HEO Junior Training Officer

Job summary

The COBR Directorate leads the UK Government’s response to acute emergencies - domestic and international, malicious and non-malicious - and drives further professionalisation of emergency management within UK Government. The Directorate sits within the National Security Secretariat (NSS).

In 2023 the Crisis Management Excellence Programme team (referred to as CMEP) was launched in the COBR Directorate and focuses specifically on professionalising and building crisis management capability across Government. Operating across the UK Government, your work as part of this team will be key in driving readiness at both the national and local level for the biggest risks that threaten the UK. You will be part of a small and highly dedicated team working to enhance the UK’s crisis management capabilities through the provision of world class training.

CMEP’s work is varied, interesting and impactful. Our vision is Enabling Excellence in Crisis and our objective is to deliver constantly high standards and professional expertise in central government crisis management.

As a department, the Cabinet Office is committed to building an inclusive and supportive working environment and will support talented people from all backgrounds to build a career and thrive. This role is an intermediary role within the team and specifically for those who have experience in resilience and/or designing and delivering training. As part of the role, you will be given the support and guidance to help you develop further as a trainer and training designer, delivering training to a broad range of learners and producing training that will contribute to the continued strengthening of crisis management skills across the UK. In addition, we will look to grow your exposure to the resilience sector so that you become a subject matter expert in the sector.

Job description

Key Responsibilities

Training Design and Delivery

• Deliver and facilitate engaging in-person training and e-learning, adapting delivery and style for diverse audiences.
• Design in-person training and e-learning, adapting content for diverse audiences.
• Work with the lead trainer to collate and analyse feedback from internal and external training programmes for quality assurance, identifying good practice and areas to develop.
• Write reports and submissions to Senior Officials and Ministers on progress against objectives and CMEPs contribution to COBR and the Cabinet Office’s strategic goals.
• Support another member of the team to coordinate the administration of all of CMEP’s training courses.

Community

• Supported by another member of the team, horizon scan for shared opportunities to collaborate across the resilience sector in the UK and overseas on training and continual professional development opportunities that we can share with CMEP’s members.
• Lead the identification, development and delivery of in person and virtual community events.
• Support the content and management of the CMEP website.

Responding to emergencies

COBR Directorate on call rota: you will be asked if you wish to join a formal COBR Directorate on-call rota for civil emergencies, to monitor emerging risks and form the backbone of initial responses where necessary, for which an allowance is payable.

Whether you join the COBR Directorate on call rota or not, as a member of the COBR Directorate, in addition to your normal day-to-day role, you may be called on to fulfil roles to assist the UK Government’s response during crises. On these challenging occasions, you may help the response to an evolving situation, often contributing outside your normal area of responsibility.

Person specification

About you

Essential Criteria:

• Existing experience as a trainer or teacher and training designer.
• Excellent organisational skills - the job holder will have to work to tight deadlines, pay strong attention to detail whilst pivoting between multiple work streams and potentially conflicting priorities.
• Planning and prioritising effectively, at pace, to deliver a quality service and results whilst maintaining a strong attention to detail.
• The ability to work autonomously in a fast-paced environment.
• To be flexible, with the ability to be a resilient member of the team, remaining calm and effective under pressure.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills with the ability to build and maintain effective relationships with colleagues and stakeholders.
• Strong logistical skills to support delegates attend training along with the experience of organising and facilitating engagement events with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders.
• A can-do attitude with good problem-solving abilities and judgement, capable of thinking on their feet.
• Good analytical skills and the ability to collate, interpret and learn from evaluation, embedding lessons learnt into subsequent activities.

Desirable Criteria:

• Experience within the resilience sector, showing a sound understanding of the underpinning principles, doctrine and guidance.

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:

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

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £40,974, Cabinet Office contributes £11,870 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 and Experience.

Application process

As part of the application process you will be asked to complete a CV and a 1000 word (maximum) personal statement providing examples of how your skills and experience match those within the essential and desirable experience specification.

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

Please provide a personal statement of no more than 1000 words. It should explain how your knowledge, skills and experience (using examples) meet the requirements for this role in line with the Success Profile element(s) being assessed (e.g. Behaviours, Experience etc). Using the job advert information, particularly the job description and person specification. Information is available on the application process (including what Civil Service Success Profiles is) and how to write your personal statement.

For guidance on how to construct your personal statement, you are encouraged to visit Civil Service Careers.

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

Selection process

During the interview we will assess you against these behaviours:

• Managing a Quality Service [lead]
• Communicating and Influencing
• Delivering at Pace

Finally, there will be a 10 minute presentation required of each candidate on a topic provided on successful sifting to the interview stage.

Expected timeline (subject to change)

Expected Sift Date - Week commencing 11th May

Expected Interview Date - Week commencing 18th May

Location – 70 Whitehall, London

Remote interview is allowable in exceptional circumstances.

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 Cabinetoffice.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.

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

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.

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 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.

Please note that this role requires SC clearance, which would normally need 5 years’ UK residency in the past 5 years. This is not an absolute requirement, but supplementary checks may be needed where individuals have not lived in the UK for that period. This may mean your security clearance (and therefore your appointment) will take longer or, in some cases, not be possible.

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

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.

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

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

Existing Civil Servants and applicants from accredited NDPBs are eligible to apply, but will only be considered on loan basis (Civil Servants) or secondment (accredited NDPBs). Prior agreement to be released on a loan basis must be obtained before commencing the application process. In the case of Civil Servants, the terms of the loan will be agreed between the home and host department and the Civil Servant. This includes grade on return.

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.

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 security 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 : SCT@cabinetoffice.gov.uk
• Email : SCT@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 Opens in new window (pdf, 302kB)Cabinet Office Terms and Conditions - External 2025-02-20 Opens in new window (docx, 83kB)