Compliance Officer

Job summary

Can you work confidently with detailed processes and apply a compliance-focused approach to your work?

Do you enjoy building strong relationships with stakeholders and communicating complex technical or regulatory requirements in a clear and accessible way?

Have you got experience reviewing information, maintaining accurate records, and ensuring compliance with policies, procedures or legislative requirements?

If so, we’d love to hear from you!

Climate change is one of the biggest challenges facing governments worldwide. In this role, you will be at the heart of the Department’s strategy to accelerate the transition to greener transport and support more sustainable travel behaviours. The Environment Strategy Directorate leads policies and programmes that help decarbonise transport while maximising economic opportunities for the UK.

Low carbon fuels for road vehicles and aviation are a key part of this approach. The Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) and Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) Mandate are two of the Government’s principal mechanisms for reducing transport emissions.

As part of the RTFO Unit within the Low Carbon Fuels Division, you will help administer these schemes through an online IT system and Microsoft Office tools. You will join a friendly, supportive and collaborative team, working with passionate colleagues who are committed to tackling climate change and delivering the UK’s ambitious transport decarbonisation plans.

Joining our department comes with many benefits, including:

• Employer pension contribution of 28.97% of your salary. Read more about Civil Service Pensions here
• 25 days annual leave, increasing by 1 day each year of service (up to a maximum of 30 days annual leave), plus 8 bank holidays a privilege day for the King’s birthday
• Flexible working options where we encourage a great work-life balance.

Read more in the Benefits section below!

Find out more about what it's like working at Department for Transport Central - Department for Transport Careers

Job description

Your responsibilities will include, but aren’t limited to:

• Administer the online IT system. You will play the role of the system administrator, providing relevant system-related support to fuel suppliers and other system users. You will manage user accounts for eligible fuel suppliers and others to ensure a smooth user experience, and that use aligns with compliance controls, audit requirements, and data integrity standards
• Monitor & Review fuel supplier’s obligations. You will track the third-party provided fuel quantities to determine when a supplier may become obligated under the RTFO and SAF Mandate schemes. Where discrepancies or irregularities are identified, you will work closely with the fuel suppliers and relevant stakeholders to resolve errors, clearly articulating issues and expectations in both written and verbal communications, escalating potential non-compliance issues and applying appropriate compliance interventions where required.
• Process certificate applications in a timely manner. You will work with the rest of the team to review sustainability claims associated with the fuel within certificate applications and make recommendations on approval or rejection. You will coordinate this process according to a strict timetable and facilitate meetings for team discussions, while maintaining an audit trail of outcomes and decisions. This will include preparing clear written summaries and verbal briefings to support decision making, including for senior colleagues where required.
• Act as primary focal point to external stakeholders. You will establish and maintain close and productive professional relationships with biofuel producers, suppliers, and other stakeholders by addressing any compliance or legislative queries regarding the RTFO and SAF Mandate schemes. You will provide written and verbal support, promoting the scheme, reinforcing compliance expectations and clarifying obligations under relevant legislation. You will demonstrate strong stakeholder management skills, including the ability to engage credibly with senior stakeholders, manage expectations, and respond to complex or sensitive queries succinctly, with clarity and authority. You will allocate stakeholder questions to the most relevant team members.
• Maintain up-to-date documentations & record-keeping. You will provide team support to ensure sufficient audit trails by keeping all communications (in forms of emails or otherwise) and documentations recorded according to the team’s filing system. You will manage the team’s email filing system, ensuring records meet audit, assurance, and evidential requirements to support compliance reviews and investigations.

For further information on the role, please read the attached role profile. Please note that the role profile is for information purposes only - whilst all elements are relevant to the role, they may not all be assessed during the recruitment process. This job advert will detail exactly what will be assessed during the recruitment process.

Person specification

We’re looking for someone who enjoys working to procedures and clear steps and interacting with external stakeholders. As the first point of contact for stakeholders, the role requires excellent written communication skills to respond clearly, accurately and consistently on complex regulatory and compliance matters.

You will be instrumental in making sure the schemes run smoothly and play a key role in ensuring the LCF Delivery Unit is working efficiently. You will apply your operational compliance experience to assess and assure adherence to scheme requirements, including sustainability standards through third party assurance, chains of custody in the global supply chain, reconciliation of fuel quantities. The role requires the confidence to engage with a broad range of stakeholders, including senior representatives from industry and Government, translating technical and regulatory requirements into clear, accessible messaging and handling challenge with professionalism and authority.

You will feed into a supportive team who enjoy working together to find solutions to challenges.

Required experience:

To be successful in this role you will need to have the following experience:

• Experience of working within a compliance, regulatory or assurance environment, applying rules, guidance, or legislation in an operational setting.
• Experience of engaging with a range of stakeholders, including senior stakeholders, demonstrating the ability to communicate verbally and in writing succinctly, with confidence, managing challenge, and influencing outcomes.

Additional Information

Working hours, office attendance and travel requirements

Full time roles consist of 37 hours per week.

If you have a question about hybrid working, part time/job share hours, flexible working, travelling for work, or require a reasonable adjustment, please contact the Vacancy Holder during the recruitment process to avoid possible disappointment later in the process should your working arrangements not be compatible with the requirements of the role (see below for contact details).

Visa Sponsorship

DfTc does not offer Visa Sponsorship for this role.

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Managing a Quality Service
• Delivering at Pace
• Working Together
• Communicating and Influencing

We only ask for evidence of these behaviours on your application form:

• Managing a Quality Service

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £30,485, Department for Transport contributes £8,831 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).

Being part of our brilliant Civil Service means you will have access to a wide range of fantastic benefits:

• Employer pension contribution of 28.97% of your salary. Read more about Civil Service Pensions here
• 25 days annual leave, increasing by 1 day each year of service (up to a maximum of 30 days annual leave).
• 8 Bank Holidays plus an additional Privilege Day to mark the King’s birthday.
• Access to the staff discount portal.
• Excellent career development opportunities and the potential to undertake professional qualifications relevant to your role paid for by the department, such as CIPD, Prince2, apprenticeships, etc.
• Joining a diverse and inclusive workforce with a range of staff communities to support all our colleagues.
• 24-hour Employee Assistance Programme providing free confidential help and advice for staff.
• Flexible working options where we encourage a great work-life balance.

Find out more about the benefits of working at DfT and its agencies (opens in a new window).

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 (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

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:

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, behavioural statement & personal statement

Stage 2: Interview

You must be successful at each stage to progress to the next stage.

Stage 1: Sift

At sift, you will be assessed against the following Success Profile elements:

• Behaviours – you will be asked to provide a 250-word statement on the following Behaviours: Managing a Quality of Service.

• Experience – you will be asked to provide a CV (unlimited wordcount) and personal statement (500-word count). Please provide evidence of your Experience of the following:
• Experience of working within a compliance, regulatory or assurance environment, applying rules, guidance, or legislation in an operational setting.
• Experience of engaging with a range of stakeholders, including senior stakeholders, demonstrating the ability to communicate verbally and in writing succinctly, with confidence, managing challenge, and influencing outcomes.

Should a large number of applications be received, an initial sift may be conducted using the lead Success Profile element, Managing a Quality of Service. Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift or progressed straight to assessment/interview.

The sift will take place week commencing 20/07/2026.

Stage 2: Interview

At interview stage, you will be assessed against the following Success Profile elements:

• Behaviours – Managing a Quality of Service, Delivering at Pace, Working Together and Communicating and Influencing.
• Strengths

The interviews will take place week commencing 03/08/2026.

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 (opens in a new window).

Please note that we will try to meet the dates set out in the advert. There may be occasions when these dates will change.

Further information on the selection process

We will also hold a12-month reserve list for this role, which may lead to potential opportunities beyond the role you applied for. You can read more about our reserve lists here.

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

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 are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert or the information on our website, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section.

Further Information

For more information about how we hire, and for useful tips on submitting your application for this role, visit theHow 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.

If your application is successful but you have been dismissed from the Civil Service, your application could be removed at the pre-employment checking stage depending on the nature of the dismissal.

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

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.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see theCivil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

Apply and further information

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) 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 : Dora Kountouros
• Email : Dora.kountouros@dft.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : dftrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

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: dftrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk
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

Attachments

Role profile - EO Compliance Officer final Opens in new window (pdf, 205kB)