About the job

Job summary

This role will provide you with an opportunity to be at the forefront in shaping national security policy and responding to a growing threat. You will be a part of a tight-knit task force setting up a unit to investigate national security risk amongst companies operating in the UK. You’ll need to be high-energy, creative and a problem-solver, willing to work across the security community to help set up a unit from scratch. This will be exciting and fast-paced, with significant parliamentary and ministerial interest.  

Economic Security is an increasingly important issue within the national security landscape. The growth in the threat has necessitated levers and mitigations to prevent the UK Government from being compromised through commercial channels. The Procurement Bill will provide us with unprecedented levers to intervene where companies pose a national security threat. In order to use these levers, the national security community will need to assess the risk associated with certain companies in order to arrive at decisions about whether this risk is intolerable and requires intervention. 

The Government Security Group is creating a unit to coordinate the cross-government response to this national security risk, starting with a small number of planning and policy professionals, and building to a unit handling caseload.

Job description

This is a multi-faceted and stretching Grade 7 role, working on complex policy issues and partner relationships and offers insight into the UK’s prosperity and security objectives.

• The postholder is responsible for leading a team of key policy colleagues. They will work with their new sister team in London to set up the policy side of the new National Security Procurement Unit.
• You’ll be responsible for leading on the key policy elements of responding to the national security aspects of the Procurement Bill, and the Deputy Prime Minister’s priority objective to provide commercial and procurement expertise across government and the wider public sector. 
• The postholder will set the security policy direction for the unit. This includes identifying how the function will arrive at decisions to exclude and debar on national security grounds. This is important and high-profile work requiring close engagement with policy, strategy and legal colleagues. 
• The postholder will work with the Team Lead and sister team in London to build a community of assessment bodies and experts able to contribute evidence in support of procurement decisions. You’ll be responsible for corralling departments and security colleagues to contribute to evidence-based policy.  
• The postholder will be responsible for building an impactful, high-performing, inclusive, and welcoming team, able to urgently respond to new Ministerial priorities.

Person specification

Essential skills and experience:

• Excellent ability to corral stakeholders, managing competing priorities across colleagues’ areas, and arriving at practical and implementable policy solutions. 
• Strong ability to understand the parliamentary backdrop and ministerial interest in this work.
• A strong interest in government and national security policy and a curiosity about the economic influences on security policy. 
• Familiarity with vendors of concern, supply chains, and commercial transactions within the public sector. 
• Proven ability to work across multiple industry segments, and quickly understand wide-ranging markets and business models.
• Excellent judgement and be capable of developing strong working relationships with stakeholders quickly; Strong communication skills (both written and oral), personal resilience and the ability to deliver at pace on competing priorities in a challenging and complex policy area.

Desirable skills and experience:

• Experience of working in a role across different industry segments (such as consulting or professional services) and/or Previous experience of working in a security environment and/or an understanding of the current threats facing HMG.
• Familiarity with the structures of the national security and/or intelligence community and assessment bodies.
• Knowledge of commercial practice, procurement or finance, particularly across the Public Sector or in regulated sectors.  

In line with current Cabinet Office policy, the postholder will be expected to be in the office at least one day a week. However, the postholder should be prepared to be in the office as business needs require.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £53,400, Cabinet Office contributes £14,418 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.

Application process

As part of the application process you will be asked to complete three 250 word behaviour statements. Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form. 

Should a large number of applications be received, an initial sift may be conducted using the lead behaviour, Communicating and Influencing. Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift, or progressed straight to assessment/interview. 

The written behaviours we will assess you against during the selection process are:

• Communicating and Influencing (Lead behaviour)
• Making Effective Decisions
• Seeing the Big Picture

During your interview we will be assessing the above statements as well as the two remaining:

• Working Together
• Delivering at Pace

Expected timeline (subject to change)

Expected sift date – W/C 8 January 2024
Expected interview date/s W/C 22 January 2024
Interview location - Online

Further information

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

A reserve list may be held for a period of 12 months from which further appointments can be made.

Any move to Cabinet Office 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

Please note that this role requires SC clearance, which would normally need 5 years UK residency in the past 5 years. This is not an absolute requirement, but supplementary checks may be needed where individuals have not lived in the UK for that period. This may mean your security clearance (and therefore your appointment) will take longer or, in some cases, not be possible.

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 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.

This role is full time only. Applicants who wish to work an alternative pattern are welcome to apply however your preferred working pattern may not be available and you should discuss this with the vacancy holder before applying.

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

Reasonable adjustments

If a person with disabilities is put at a substantial disadvantage compared to a non-disabled person, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes. 

If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should: 

• Contact Government Recruitment Service via cabinetofficerecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs. 
• Complete the ‘Assistance required’ section in 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 if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional.

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

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.