FRP)  

At the heart of our Project Delivery (PD) and Change Directorate, we have established an internal pool of experienced project delivery and change professionals who are deployed across the department to support the delivery of business-critical projects.   

We are looking for a talented candidate/s with a strong interest and passion for project delivery to join our Flexible Resource Pool (FRP).  

The successful candidate will be required to have some experience of working in a project delivery environment. The candidate will work with a wide range of stakeholders including senior leaders, build strong working relationships across the department and PD Profession, and be an advocate for PD best practice. 

The FRP will offer successful applicants’ exposure to a wide range of challenging projects across DBT to build capability, experience and technical skills. We will also provide access to a range of informal professional career development opportunities and continuous professional development (CPD).  

Job description

As a member of the Flexible Resource Pool, you will work on a variety of projects up to 12 months at a time.  

During this time, you could be required to take on some of the following roles as set out on page 119 of the Project Delivery Capability Framework  

• Delivery – Supporting Day to day management of the project to deliver the agreed outcomes within time, cost and quality constraints.   
• Planning and scheduling – Build Project Plan and apply appropriate project principles to deliver stated objectives.  
• Stakeholder Management– Identify key stakeholders and develop effective relationships.   
• Risks & Issues– Identify and monitor project risks and issues. Develop mitigating actions and escalate as appropriate.   
• Governance - Provide key reports and support effective governance and decision making.  
• Risks and Issues – Engaging with stakeholders to identify, monitor and key risks and issues for the Project. 
• Resources – Schedule / manage resources to deliver the project.  
• Benefits Realisation – Ensure benefits are identified, understood, measured, tracked and owned. 
• Business Case – Coordinate development of the Business Case.   
• Budget – Track delivery within budget. 
• Assurance – Support or set appropriate project assurance.  
• Change Management – Ensure effective Change Management processes are in place.   
• Project Performance & Controls - Build Project Plan and apply appropriate project principles to deliver stated objectives.  

Person specification

Skills and Experience

Essential Criteria

• Project Delivery - You will have previous experience working on a project or in a project management environment. 
• Communication - You will have proven strong communication and engagement skills with the ability to build and maintain strong working relationships. 
• Problem solver - Analytical, with ability to analyse data, identify cross-cutting themes and trends. Strong attention to detail.  
• Delivering at Pace and in ambiguity- You will be comfortable with working in a fast-paced and dynamic environment, as an individual and within a team. 

Desirable Criteria  

• You will have practical experience of actively managing project risks and issues and contribute to effective decision making. 
• You will need to be flexible and willing to move between different projects in DBT. 
• Willingness to learn and a can-do attitude. 

Personal Attributes & Skills 

• You are able to think of, research and apply new ideas and ways of doing things. You encourage and support innovations from others, willing to experiment and follow ideas through to implementation.   
• You will have a proactive approach to developing productive relationships with internal and external stakeholders, bringing people together to benefit projects.    
• You must be able to engage, motivate and coach others as well as acting as a role model, to inspire and empower others.  

In return, we will offer you exposure to a range of challenging projects in different areas of an organisation at the heart of the Government’s international agenda. 

You will receive support and mentoring as well as ongoing formal and informal opportunities to continue your personal and professional development.   

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £32,858, Department for Business and Trade contributes £8,871 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.

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 500 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.

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.

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

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.   
• Please note – the successful candidate will be expected to remain in post for a minimum of 18 months before being released for another role. 

In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to Disclosure and Barring Service/ Disclosure Scotland/Access NI 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 the Access NI confidential checking service telephone: the Access NI Helpline on 0300 200 7888 and ask to speak to the operations manager in confidence, or email accessni@ani.x.gsi.gov.uk 

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.