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.

Would you embrace the opportunity to work within an influential international directorate, and with various policy teams, to help deliver the Department’s strategic aims?

Do you enjoy working flexibly across team boundaries and supporting stakeholders to deliver against the top priorities?

If so, we have an exciting opportunity available for two Senior Policy Advisors to join our team and would love to hear from you!

Job description

You will join the Exports and Inward Investment (EII) team, which forms part of the Trade Division. The Division serves as Department for Transport’s (DfT) Centre of Excellence with respect to all transport-related aspects of international trade and acts as an ‘intelligent conduit’ for Whitehall and industry to access DfT expertise.

Your role will form part of a cross-cutting unit that provides central expertise on the UK transport sector’s export capability and inward investment offer. You will work collaboratively with the Department for Business and Trade, DfT policy teams, cross-government partners, and industry to maximise impact and opportunity. The EII team also provide a client function for Crossrail International - a government-owned company that provides advisory services to global metro projects and helps UK companies compete internationally.

You will be responsible for leading the development and refining of a pipeline of strategically important and commercially attractive investment opportunities across the UK transport sector, which contribute towards growing the UK economy and the UK’s decarbonisation agenda. This will require working flexibly across team boundaries with internal and cross-Government stakeholders to source key intel and promote priorities via upcoming international ministerial engagements.

Your key responsibilities will include:

• Leading the development and refining of a pipeline of strategically important and commercially attractive investment opportunities across the UK transport sector.
• Developing an ambitious inward investment narrative as part of the team’s core briefing pack, including key facts and figures and an overview of foreign investment across different transport modes.
• Supporting the Inward Investment lead with the scoping and development of a programme of ambitious ministerial engagement proposals, whether domestic or international, to promote sectoral investment opportunities aligned to key departmental priorities.
• Leading on various ministerial support products such as submissions, correspondence, and briefings.
• Building relationships with stakeholders across Government – namely, the Department for Business and Trade, the Office for Investment, and colleagues at embassies to raise the profile of transport as a sector for inward investment.

For further information, please see the attached Role Profile.

Additional Information

This role is available to individuals who wish to be spending their office time in London, Leeds, or Birmingham, and we would also expect the individual to be willing to travel to visit different locations relevant to the route.

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.

Person specification

About you

You are proactive and highly motivated by the work you do and the impact it has, with experience of supporting or leading on policy and strategy delivery. You will be an innovative and creative thinker, who is interested in the detail but can also think big picture, with the confidence to work independently as well as within a team environment.

You will have exceptional interpersonal skills and enjoy working collaboratively with a diverse range of stakeholders, developing, and maintaining positive and productive working relationships. You will be an articulate communicator, both verbally and in writing, enabling you to clearly draft briefings and speak confidently to colleagues at different levels of seniority, being persuasive when required.

You will feel comfortable working within an agile environment on important issues whilst continuously demonstrating strong attention to detail, being adaptable, accountable, and working effectively under pressure.

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 applying please look at how your experience relates to the role.

Within your Personal Statement, please utilise the full word count of 750 words to provide detailed evidence of your experience of the following:

• Supporting and/or leading on policy and strategy delivery.
• Developing strong and productive relationships with senior colleagues and stakeholders.
• Experience in securing inputs from both internal and external stakeholders across the business, who are often working under pressure.

The sift is due to take place from 08/01/2024.

Interviews are likely to be held from week commencing 22/01/2024.

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.

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 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.

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.