Head of Secretary of State’s Delivery Unit

Job summary

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is the UK government department responsible for safeguarding our natural environment, supporting our world-leading food and farming industry, and sustaining a thriving rural economy. Our broad remit means we play a major role in people's day-to-day life, from the food we eat, and the air we breathe, to the water we drink.

The Strategy Directorate is a fast-paced, dynamic, and challenging environment. Our purpose is to give a high quality and timely service to Ministers and the Permanent Secretary, and to ensure that Defra group is able to achieve its strategic objectives.

We work in support of Defra’s strategic objectives, look at how we can join up with other initiatives across the organisation to get things done, support each other to deliver excellent work, help Defra to make good decisions and we identify and unblock barriers to change.

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.

This role can be based at any Main Defra Policy Hub. You will be expected to attend your contractual office 60% of the time.

Job description

Defra’s Delivery Unit (DU) was set up in January 2023 as a new, powerful capability at the heart of Defra to drive forward the department’s ambitious agenda. Defra’s DU focuses on delivery of the Secretary of State’s (SoS) highest priorities. The unit works very closely with SoS, her wider Ministerial team, the Permanent Secretary and Director Generals to drive forward tangible progress.

In your role as joint Head of the Unit, you will oversee two main functions. Firstly, a traditional Delivery Unit operating model where you will work to define and drive priorities, testing the strength of delivery plans, monitoring performance, assessing delivery confidence and supporting policy teams to tackle challenges. You will drive progress in the department through delivery routines and sharp, actionable advice. This includes leading SoS Delivery Stocktakes and authoring monthly Delivery Notes.

Secondly, leading small mixed teams to deliver time-limited sprints commissioned by the political team, the Perm Sec or other senior officials. Recent examples of this have included red-teaming Defra’s reforms of its largest farming fund, a deep dive into the challenges of the flood insurance market and shaping a new taskforce to monitor infrastructure delivery by the water sector.

You will work in close collaboration with the DU’s Head of Analysis, leading joint or individual projects, and ensuring the DU’s service to the department is continually improving and adapting.

This is a demanding and intellectually stimulating role, providing an opportunity to combine your ability to rapidly structure problems, with an ability to influence the most senior decision makers in Defra. While leading on a particular area, the successful candidate will also need to respond nimbly to other priorities – while the Unit will be very focused on delivering key elements of the SoS’s agenda, we want to ensure we can help bring rigour and support to other policy and delivery challenges.

Person specification

Main responsibilities include:

• Convening the department to drive progress on the biggest issues through SoS stocktakes.
• Leading time-limited problem solving sprints in support of SROs throughout the department.
• Leading a high performing team of 4 G7s and working alongside analytical colleagues in the DU, to drive forward progress together.
• Working closely with relevant teams across the Defra Group to define delivery success – providing advice about ambitious but achievable targets and trajectories and scrutinising plans for their delivery.
• Rigorously and objectively assessing delivery performance – drawing on quantitative and qualitative evidence to appraise whether performance is on track or at risk, and why this is the case.
• Identifying interventions, drawing on creative ways of working and structuring a problem.
• Persuasively negotiating with very senior stakeholders within Defra to gain buy-in for your team’s solution and drive the best outcome for the public. Acting as an advisor to the SoS, providing open, candid and independent advice on delivery status.

To be successful in this role you will need to be able to demonstrate the following experience and skills:

• You will be an inclusive and collaborative leader of high performing teams. You’ll be able to support and guide your team to delivery excellent results and be comfortable getting involved in the detail of what your team are working on.
• The ability to manage complex projects in a multi-stakeholder environment, driving progress at pace, in the face of a range of competing views and priorities.
• Excellent problem solving and analytical skills providing you with the ability to rapidly structure a problem and the ability to interrogate data and evidence in order to hold teams to account for their delivery. Critically, you should have the ability to interpret an examine question and use this to define an approach that will deliver the intended result.
• Political awareness and strategic analysis skills that can be deployed flexibly across a wide range of priorities.
• Highly developed networking skills. An ability to quickly build strong relationships and operate with very senior stakeholders to navigate the department.
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to translate complex information into meaningful, easily understood narratives to persuade stakeholders incl. ministers to take a particular action and to aid decision making.
• A demonstrated understanding of complex delivery systems.

Behaviours

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

• Making Effective Decisions
• Delivering at Pace
• Seeing the Big Picture
• Leadership

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £67,730, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs contributes £19,621 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.A career in the Civil Service is like no other. If you’re looking to join a world class team and develop your career with us, then the Civil Service is the place for you! You might be wondering, “what’s in it for me”? Take a look below at some of the benefits available to you as a civil servant in Defra.

Strategy Directorate Benefits

Learning and Development
Everyone in Defra is supported to develop their skills and capabilities. When you join the Directorate, you will be welcomed into your new team through an induction programme that will provide you with helpful information on the civil service, Defra, our work and our policies. Your line manager will also work with you to establish your priorities for the year, developing a performance, learning and development plan tailored to you and your role, while also working with you to connect you with a civil service mentor to help empower you in your new role with the opportunity to benefit from paid for coaching.

Most importantly, we’re keen to invest in you! As a civil servant, you will also have access to Civil Service Learning where you can participate in professional development programmes across a wide spectrum of subjects and professions.

Department Benefits

Technology
We’re a firm believer in agile and flexible working. When you join Defra, we’ll kit you out with a new Windows 10 Laptop, smartphone and rucksack to make sure that you perform your best wherever you are.

Leave
25 days' paid leave per annum rising to 30 days after five years’ service, in addition to eight public holidays and the King’s Birthday privilege day. We also offer
- competitive maternity, paternity, parental and adoption leave;
- study leave for the pursuit of academic studies;
- 3 days paid leave for volunteering per annum;
- 15 days paid leave per year for reservist training; and,
- generous paid sick leave.

Cycle to Work Scheme
Defra loans you a bike for your commute as a tax-free benefit. At the end of the loan period, you have the option to buy the bike, saving 30% of the original cost.

Season Ticket and Bicycle Loan
We offer interest-free season ticket loans, to all Defra employees with more than three months’ service, for purchasing train and bus season tickets, as well as station car parking. For those unable to take advantage of tax-free benefits, we also offer an interest-free bicycle loan to enable the purchase of a bicycle for commuting.

Gym, Social and Sports Activities
Our offices have a range of different onsite facilities, including gym, fitness facilities, games room, showers and cycle storage. There are also a variety of networks and social groups to join. Ask your line manager for more information.

Restaurant and Café Facilities
A range of our offices offer onsite restaurant and café facilities.

Civil Service Benefits

Pension
Your pension is a valuable part of your total reward package, and you will be given the chance to join one of three different pension plans. You can find more information on the Civil Service Pension on the MyCSP Website at www.civilservicepensionscheme.org.uk

Civil Service Sports Council
The Civil Service Sports Council (CSSC) organises a wide choice of activities throughout the UK, from art, gliding, abseiling and orienteering to cabaret weekends and quiz and curry nights. Your CSSC membership will provide you with FREE access to hundreds of national and local sites, in addition to savings at many high street stores, cinemas, restaurants and historic houses.

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.

Application Process

As part of the application process you will be asked to complete a CV and a 1000 word Personal Statement

Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.

Sift

Should a large number of applications be received, an initial sift may be conducted using the Personal Statement Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift or progressed straight to assessment/interview.

Sifting is likely to be w/c 1st June with interviews likely to take place10-14days after. These dates are indicative only.

Interview

If successful at application stage, you will be invited to interview where you will be assessed on Behaviours and a Presentation Question based on your experience

Interviews are expected to last no longer than 60 Minutes .

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.

Sift and interview dates to be confirmed.

Location

As part of the pre-employment process for this post, successful candidate(s) will be able to agree a contractual workplace from those locations listed in this advert. The agreed contractual workplace is then the substantive and permanent place of work for the successful candidate(s).

Where the location is ‘National’ the successful appointee should discuss and agree an appropriate contractual location in line with both Defra’s location policy and site capacity, prior to proceeding with pre-employment processes.

The agreed amount of time spent at a workplace for this post will reflect the requirement for Civil Servants to spend at least 60% of their working time in an organisation workplace with the option to work the remaining time flexibly from home. Working time spent at a workplace may include time spent at other organisational locations including field-based operational locations, together with supplier, customer or partner locations. This is a non-contractual agreement which is consistent with common Civil Service expectations.

Travel costs to non-contractual workplaces will be subject to departmental travel and subsistence policies. Travel costs to contractual workplaces are the responsibility of the employee.

The successful candidate is required to carry out all their duties from a UK location, and cannot do so from an overseas location at any time.

Defra includes the core department, APHA, RPA, Cefas and VMD.

Reserve List

A reserve list may be held for a period of 12 months from which further appointments can be made.

Merit Lists

Where more than one location is advertised, candidates will be appointed in merit order for each location. You will be asked to state your location preference on your application.

Salary

New entrants to the Civil Service are expected to start on the minimum of the pay band. The internal roles rules apply to existing Civil Servants, i.e. level transfers move on current salary or the pay range minimum, transfers on promotion move to new pay range minimum or receive 10% increase. Either case is determined by whichever is the highest.

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 defrarecruitment.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.

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.

Criminal Record Check

If successful and transferring from another Government Department, a criminal record check maybe carried out.

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 recognize in exceptional circumstance 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-Employment.Checks@cabinetoffice.gov.uk stating the job reference number in the subject heading.

Internal Fraud Database Check

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.

Higher Security Clearance

All of these posts require the successful candidate to hold basic security clearance. Candidates posted to London may be subject to a higher level of clearance because of the security requirements for that location. Job offers to these posts are made on the basis of merit. Security vetting will only take place after the receipt of a job offer.

If you are successful at interview, we will ask you to undertake basic security clearance before the role is confirmed. If you are based in London, we will need you to pass a higher level of clearance (CTC) because of the security requirements for the Marsham Street office.

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

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

This is a permanent role as an Grade 6 in the Delivery Unit.

This role is full time only. Applicants who wish to work an alternative pattern are welcome to apply however your preferred working pattern may not be available and you should discuss this with the vacancy holder before applying.

Childcare Vouchers

Any move to Defra 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.

Visa Sponsorship Statement

Please take note that Defra does not hold a UK Visa & Immigration (UKVI) Skilled Worker License sponsor and are unable to sponsor any individuals for Skilled Worker Sponsorship.

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 : Strategy Resourcing Team
• Email : sandc.resourcing@defra.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : defrarecruitment.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: defrarecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk
If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Department, you can contact the Civil Service Commission: here