GOVTALENT.UK

Senior Policy Adviser, Low Carbon Hydrogen Standard

This opening expired 5 months ago.

Department for Energy Security & Net Zero

Location(s):
Aberdeen, Birmingham, Cardiff, Darlington, Edinburgh, London, Salford
Salary:
£50,305 to £61,145
Job grade:
Grade 7
Business area:
Environment and Sustainability, Policy
Contract type:
Permanent
Working pattern:
Full-time, Part-time

About the job

Job summary

Do you want a career where you can make a real difference? Do you want to work in a government department that is at the forefront of current policy making decisions that will impact the UK and beyond? If yes then a career at the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) could be for you.

Here at DESNZ we are securing the UK’s long term energy supply, bringing down energy bills and halving inflation. We are seizing the opportunities of Net Zero to lead the world in new green industries and encouraging greater energy efficiency across the UK. The work of the department has never been more timely or relevant, and by joining us you will be part of making that difference.

Our work is varied, interesting and most importantly its impactful. Our DESNZ Values are interwoven into everything we do; we are Bold, we are Collaborative, we are Inclusive and we Learn. As a department we are committed to these values to build a culture where everyone can thrive. 

We offer great working benefits including a world-class pension, flexible working options and a career where your learning and development is taken seriously. We are fortunate to have a range of excellent staff networks and are proud to be a Disability Confident Leader employer. We will support talented people from all backgrounds to build a career and thrive.

Find Out More

We regularly run events where you can find out more about the department and tips for the application process. You can sign up for upcoming events here: https://www.tickettailor.com/events/departmentforenergysecurityandnetzero?

You can also follow our LinkedIn Careers Page: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/desnz-careers/

Job description

Building thriving Hydrogen and CCUS sectors is a top priority for both the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State, not only to achieve our net zero commitments but also to develop cutting-edge industries of the future. We are recruiting for a Grade 7 role in the Hydrogen Standard and Certification team. This is an increasingly important area of focus for our net zero agenda with significant interest from senior leaders and domestic and international stakeholders from industry, academia, government and multilateral organisations. 

We operate as a flexible, supportive and inclusive team. Our staff are given real responsibility for delivering and achieving, and the support to perform strongly and develop quickly. We actively encourage staff learning and development opportunities and have a track record of people progressing from the team on promotion. We fully support hybrid and flexible working, and we would love to see applications from a diverse range of candidates to join our team.

Person specification

The UK Low Carbon Hydrogen Standard defines what constitutes low carbon hydrogen, setting an emissions threshold and a methodology for calculating emissions.  It is an essential element of the UK hydrogen policy framework and one of the few operating hydrogen standards in the world. 

In the British Energy Security Strategy, the Prime Minister set out the UK’s commitment to use the standard to set up a hydrogen certification scheme by 2025, to demonstrate high-grade British hydrogen for export and ensure any imported hydrogen meets the same high standards that UK companies expect.

As the successful postholder, you will co-lead, shape and deliver a cross cutting workstream on the Low Carbon Hydrogen Standard (LCHS), which will underpin the certification scheme. You will have a key role in developing assurance that hydrogen can be produced in a low carbon way in the UK to achieve our 2030 hydrogen production capacity ambition of up to 10GW. This is essential to realising hydrogen’s potential to support emissions reduction across the UK while supporting market development. We are looking to fill 1 G7 post, which is likely to include line management responsibilities (SEO and/or HEO).

Recognising that there needs to be some flexibility between teams as the hydrogen certification scheme is established, we envisage the following role:

  • Oversee technical policy / analytical work on complex and cross-cutting issues on the LCHS, working across government, industry, and technical advisers.
  • Lead on fossil reformation processes within the LCHS, including accounting methodology and evidence framework for upstream emissions for natural gas. Supporting Hydrogen Production Business Model negotiations and reflecting fossil requirements from the LCHS into project contracts.
  • Prepare for LCHS review process and lead on future updates to the standard.
  • Lead on the application of the standard.
  • Influence the development of other policy areas across the energy system and ensure that the standard reflects the most up to date developments.
  • Provide thought leadership on low carbon hydrogen standards internationally, sharing the UK experience and shaping the ISO standard as the UK representative.

Skills and experience

You will need to demonstrate:

  • Delivering at Pace: You will need to drive progress a range of activity at pace, balancing competing priorities, and supporting effective decision-making. You will deliver high quality outcomes as part of a supportive team environment.
  • Making effective decisions: Experience of pulling together multiple strands of evidence into clear policy advice and decisions for seniors and ministers.
  • Seeing the Big Picture, Working Together: The Low Carbon Hydrogen Standard sits at the heart of a crowded landscape of policy support for low carbon hydrogen. You will need to be able to grasp where it fits alongside other policies, and work collegiately with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders to ensure this all joins up to deliver ministerial ambitions, the Energy Security Strategy and the UK’s net zero target. You will bring a fresh and innovative approach to your work, creating opportunities to develop your areas of responsibility in support of the wider strategy and implementation.
  • Communicating and Influencing. You will need to be able to make sense of and communicate complex ideas and evidence to seniors and external stakeholders. You will also need to be persuasive – winning support for your proposals, including challenging assumptions within the department, across government, and with external stakeholders and delivery partners.

Skills, experience and qualifications (Desirable)

  • Experience or knowledge of emissions accounting policies.
  • Experience of working in energy policy.
  • Science and Engineering Background.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £50,305, Department for Energy Security & Net Zero contributes £13,582 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.

As part of the application process you will be asked to complete a CV, personal statement and four 250 word behaviour statements. Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.

Please use your personal statement (in no more than 500 words) to tell us why you are suitable for this role.

Please note - the CV incorporated into the application form is for information purposes only and will not be scored.

In the event of a large number of applicants, applications will be sifted on the Personal Statement.

Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift, or progressed straight to assessment/interview.

The interview will consist of behaviour and strength based questions.

Sift and interview dates

Expected timeline: Subject to change -

Sift dates: w/c 15/04/2024

Interview dates: 21/04/2024

Interview Location: MS Teams.

Candidates are asked to note the above timetable, exercising flexibility through the recruitment and selection process.

Reasonable Adjustment

We are proud to be a disability confident leader and we welcome applications from disabled candidates and candidates with long-term conditions.

We fully support adjustments throughout our recruitment process and we encourage candidates to discuss their adjustment needs by emailing the job contact which can be found under the contact point for applicants section.

We do not have an exhaustive list of adjustments that we support but just some examples include additional time to complete your application form, behaviour questions up to 72 hours prior to interview and having extra time at interview. 

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

Further Information

If successful and transferring from another Government Department a criminal record check may be carried out.

New entrants are expected to join on the minimum of the pay band.

A location based reserve list of successful candidates will be kept for 12 months. Should another role become available within that period you may be offered this position.

Please note terms and conditions are attached. Please take time to read the document to determine how these may affect you.

Any move to the Department for Energy, Security and Net Zero  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 https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk

DESNZ does not normally offer full home working (i.e. working at home); but we do offer a variety of flexible working options (including occasionally working from home). 

DESNZ cannot offer Visa sponsorship to candidates through this campaign. DESNZ holds a Visa sponsorship licence but this can only be used for certain roles and this campaign does not qualify.

In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to Disclosure and Barring Service /Disclosure Scotland 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 

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



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.

Added: 6 months ago