About the job

Job summary

About us 

The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) is the department for economic growth. The Digital, Data and Technology (DDaT) directorate develops and operates tools and services to support businesses to invest, grow and export, creating jobs and opportunities across the country. 

Job description

About the role  

As Workforce Planning Lead you will work within DDaT Business Operations, which is a cross-cutting function that supports DDaT and DBT corporate services to enable teams to effectively deliver on crucial public facing projects. The Business Operations team is integral to project delivery and supports delivery teams in several ways including providing governance, assurance, finance, commercial, recruitment, capability, and project delivery best practice.   

You will be responsible for strategic workforce planning across DDaT, ensuring that DDaT operates an effective resource and recruitment planning process.  This covers the end-to-end process including recruitment, staff moves and departures.  Given DDaT is continually evolving, you will be pivotal to this work.  You will be supporting colleagues at all levels within DDaT, DBT staff working in DBT’s Resourcing and Finance teams and third-party suppliers of interim labour support.  You will be continually looking for opportunities to improve current ways of working.     

This role also includes task management responsibilities of 1 HEO.   

Person specification

About you  

The ideal candidate will possess strong stakeholder management, being able to communicate difficult messages with confidence and influence senior leadership decision making. You’ll be confident working in challenging situations and leading in complex environments, adapting to a fast-changing environment. Finally, you’ll need to have confident MS365 skills. 

 

Main responsibilities  

You will: 

• Effectively manage DDaT’s people data 
• Work with DDaT line managers to ensure that information on their teams is correct for inclusion on recruitment and resourcing returns; ensure that changes resulting from evolving priorities are reflected in planning returns 
• Work with DBT’s Resourcing Team to validate recruitment priorities and recruitment approvals are sought and recorded accurately.   
• Participate in succession planning meetings to develop and inform the longer-term view of workforce strategy and planning  
• Manage of contingent labour approvals and renewal processes, including working with DBT’s supplier of interim contractors 
• Advise DDaT and DBT senior leadership on complex policy issues with a view to meeting DBT’s wider resourcing priorities. 
• Be the DDaT champion for any requirements and changes resulting from a new supplier of interim labour being appointed 
• Ensure security clearance compliance standards are met as part of recruitment processes 
• Work with colleagues in DBT DDaT and other stakeholders to improve ways of working, workforce planning, processes, and data presentation 
• Build links with other workforce planning experts in DBT and other DDaT functions 
• Respond to regular commissioning, briefing and audit requests from DDaT, DBT and wider government for information on DDaT’s workforce composition and future plans 

 

Skills and experience 

 It is essential that you have: 

• Experience of managing a complex workforce planning process within HR (Human Resources) where regular changes are required in response to changing priorities  

• Strong presentation and communication skills with the ability to communicate with and influence senior leaders  
• Effective decision-making skills, balancing the needs of multiple stakeholders   
• Experience delivering high quality outcomes at pace  
• Experience and confidence using MS365 applications

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £39,384, Department for Business and Trade contributes £10,633 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

How to apply 

As part of the application process you will be asked to upload a two page CV and complete a 500 word personal statement outlining how you meet the essential skills and experience listed above. You can use bullet points and subheadings if you prefer. 

 

Sift will be from week commencing 20th May 2024 

Interviews will be from week commencing 3rd June 2024 

Please note these dates are indicative and may be subject to change. 

If there is a high volume of applications, we will sift looking at your Personal Statement and CV for the essential criteria of ‘Experience of managing a complex workforce planning process of HR (Human Resources) where regular changes are required in response to changing priorities’ . You may then be progressed to full sift or straight to interview.  

How we interview 

At the interview stage for this role, you will be asked to demonstrate relevant Strengths and Behaviours from the Success Profiles framework.  

Behaviours  

• Communicating and Influencing  
• Making Effective Decisions  
• Changing and Improving 

 

Strengths are designed to test your innate talents so are not listed on the advert to ensure you provide a natural answer. 

How we offer 

Offers may be made in merit order based on location preferences. If you pass the bar at interview but are not the highest scoring you will be held on a 12-month reserve list in case a role becomes available. If you are judged a near miss at interview, you may be offered a post at the grade below the one you applied for. 

This role requires SC clearance. DBT’s requirement for SC clearance is to have been present in the UK for at least 3 of the last 5 years. Failure to meet this requirement will result in your application being rejected and your offer will be withdrawn. 

Checks will also be made against: 

• Departmental or company records (personnel files, staff reports, sick leave reports and security records) 
• UK criminal records covering both spent and unspent criminal records 
• Your credit and financial history with a credit reference agency 
• Security services record 
• Location details 

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.