About the job

Job summary

We recognise the challenges that people with 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.

Are you interested in making a difference for the 14.6 million disabled people within the UK?

Do you enjoy collaborating and building rapport with a range of partners?

If so, we have a fantastic opportunity to join our team, and we would love to hear from you.

Job description

DPTAC is the Secretary of State’s expert statutory advisor on the transport needs of disabled people. It comprises a broad range of experts in transport accessibility and inclusive travel, many of whom have lived experience of disability or non-visible impairments. The committee works closely with the Department’s policy leads, serving as a critical friend and advising on policy across air, road and rail.

The Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee (DPTAC) Secretariat is an essential role to deliver all the necessary functions to ensure that DPTAC provides high quality independent advice to senior leaders and remains legally constituted.

This role provides an excellent opportunity to develop and use your stakeholder engagement and policy delivery skills to influence the Department’s strategic priority to improve transport for the user.

As a member of the small Secretariat, you will be DPTAC members’ first point of contact, and will reach out to colleagues across the Department to raise awareness, enabling DPTAC to fulfil its role as an advisory body.

In this role your key responsibilities will include:

• Day to day relationship management with the DPTAC Chair and committee members, acting as the interface between DPTAC and DfT senior leaders.
• Managing DPTAC’s programme of engagement with DfT, ensuring that the Department makes the best possible use of the expert advice available.
• Managing the recruitment of DPTAC committee members.
• Coordinating committee meetings and working group meetings.
• Horizon scanning across the Department to identify the key issues that need to be brought to the Committee, developing a forward work programme.
• Collaborating with the team to co-ordinate and quality assure the DPTAC administrative processes.

Person specification

About you

You will be approachable, with excellent stakeholder engagement and interpersonal skills, displaying confidence when engaging at all levels to build trusted relationships.

You will have excellent organisational skills to co-ordinate workloads and deliver results in a challenging environment. You will display high quality drafting skills to produce concise briefings and reports.

You will work well autonomously and as part of a team and will enjoy proactively taking the initiative to deliver a seamless, quality service and to resolve issues in a positive manner.

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, or carry out detached duty in another DfT workplace, will also count towards this level of attendance. 

Travel to our London office to attend a quarterly committee meeting will be required.

Whilst we welcome applications from those looking to work with us on a part time basis, there is a business requirement for the successful candidate to be able to work at least 28 hours per week.

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, Strengths 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

When considering your experience, please tailor your CV and personal statement (maximum word count 750) to provide evidence of the following: 

• Experience of demonstrating strong organisational skills and proactively prioritising workloads in a fast-paced environment.
• Experience of collaborating effectively with stakeholders and managing conflicting priorities to deliver business objectives. 
• Experience of conveying complex information concisely and effectively through written and verbal briefings and reports. 

The sift is due to take place by the 11th of July 2024.

Interviews/assessments are likely to be held from the week commencing the 22nd of July 2024.

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.

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

• An interview.

This interview could be conducted online via Teams or face to face at one of our offices. Further details will be provided to you should you be selected for interview.

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.