Deputy Head - Civil Service Recruitment Policy

Job summary

Government People Group

Government People Group (GPG) is the strategic and functional centre for the Government People Function and human resources (HR) in the Civil Service.

Led by the Joint Interim Government Chief People Officers, Caitlin Kinsella and Janette Durbin, we enable and improve the delivery of recruitment, training, workplace policy, HR strategy and management excellence to over half a million civil servants.

From recruitment to retirement, GPG is at the forefront of working with ministers and departments to ensure the Civil Service is equipped to deliver for UK citizens. Some of our work includes:

• Leading on cross-government HR strategy, organisation design and workforce planning.
• Procuring and delivering training and development schemes for the Civil Service.
• Delivering recruitment services, guidance and expertise to departments.
• Coordinating and advising departments on pay, pensions and employee policy.
• Setting standards and guidance for line managers and senior civil servants.
• Coordinating the implementation of the Shared Services Strategy for Government.
• Enhancing employee experience to promote an engaged workforce and culture of performance excellence.

Civil Service People Plan 2024-27

A shared aim of all civil servants working in the Government People Function is to support the delivery of the Civil Service People Plan 2024-2027.

The People Plan outlines five People Priorities for the Civil Service, alongside 45 commitments to address our most pressing and immediate people challenges. Departmental plans and strategies also align with and contribute towards the People Plan.

Centre of Recruitment Expertise (CoRE)

CoRE is a small team of 7 recruitment policy and strategy experts (3 team leaders and 4 senior policy consultants) who look after some of the biggest strategic recruitment issues in the Civil Service, working with colleagues across the system and wider industry to deliver the highest quality advice and solutions for Ministers and Senior Leaders in the Civil Service.

We are a high performing team with Civil Service and private sector experience where everyone feels welcome and has the opportunity to demonstrate their full potential, celebrating successes and supporting one another as a team.

Job description

We have some big challenges that we need your help to solve:

We are making the Civil Service an employer of choice, especially the Senior Civil Service and you’ll develop a new SCS Attraction Strategy and EVP to recruit leaders with innovation, frontline, and private-sector skills and experience (as seen in our Minister’s January 2026 speech).

We are simplifying and improving recruitment, and you’ll be delivering Ministerial ambitions to improve job applications, remove systemic barriers, and create a new candidate-focused standard for job adverts. This needs to be evidence-led and strategic.

We need a leader who will drive improvements to recruitment across the Civil Service, taking advantage of our leading programme of Test and Learn initiatives to capture and develop innovation and improvement activity across the Civil Service.

We aim to be a source of really high quality advice, solutions and expertise, and you’ll own various cross-government recruitment policies to enable highly effective recruitment delivery, responding at pace to provide briefings for Ministerial speeches, and responses to parliamentary correspondence.

We are a strong, supportive team and you’ll provide consistent, high-quality line management for 1 or 2 reports, role modelling excellent leadership in the team and across Government People Group.

Person specification

Essential

• Chartered Membership of CIPD (or be working towards it).
• Proven experience developing complex HR policy solutions and navigating established controls to meet shifting political and operational needs.
• Experience identifying barriers and blockers in HR, recruitment or professional processes and delivering simplified, user-focused solutions.
• Excellent verbal and written skills with a demonstrated ability to draft clear, concise, and impactful policies and briefings for Senior Ministers and Functional Boards.
• A track record of building trusting relationships with senior stakeholders and peers alike, working effectively within a high-performing team to achieve shared goals.
• Ability to interpret and produce insights from data that they can communicate clearly to guide strategic decision-making.

Desirable

• HR professional with significant recruitment, recruitment marketing or attraction experience.
• A proactive approach to challenging how activity is currently conducted, with the resilience to drive innovation in a complex, multi-departmental environment.
• A commitment to fostering a culture where bullying, harassment, and discrimination have no place, role-modelling inclusive leadership at all times.

Additional information:

Cabinet Office policy is that a minimum 60% of your working time should be spent at your principal workplace. For some roles, due to their nature and the business need, this may be up to 100%. Requirements to attend other locations for official business will also count towards this level of attendance.

Behaviours

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

• Making Effective Decisions
• Leadership
• Communicating and Influencing
• Delivering at Pace

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £57,204, Cabinet Office contributes £16,571 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 which provides an attractive pension, benefits for dependants and employer contributions of 28.97%.
• A minimum of 25 days of paid annual leave, increasing by one day per year up to a maximum of 30.

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, Ability and Experience.

After submission of the first stage of your application you will be invited to complete a Civil Service Verbal Test. If you successfully pass the test, you will be invited to complete the final stage of the application.

Please complete the online tests as soon as possible (within 24-48 hours is recommended), the closing date for the tests is 23:55 on 17/05/2026. If you fail to complete the online test before the deadline your application will be withdrawn. Guidance for the test will be available when you are invited to take the test. The tests are administered online and accessed via the CS Jobs website.

Application process

To apply for the role, you will need to provide a CV that shows how your previous experience aligns with the essential and desirable criteria, and complete a verbal reasoning ability test. These will be used to shortlist candidates for interview.

Selection process

At interview, you will be asked to complete a 5 minute presentation on “How I would solve recruitment issues in the Civil Service?” ahead of a standard behavioural interview assessed against Making Effective Decisions, Leadership, Communicating and Influencing, and Delivering at Pace.

Expected timeline (subject to change)

Expected sift date – 18th May

Expected interview date/s – 25th May

Interview location - Your interview will either be conducted face to face or by video. You will be notified of the location if you are selected for 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; for further information visit the Childcare Choices website.

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

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/Disclosure Scotland 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.

For further information on the Disclosure Scotland confidential checking service telephone: the Disclosure Scotland Helpline on 0870 609 6006 and ask to speak to the operations manager in confidence, or email Info@disclosurescotland.co.uk

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.

Please be aware the levels of national security clearance are changing which may impact on the level needed for this role by the time of appointment. All efforts will be made to keep candidates informed of any changes and what that will mean in terms of vetting criteria. For more information please See our vetting charter

For further information on National Security Vetting please visit the Demystifying Vetting website.

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

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.

Please note terms and conditions are attached. Please take time to read the document to determine how these may affect you.

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 counter-terrorist 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.

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 : Adam Wigley
• Email : adam.wigley1@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

Recruitment team

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

Further information

Appointment to the Civil Service is governed by the Civil Service Commission’s Recruitment Principles. If you feel that your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles, and wish to make a complaint, then in the first instance you should contact Government Recruitment Service by email at : cabinetofficerecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk
If you are not satisfied with the response you receive, then you can contact the Civil Service Commission at info@csc.gov.uk. For further information on the Recruitment Principles and bringing a complaint to the Civil Service Commission, please visit their website at: https://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk/.

Attachments

Cabinet Office Employee Offer (2) Opens in new window (pdf, 302kB)Cabinet Office Terms and Conditions - External 2025-02-20 (2) Opens in new window (docx, 94kB)