About the job

Job summary

The COBR Unit leads the Government’s response to acute emergencies - domestic and international, malicious and non-malicious - and drives further professionalisation of emergency management within government. The unit sits within the National Security Secretariat (NSS).

The NSS keeps the UK safe, secure and prosperous by bringing together the UK’s national security community, providing high-quality support to the Prime Minister and the National Security Council and maintaining centre-to-centre relationships internationally. Working within the wider Cabinet Secretariat and led by the Prime Minister’s National Security Adviser (NSA), we assist the Prime Minister and the Cabinet in the development, coordination and implementation of its highest priority objectives. 

In 2023 the Crisis Management Excellence Programme team (referred to as CMEP) was launched in the COBR Unit and focuses specifically on professionalising and building crisis management capability across Government. Operating across government your work as part of this team will be key in driving readiness at both the national and local level for the biggest risks that threaten the UK. You will be part of a small and highly dedicated team, working to enhance the UK’s crisis management capabilities.

Here at CMEP, our work is varied, interesting and impactful across government. Our vision is Enabling Excellence in Crisis and our objective is to deliver constantly high standards and professional expertise in central government crisis management. As a department we are committed to building and working in an inclusive and supportive working environment and will support talented people from all backgrounds to build a career and thrive. 

 

Responding to emergencies

COBR Unit on call rota: you will be asked if you wish to join a formal COBR Unit on-call rota for civil emergencies, to monitor emerging risks and form the backbone of initial responses where necessary, for which an allowance is payable. 

Whether you join the COBR Unit on call rota or not, as a member of the COBR Unit, in addition to your normal day-to-day role, you may be called on to fulfil roles to assist the Government’s response during crises. On these challenging occasions, you may help lead the response to an evolving situation, often contributing outside your normal area of responsibility. 

Job description

You will be an active member of the team. This will be a stretching and varied role and the post holder will need to be dynamic with the ability to pivot and work at pace. Please note, that all training delivered as part of this role will be delivered in-person from Cabinet Office premises in London. A minimum 60% (3 days) of your working time should be spent at your principal workplace.

Key areas of responsibility include:

• Deliver and facilitate engaging in-person training, adapting content and style for diverse audiences
• Progress all logistical aspects of delivering our successful training programme
• Support the Learning and Development Team in providing an excellent customer experience 
• Work with the Head of Training to effectively manage the training budget
• Manage any contractual relationships for training delivery, including payments, financial management and forecasting etc.
• Collate and analyse feedback from internal and external training programmes for quality assurance, identifying good practice, areas to develop and disseminate reports appropriately
• Provide regular reports on progress against objectives and contribution to strategic goals
• Engage with COBR Unit to ensure a seamless surge capacity system, including oversight of systems for tracking CoP/Profession members and (with the training team) building a pipeline of future capability 

Person specification

Essential Criteria: 

• Educated to Level 3 Award and Training qualification (or equivalent) 
• Training delivery experience
• With understanding and experience of continuous improvement, you have strong analytical skills with the ability to collate, interpret and learn from evaluation, embedding lessons learnt into subsequent activities
• Evidence of strong written and verbal communication with an excellent attention to detail, suitable for delivery across a range of audiences 
• Strong influencing and negotiating skills with the experience of building relationships with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders
• Proven ability to deliver to a high standard remaining calm and effective in a fast-paced environment, whilst working under pressure and managing competing priorities

Desirable Criteria:

• Excellent presentation skills, you will have proficient IT skills (incl. Microsoft and Google). You also have experience of digital content creation (e.g. short videos, bite-size E-learning modules etc..), or an aptitude to learn on the job
• Demonstrated capability to plan over short, medium, and long-term time frames and adjust plans and resource requirements accordingly 
• Experience of working on preparedness for or response to civil emergencies and/or international crises

Level of Security Clearance: 

The successful candidate will require a minimum of Security Clearance (SC) to start work. SC clearance would normally require 5 years UK residency in the past 5 years.  This is not an absolute requirement but supplementary checks may be required where individuals have not lived in the UK for the required period. This may mean that your security clearance (and therefore your appointment) will take longer or, in some cases, not be possible.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £44,500, Cabinet Office contributes £12,015 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 and Experience.

Application process

As part of the application process you will be asked to complete a CV and a 1250 word (maximum) personal statement. Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form. 

Your personal statement should provide examples of how your skills and experience match the 4 behaviours Managing a Quality Service, Delivering at Pace, Working Together and Changing and Improving. The frremaining 250 words should be used to covey your adherance to the Person Specification.

For guidance on how to construct your personal statement, you are encouraged to visit Civil Service Careers. Links – Statement

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

Selection process 

During the in-person interview you will be assessed against your experience, behaviours that are contained in this advert and strength based questions, the strength questions are ones in which we wish to gain your initial response. You will also be asked to provide a 10 minute presentation and candidates will be informed of the subject of the presentation 48 hours (2 working days) before their interview.

Further Information

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

Reasonable Adjustment

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 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 and Barring Service 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. 

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

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.

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.