About the job

Job summary

We are looking for a part-time Business Support Officer to assist our Content Design and Publications team. The team is responsible for the department's corporate identity and brand and the production of high-quality digital and printed publications.

We look forward to hearing from you!

Job description

Working as part of a small team, you will be in regular conversation with internal stakeholders and external suppliers. The 2 primary areas of responsibility are:

Contract and financial management

Supporting the Publications team in managing contracts and relationships with external suppliers. Your role includes:

• Working with DfT authors to draft requests for quotes.
• Reviewing and challenging quotes for work from external specialists.
• Ensuring that DfT authors raise purchase orders, goods receipt and pay invoices on time.
• Investigating and resolving billing and payment issues with DfT authors and external suppliers.
• Recording and reporting billing and payment risks or issues.
• Managing contract budgets, recording and monitoring project financial data and tracking expenditures using Microsoft Excel and SAP.
• Managing the performance of on-call contracts.

Publication production

Supporting the production of accessible publications. Your role includes:

• Working with DfT authors to understand their needs and draft specifications for publication, print, design, translation and accessibility work.
• Agreeing publication production schedules with DfT authors and external providers.
• Reviewing documents to provide initial accessibility advice to DfT authors.
• Acceptance testing work produced by external suppliers.
• Working with DfT authors and external suppliers to prioritise multiple strands of work and ensure that tight and moving deadlines are met.

In return, we can offer you:

• Excellent personal development.
• Flexible and hybrid working supporting a healthy work-life balance.
• Industry-leading pension and employee benefits package.

Person specification

To be successful in this role you will be a self-starter, providing support at the heart of the team.

You will be responsible for quality assurance of work outsourced to external suppliers, and financial and contract administration on behalf of the team.

Additional Information

A minimum of 60% of your working time should be spent at your principal workplace, although requirements to attend other locations for official business, or carry out detached duty in another DfT workplace, will also count towards this level of attendance. 

We recognise the challenges that people with (multiple) protected characteristics may experience on the job market and in their career progression. We are fully committed to being an inclusive employer and ensuring equal opportunities. We are keen to make our workforce as diverse as possible, and we hope to attract applications from underrepresented groups, including ethnic minorities, people with a disability, and people with gender diverse identities.  

Benefits

Being part of our brilliant Civil Service means you will have access to a wide range of fantastic benefits. We offer generous annual leave, attractive pension options, flexible working, inclusive working environments and much more to support a healthy work/life balance. 

Find out more about what it's like working at the Department for Transport 

Things you need to know

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours and Experience.

How to Apply 

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

Within your CV and personal statement please provide detailed evidence of the following: 

• Commercial management experience including procurement, purchasing, monitoring and reporting on contracts.
• Managing, prioritising and delivering multiple projects under tight and moving deadlines.
• Building and maintaining constructive relationships with internal authors and external suppliers.
• The ability to structure and format documents using Microsoft Word styles and understand how to use Microsoft Word and Adobe Acrobat accessibility checkers.

Your personal statement will be limited to 1250 words.

The selection process will be designed specifically for the role. As a result, your assessment will include: 

• An interview.
• A written assessment.

The sift is due to take place on 4th March.

Interviews are due to take place w/c 11th March.

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. 

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. 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.