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 enjoy working with others and have strong communication and influencing skills?

Are you organised and can handle completing priorities?

Have you got experience of working with policy?

If so, we have an exciting opportunity where you can develop your skills; becoming familiar with sponsorship and stakeholder management issues and we would love to hear from you!

Job description

The Motoring Services Agencies Sponsorship (MSAS) Division supports, challenges and champions the work of the motoring agencies (DVLA, DVSA and VCA), the Traffic Commissioners and the Government Car Service across the Department for Transport (DfT) and wider government. We are a small, dynamic team where there is plenty of opportunity to shape the role, get involved in areas of interest, lead on discrete projects, and suggest and implement improvements to our existing processes.

You will be responsible for assisting the Traffic Commissioner Sponsorship Lead in building the relationship with Traffic Commissioners, which includes a programme of governance, recruitment and reform; including implementing the recently published 2021/22 Review of the Traffic Commissioner Function report. You will be working on a day-to-day basis with the Office of the Traffic Commissioners, DfT financial, legal and HR advisers to ensure value for money and support the TC function to operate effectively and reform.

You will also be taking an active role in supporting work streams across the 3 Executive Agencies to deliver on key programmes of work including Business Planning and some policy portfolio areas.

Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Facilitating effective joint working between DfT policy teams and the Traffic Commissioners on strategic and high priority issues, including recommendations of recent review of the Traffic Commissioner function, to ensure opportunities are grasped and challenges overcome wherever possible.
• Providing briefings and recommendations to a wide range of colleagues and stakeholders including interaction with Ministers, senior officials and their private offices.
• Playing an essential role in developing the governance of the Traffic Commissioner function, including strategy, framework documents, guidance letters, and involvement in the wider sponsor network across DfT.
• Collaborating closely with transport policy colleagues to identify common goals to drive legislative opportunities and acting as a champion for the Traffic Commissioner within DfT.

For more information about the role and responsibilities please see the attached Role Profile.

Person specification

About you

To thrive in this role, you will have:

• Have some experience of building strong working relationships across complex organisational structures.
• Have enthusiasm and passion for understanding this highly challenging sponsorship area where ambiguity, complex strategic and regulatory factors combine.
• Have excellent verbal and written communication skills, being able to communicate effectively to a range of colleagues and stakeholders, with credibility and gravitas to influence at all levels.
• Be able to maintain strong and collaborative working relations with a wide range of colleagues and stakeholders.
• Be highly organised and able to prioritise and manage a challenging workload effectively and having strong attention to detail.

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. 

The role will involve occasional travel to DfT’s other office locations other than your chosen location in order to keep in touch.

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, Experience and Technical skills.

How to Apply  

As part of the application process, you will be asked to provide a CV and Personal Statement (1000 words). Please tailor your CV to suit the role. For your Personal Statement, please provide detailed evidence of the following:

• Experience of working with multiple stakeholders both external and internal with the ability to influence and communicate effectively to reach positive outcomes
• Experience of dealing with competing and changing priorities in multiple complex area in a short amount of time.
• Strong policy making skills, good political judgement and excellent drafting.

The sift is due to take place 24th-26th January 2024.

Interviews/assessments are likely to be held 7th-9th February 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 and a written policy exercise

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.  

You’re encouraged to become familiar with the role profile, and Policy Professional Standards 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, DfT is 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.