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.  

Do you have a passion for environmental matters and enjoy collaborating with a wide range of stakeholders and have the ability to build strong, lasting relationships?

Are you able to work in a fast paced environment and deliver against competing deadlines?

Have you got excellent networking skills with the ability to build and maintain effective working relationships?

If so, we’d love to hear from you!

Job description

This is an exciting and unique opportunity to play an important role in supporting a high profile, cross Government, legal case on air quality and furthering DfT’s work on improving transport related air quality policy.

This newly created SEO role will sit within the Environment, Adaptation and Strategy Team (EAST), a division that is striving to reduce transport’s environmental impacts and adapt to our changing climate. EAST is a highly motivated, friendly and high performing team with big ambitions in this exciting and growing priority area for the department, with huge scope for you to make your mark.

Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Supporting the Head of Environmental Legal Challenge Strategy in delivering key elements of the legal case work, including in the preparation of submissions, witness statements and other High Court documents when required.
• Providing briefing and correspondence support for the team’s work on air quality and wider environment, including for Ministerial and senior officials' meetings and events, and working flexibly to support the division’s priorities.
• Leading the development and delivery of a stakeholder engagement plan for our work on air quality targets, including leading the Air Quality team’s collaboration with local authorities, industry and academics.
• Supporting development of wider air quality policy and advice as required, including working with lawyers, analysts and across DfT’s modal teams, and raising awareness of air quality work across the department.

For more information, please see the attached Role Profile.

Person specification

About you

To thrive in this role, you will

• Be resilient and comfortable with working in a fast-paced environment to deliver against competing priorities.
• Possess the ability to build effective working relationships and work collaboratively.
• Be a confident communicator with the credibility to influence and challenge effectively to support policy decision making.

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. 

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 provide a CV, a Personal Statement (500 words) and you will asked to provide evidence of 2 behaviours. Each behaviour example will be limited to 500 words.

Please tailor your CV to suit the role. For your Personal Statement, please provide detailed evidence of the following:

• Developing and Implementing Policy in a complex area
• Briefing a senior official to communicate a complex issue

For your behaviour examples please provide evidence of when you have demonstrated the following behaviours:

• Seeing the big picture
• Working Together

Should a large number of applications be received, an initial sift may be conducted using the lead behaviour which is Seeing the big picture. Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift or progressed straight to interview.

The sift is due to take place from 11th January 2024 onwards.

Interviews are likely to be held from week commencing 22nd January 2024 onwards.

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 will be conducted online via Teams. Further details will be provided to you should you be selected for interview.  

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 to be successful. This gives us the best possible chance of finding the right person for the job, improving performance, 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 meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is counter-terrorist 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.