Driving Examiner

Job summary

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Do you always drive thoughtfully, safely and follow the Highway Code?

Are you a resilient person who can remain cool, calm, and collected under pressure?

Can you multi-task in a fast-paced environment?

Are you good at giving feedback sensitively?

If so, we’d love to hear from you!

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

Read more in the Benefits section below!

Find out more about what it's like working at DVSA - Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency - Department for Transport Careers

Job description

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) is seeking dedicated individuals to join our team as Driving Examiners. This vital public service role plays an important part in keeping Britain’s roads safe, as well as connecting people and their communities.

As a Driving Examiner, you will work at a DVSA driving test centre with a team of professionals. You will spend your day conducting driving tests; each test is approximately 57 minutes long and Examiners working full-time are expected to complete 7 tests a day. During the tests you will:

• Communicate clearly with members of the public, giving clear instructions
• Put nervous drivers at ease
• Keep yourself, the driver, and other members of the public safe
• Have a strong awareness of your surroundings both within and outside of the car
• Use a tablet to record results during tests, maintaining accurate records
• Assess the competence of driver’s undertaking practical driving tests, evaluating their ability to drive safely and responsibly under varying road and traffic conditions. Ensure that only those who meet the required standards are granted a driving license
• Hold difficult conversations with the driver and deliver driving test outcomes sensitively, clearly, and professionally

As well as carrying out driving tests you’ll be collaborating with colleagues, discussing the current local traffic conditions on test routes and finding alternatives if there are problems like roadworks, and sharing ideas about how to improve the service for customers as well light admin such as writing up feedback for test candidates, checking your schedule and answering customer queries.

At all times, our Driving Examiners uphold impartiality, professionalism, and integrity, and act as a role model for the DVSA and Civil Service.

Want to know more? Check out our Careers site: Driving Examiner Roles - Department for Transport Careers

Person specification

We are looking for individuals who:

• Are aged 23 or over (a requirement of the 3rd EU Driving Licence Directive - Directive 006/126)
• Have held a full manual UK or EU driving licence continuously for the last 3 years
• Have no more than 3 penalty points on their licence at time of application
• Understand and can demonstrate what safe driving looks like (you don't need a background in driver training or a driving-related profession)
• Are resilient and remain calm and composed in stressful situations
• Are able to efficiently manage multiple tasks simultaneously
• Have strong observational skills and attention to detail
• Have excellent communication skills, with the ability to give clear instructions, hold difficult conversations, and deliver messages sensitively
• Can adapt their style to a diverse range of customers to ensure that every driver feels respected
• Make fair, impartial, evidence-based decisions
• Uphold high standards of professionalism and integrity
• Are willing to travel to various test centres as required

Training

After the onboarding process is complete successful candidates will start a 5 -week Driving Examiner training programme. This will equip you with everything that you need to know for the role.

All Driving Examiners must pass this training programme. It is comprehensive and fast-paced so before you apply, please ensure that you are ready and willing to undertake the 5-week full time training programme. Driving Examiners can work a range of work patterns but) the training is delivered on a full time basis to allow you the necessary time to learn the skills for the role.

• Week 1: at your designated test centre
• Weeks 2, 3, 4, and 5: Driving test control & assessment training at a regional training facility. This may be residential, with expenses covered by DVSA

For external candidates please note, if you do not successfully complete the training programme, your employment with DVSA will be terminated.

Existing Civil Servants can be appointed on inward loan subject to the terms of a short-term loan agreement for which your home department will be liable for salary costs for the duration of the training course. If you successfully complete the training, you will be transferred permanently to DVSA, but if you are unsuccessful, you will not be able to take up employment with DVSA and will return to your previous department. Please ensure that you discuss and agree this with your current department before accepting a post.

Working hours, office attendance and travel requirements

Full-time Driving Examiners work 37 hours a week over seven days. One weekend day is required to be worked each month, but you’ll get a weekday off each time one is scheduled.

This role is not suitable for hybrid working and will require the successful candidate to work solely from a DVSA driving test centre.

If you have a question about work patterns or flexible working, or require a reasonable adjustment, please contact the vacancy holder (DVSA email address at the bottom of the advert.

If you want to find out more about the application process and what to expect as an applicant, please register for one of our Driving Examiner information sessions below:-

February 20th 5pm-6pm

February 23rd 11am-12pm

February 23rd 5pm-6pm

February 26th 5pm-6pm

Licences

You must have held a full manual UK or EU driving licence continuously for the last 3 years.

You’ll also need to have no more than 3 penalty points on your licence at time of application.

Behaviours

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

• Managing a Quality Service
• Communicating and Influencing
• Working Together
• Making Effective Decisions

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £30,485, Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency 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.

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 and Experience.

How to apply:

Our selection process ensures a comprehensive assessment of each applicant's skills and potential fit within our organisation. The selection process for this role will be:

Stage 1: Sift of personal statement

Stage 2: Interview

Stage 3: Driving Assessment

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:

Experience – you will be asked to provide a 250 - word personal statement. Please provide evidence of your experience in the following:

• Describe an example from your experience where you have delivered high-quality customer service while remaining calm under pressure. Explain how you maintained a respectful, customer-focused approach to ensure a positive outcome.

The sift results are expected to be released week commencing 9th March 2026.

Stage 2: Interview

At interview stage, you will be assessed against the following behaviours:

• Managing a Quality Service
• Communicating & Influencing
• Working Together
• Making Effective Decisions

The interviews are scheduled to take place week commencing 16th March and week commencing 23rd March 2026 only.

If you cannot attend on the dates outlined, we will not be able to reschedule.

This interview will be conducted online via Microsoft Teams. Further details will be provided if you are selected for interview.

Stage 3 – Driving Assessment

Successful interview candidates will be invited to book themselves a slot at one of our driving assessment centres.

The driving assessment will be in a manual car provided by DVSA. You will be expected to drive on various types of roads and in different traffic conditions.

The driving assessment stages are currently scheduled to take place from 31st March until 15th April 2026.

If you cannot attend on the dates outlined, we will not be able to reschedule.

More detailed guidance will be provided if you are invited to the assessment.

You can find out more about our hiring process, 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. We’ll give you notice of any change to important dates.

Further information on the selection process

During your application, tell us which cluster you wish to be considered for. If successful, you will be placed on a success list of candidates for that cluster and offers will be made in merit order. We advise you to carefully consider your cluster choice. If you decline an offer for your preferred cluster your application will be withdrawn. If your preferred cluster is already filled, we may offer you an alternative cluster within a reasonable travelling distance. If you decline an alternative cluster, you will not be removed from the reserve list. You will not be offered locations outside a reasonable travelling distance.

Where we cannot make an immediate offer we will hold a 12-month reserve list for this role, which may lead to potential opportunities. You can read more about our reserve lists here.

Please note - As part of the pre-employment checks all potential new entrant driving examiners will be required to undergo a DBS check initiated by DVSA that is processed by the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). This check is a full enhanced check, which shows the same as a standard check plus any information held by local police that’s considered relevant to the role. This is due to the fact that our Driving Examiner role is part of the notifiable occupation scheme.

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.

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 hocandidates.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk 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 DRGComms@dft.gov.uk for assistance.

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.

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) (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 : DVSA Frontline Recruitment Team
• Email : Frontline.Recruitment@DVSA.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : Hocandidates.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: Click here (https://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk/) to visit Civil Service Commission

Attachments

Role Profile Opens in new window (pdf, 294kB)Cluster Locations c22 Opens in new window (pdf, 72kB)LWA C22 Opens in new window (pdf, 31kB)