Details
Reference number
448787
Salary
£24,548
A Civil Service Pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%
GBP
Job grade
Executive Officer
Contract type
Fixed term
Length of employment
This is a 12 month internship to start 31/08/2026 to 29/08/2027
Business area
ATE - Inspectorate
Type of role
Engineering
Planning
Project Delivery
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
York
About the job
Job summary
Are you in your last two years at university, studying for a degree in an active travel design related discipline?
Do you have a curious personality?
Looking for a placement during your degree?
Active Travel England is enabling people nationwide to be more active by making streets safe and accessible for walking, wheeling and cycling. We do this by building capability across the country to deliver high-quality networks, routes and places. We engage, we enable, we assure and we advocate to make active travel a core part of transport planning.
At the heart of everything we do is raising standards in street design, to ensure our country's streets become safer and more accessible.
Find out more about what it's like working at Active Travel England - Department for Transport Careers
Job description
Our Inspectorate is focused on increasing the capability of local authorities through the provision of support, training and technical expertise. We inspect final schemes, but our focus is on early intervention to ensure quality is designed into schemes.
You might be the support behind the guidance or providing valuable help to the enabling directorates. During your placement, you will understand the impact you can make to the lives of real people in local communities and the considerable contribution to both local and national economies while improving people's quality of life, saving households money, and helping to address some of the key public health and environmental challenges of our time. Supported by our design community your growth will be nurtured as you apply existing and new skills to genuine projects.
ATE internship opportunity
You will be provided with a structured programme but will also have the opportunity to identify areas of interest to you.
On your internship you will:
* Observe and learn from ATE Inspectors to understand engagement and liaise with Authority partners and DfT colleagues
* Learn about ATE's policies, procedures and culture
* Take part in design review meetings
* Undertake design checks using ATE tools
* Contribute to the research library and extend ATE's resources
* Assist with research on the tools and policies applied to active travel design assurance
Open Sessions:
Would you like to find out more about the role, the team and what it's like to work in our department? If so, we are organising an open session where you can virtually 'meet the team' on 03/03/2026 at 17:00. Sign up here
Person specification
We are looking for someone:
1. Who is studying for a degree in an active travel design related discipline (in your final 2 years at university). - see attached course list).
2. Effective communication and interpersonal skills.
3. Good organisational skills and good attention to detail.
4. Hard working and motivated.
5. Open to taking on new roles/tasks and delivering quality results to set deadlines.
Working hours, office attendance and travel requirements
Full time roles consist of 37 hours per week.
This role is suitable for hybrid working, which is a non-contractual arrangement where a combination of workplace and home-based working can be accommodated subject to business requirements.
The expectation at present is a minimum of 60% of your working time a month will be spent at either your designated workplace (one of the locations cited in the advert) or, when required for business reasons, in another office/work location/visiting stakeholders. Your designated workplace will be your contractual place of work. There may be occasions where you are required to attend above the minimum expectation.
Visa Sponsorship
Please note that we do not hold a UK Visa & Immigration (UKVI) Skilled Worker Licence sponsor and are unable to sponsor any individuals for Skilled Worker Sponsorship. Candidates must ensure they have the appropriate rights to work in the UK before application.
Qualifications
To be eligible to apply for one of our placements you must be studying for a degree in an active travel design related discipline (in your final 2 years at university). Please see attached document which lists accepted degree/courses.
You will be required to provide evidence that you hold any essential qualifications/licenses at some point during the recruitment process. If you cannot provide evidence, your application will be withdrawn.
Behaviours
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
* Working Together
* Developing Self and Others
We only ask for evidence of these behaviours on your application form:
* Working Together
Benefits
Alongside your salary of £24,548, Active Travel England contributes £7,111 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%
Things you need to know
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.
Selection process details
This vacancy is using Success Profiles, and will assess your Behaviours, Strengths and Experience.
How to apply:
Our selection process ensures a comprehensive assessment of each applicant's qualifications, skills, and potential fit within our organisation.
The selection process for this role will be:
Stage 1: Sift of CV and personal statement
Stage 2: Interview
You must be successful at each stage to progress to the next stage.
Stage 1: Sift
* A written behavioural example in 250 words that provides evidence of you having demonstrated the following:
* Working Together -Please provide an example of where you have collaborated with colleagues to achieve a desired outcome.
* A tailored CV that demonstrates suitability to the role and the essential criteria.
* Personal statement in 750 words providing detailed experience of the following:
* How this opportunity aligns to your studies and what you hope to gain from it;
* Your experience of carrying out research and gathering data; and
* Your experience of proactively contributing to the work of the whole team, while remaining open to taking on new roles/tasks and delivering quality results to the deadline.
The sift will take place week commencing 09/03/2026
Stage 2: Interview
At interview stage, you will be assessed against the following Success Profile elements:
* Behaviours – Developing Self and others
* Strengths
The interviews will take place week commencing 13/04/2026
This interview will be conducted online via Microsoft Teams. Further details will be provided to you should you be selected for interview.
You can find out more about our hiring process, how to apply, and application and interview guidance on our careers site .
Please note that we will try to meet the dates set out in the advert. There may be occasions when these dates will change
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 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 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.
All External applicants and current employees of accredited non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) will be required to undergo a Social Media Check. A Social Media Check is a review of your publicly available online activity, typically across platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, and others. The purpose is to identify any public posts or content that could raise concerns for employers, such as:
Hate speech or discriminatory behaviour
Threats or acts of violence
Illegal activity or substance misuse
Sexually explicit material
Extremist views or affiliations
Importantly, this check does not involve hacking into your accounts or accessing private messages. It only considers content you have chosen to make public.
Employers use this kind of screening to help ensure their workplace remains safe, inclusive, and aligned with company values. It's not about judging your personality or lifestyle—it's about checking for potential red flags that might affect the role or company culture.
If you have questions or concerns about the social media check, we would be happy to explain in more detail what's being looked at and how your data is handled securely and fairly.
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)
* 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 : ATE HR
* Email :
Recruitment team
* Email :
Further information
If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles and you wish to make a complaint, in the first instance, you should contact Government Recruitment Services via email:
If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Department, you can contact the Civil Service Commission: Visit the Civil Service Commission website Here