Details
Reference number
426267
Salary
£42,391 - £50,282
National pay range: £42,391 - £46,465; London pay range: £46,290 - £50,282
A Civil Service Pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%
GBP
Job grade
Senior Executive Officer
Contract type
Permanent
Business area
DBT - ESTR - Geopolitics and Economic Security
Type of role
Policy
Working pattern
Flexible working, Full-time, Job share, Part-time
Number of jobs available
1
Contents
* Location
* About the job
* Benefits
* Things you need to know
* Apply and further information
Location
Darlington, London
About the job
Job summary
The Department for Business and Trade is the department for economic growth. We support businesses to invest, grow and export, creating jobs and opportunities across the country.
We are looking for an enthusiastic and high-performing individual to join the Geopolitics team in the Geopolitics and Economic Security Directorate in DBT. The Directorate's mission is to lead DBT in safely growing and navigating the UK economy in line with Trade and Industrial strategies through geostrategic shifts, security issues, changing multilateral trading systems, and the evolving trading environment. The Geopolitics team contributes to that by:
* Providing a cross-cutting geopolitical perspective for relevant trade policy decisions;
* Raising DBT awareness of how the geopolitical context impacts on delivery of trade objectives, and how the department can/should navigate international volatility;
* Representing DBT across Whitehall on geopolitics and the evolving strategic context, ensuring that business and trade issues are given the appropriate focus;
* Supporting intra-departmental analysis and reporting on global challenges, including identification of risks and opportunities, risk mitigations, and response to crises;
* Deploying our assessment of the geopolitical context in support of engagement with international stakeholders and with business.
Job description
As Geopolitics Policy Advisor, you will work as part of a growing and friendly team working at the intersection of international trade and foreign policy.
Roles and responsibilities are likely to include:
* Management and delivery of cross-cutting projects which help elevate DBT's understanding of geopolitical risks and how to navigate the volatile international environment;
* Leading on briefing, correspondence, Ministerial speeches and parliamentary questions on geopolitical issues;
* Management of the Directorate's planning and mitigation on geopolitical risk, feeding into the Department-wide Principal Risk Committee;
* Playing an active corporate role to help ensure the geopolitics team is a great place to work and that we fulfil our corporate responsibilities on e.g., information management.
Person specification
The below is a list of characteristics which may be helpful in this role. These will not be assessed throughout the recruitment process, but are laid out to help candidates understand more about the role.
You will have an interest in international trade, national security, foreign policy and how they all intersect. Working on an ever-evolving and sensitive set of issues, you will have the capacity to grasp complex issues quickly, distil multiple perspectives into a clear strategic brief and work with discretion. You will be a self-starter, ready to build networks across the department and HMG (particularly FCDO) to advise seniors, lead DBT's input into briefing, and promote DBT's role in government's wider objectives.
Essential criteria
The below criteria are essential and will be assessed at application stage.
* Strong verbal and written communication skills, and experience of coordinating and writing briefing at pace;
* Strong collaboration and interpersonal skills, with the ability and confidence to develop and manage productive relationships across DBT and other Whitehall departments;
* Excellent organisational and prioritisation skills;
* Interest in and understanding of international trade, geopolitics, strategy and how they intersect;
* A proactive, can-do attitude and entrepreneurial spirit, willing to own and drive forward workstreams with relative independence;
* A minimum of SC at the time of joining the team, and willingness to undergo DV clearance.
This role requires regular access to classified material and therefore you must be willing and able to travel into the office to attend classified meetings and access secure IT, sometimes at short notice.
We warmly welcome applications from individuals from all backgrounds, as we seek diverse skills, experiences, and perspectives to bring real strength to our teams and the wider department. We would encourage anyone who is unsure if this role is right for them to speak to the hiring manager. All applications will be considered on individual merit.
Desirable criteria
The below criteria are desirable only. These will not be assessed throughout the recruitment process, but will be used in the event of tied scores between candidates.
* Previous experience working in strategy or other cross-cutting roles;
* Experience working overseas or in other international settings;
* Existing DV clearance.
Behaviours
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
* Seeing the Big Picture
* Communicating and Influencing
* Working Together
* Managing a Quality Service
Benefits
Alongside your salary of £42,391, Department for Business and Trade contributes £12,280 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.
* Learning and development tailored to your role
* An environment with flexible working options
* A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
* A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%
We recognise the challenges that people with (multiple) 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.
Things you need to know
Selection process details
This vacancy is using Success Profiles, and will assess your Behaviours, Strengths and Experience.
Interviews for this vacancy will be conducted virtually. We will, however, consider in-person interviews by exception.
Please ensure that you check your emails regularly as all updates from us will be sent to you this way.
To apply for this post, you will be asked to complete the following as part of the online application:
* A CV setting out your career history, with key responsibilities and achievements. Provide employment history that relates to the essential criteria, and that any gaps in employment history within the last 2 years are explained. The CV should not exceed more than 2 x A4 pages.
* A Personal Statement of up to 500 words, explaining how you consider your personal skills, qualities and experience provide evidence of your suitability for the role in reference to the essential criteria.
Your application will be sifted against the Experience criteria of the Civil Service Success Profiles.
It is likely that the sift will take place 1-2 weeks after the closing date and interviews 3-5 weeks after the closing date, though this is subject to change.
We aim to sift both the CV and the Personal Statement but, in the event of a large number of applicants, an initial short sift may be conducted on the Personal Statement only. Candidates who pass the initial sift of the Personal Statement will either progressed to a full sift where the CV is then assessed, or progressed straight to further assessment/interview.
Candidates who pass the sift will be invited to interview, where we will assess you on the Success Profiles elements of Behaviours and Strengths.
Reasonable Adjustments
We are committed to supporting candidates so they can perform at their best throughout the recruitment process. This includes making reasonable adjustments to our process. In order to request an adjustment:
Complete the 'Assistance required' section on the 'Additional requirements' page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process.
Alternatively contact the Government Recruitment Service at as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.
If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section.
Please see attached Candidate Pack for further information on: Diversity and Inclusion; Benefits; Learning and Development; Working Patterns and what we deliver as a department.
Further Information:
* A reserve list may be held for a period of 12 months from which further appointments can be made. Reserve Lists will be for each location and appointments made in merit order based on location preferences.
* Any move to the Department for Business and Trade from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments.
* The Department will not consider sponsoring a visa or issuing a Certificate of Sponsorship. We are unable to offer advice on any Visa and Immigration cases.
* 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. Any applicant who has 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.
* Terms and Conditions are attached. Please take time to read the document to determine how these may affect you.
* Please note – the successful candidate will be expected to remain in post for a minimum of 18 months before being released for another role.
* This role may be considered as a secondment opportunity. Please reach out to the hiring manager listed at the bottom of this advert to discuss.
* Candidates that do not quite meet the standard for this role may be offered a position at a lower grade.
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- stating the job reference number in the subject heading.
Vetting
The requirement for SC clearance is to have been present in the UK for at least 3 of the last 5 years. Failure to meet the residency requirements will result in your security clearance application being rejected.
For further information on National Security Vetting please visit the Demystifying Vetting website.
Feedback
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 .
See our vetting charter .
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)
* 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
Working for the Civil Service
The Civil Service Code 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 .
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.
Diversity and Inclusion
The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy .
Apply and further information
This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans initiative.
The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window).
Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.
Contact point for applicants
Job contact :
* Name : Lorna Pugh
* Email :
Recruitment team
* Email :
Further information
Our recruitment process is underpinned by the principle of appointment on the basis of fair and open competition and appointment on merit, as outlined in the Civil Service Commissioners' Recruitment Principles.
If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with these principles and you wish to make a complaint, you should in the first instance contact DBT by email:
If you are not satisfied with the response you receive, you can contact the Civil Service Commission, which regulates all Civil Service recruitment.
For further information on bringing a complaint to the Civil Service Commission please visit their web pages: Click here to visit Civil Service Commission/Complaints.