Senior Policy Advisor - Airspace Modernisation

Job summary

Can you solve challenging problems and communicate complex information effectively?

Do you enjoy building relationships and collaborating across organisational boundaries?

Have you got the temperament to adapt calmly and quickly to changing demands?

If so, we’d love to hear from you!

Aviation is vital for connecting the UK to the rest of the world - connecting people and facilitating tourism and trade. These are key roles in delivering the Government’s manifesto commitment to modernise the UK’s airspace.

The UK’s airspace is an essential but invisible part of our national transport infrastructure. It is also some of the most complex in the world and struggling to keep pace with technological changes and growing demand. It was designed in the 1950s when there were 200,000 flights per year: there are now more than 2 million. This causes poor system resilience and misses opportunities to reduce environmental impacts such as carbon and noise.

The Airspace Modernisation Strategy, jointly sponsored by the Department for Transport (DfT) and Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is our shared vision for transforming the UK’s airspace to ensure it remains fit for the future. These posts will help make it happen.

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 DfT: Department for Transport Central - Department for Transport Careers

Job description

We are recruiting for two posts. One will focus on sponsorship of the new UK Airspace Design Service, and on delivering longer-term changes to enable its evolution. The other will focus on delivery of airspace changes around the rest of the UK and ensuring that government priorities are reflected in delivery plans. The key responsibilities for the roles are likely to change over time depending on the evolving needs of the programme, but may include:

1. Supporting programme oversight, including assurance of the new UK Airspace Design Service
2. Developing and iterating policy to enable the continued progression of the programme
3. Making viable recommendations to ministers, and effectively communicating outcomes
4. Contributing to, drafting, and delivering briefings for audiences with mixed subject knowledge
5. Actively managing key relationships, both internally and with external delivery partners
6. Leading effective engagement with stakeholders, including representing DfT in 1:1 settings
7. Supporting the passage of any related legislative measures through Parliament
8. Supporting the day-to-day work of the wider team and responding quickly to priority tasks

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

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

1. Experience working with technical experts, including across organisational boundaries, and able to understand complex and technical policy issues and translate these effectively for different audiences
2. Excellent written and oral communications skills, with strong drafting and editing skills, ideally including experience of producing advice for senior leaders or ministers
3. Experience of building and maintaining stakeholder relationships, confidently representing the organisation and navigating a diverse set of perspectives, some of which may be challenging
4. Experience of operating in a high-profile and fast-changing working environment, often dealing with ambiguity
5. Experience of working in a project or programme setting
6. Knowledge of the aviation sector, or of airspace modernisation specifically, would be an advantage but is not essential.

Additional Information

Working hours, office attendance and travel requirements

Full time roles consist of 37 hours per week.

Occasional to other offices or stakeholder sites around the UK will be required, which may involve overnight stays.

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 roles only: DfTc does not offer Visa Sponsorship for this role.

Behaviours

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

• Delivering at Pace
• Working Together
• Communicating and Influencing
• Making Effective Decisions

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

• Delivering at Pace

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £44,241, Department for Transport contributes £12,816 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, personal statement, and written behaviour

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:

• 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:
  1. Policy development – analysing complex problems, developing evidence-based options, and deciding on clear recommendations
  2. Building relationships with external stakeholders and working across organisational boundaries
  3. Communicating technical concepts appropriately to different audiences, including senior leaders or those with limited subject knowledge
  4. Managing and/or delivering change (including, if applicable, in a sponsorship capacity)
• Behaviours – you will be asked to provide a 250 word statement on the following Behaviours:
  1. Delivering at Pace

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

Please note: the sift may be completed on a rolling basis whilst the campaign is still live, so you could receive your sift scores before the advert closing date.

The sift will take place week commencing 06/07/2026

Stage 2: Interview

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

• Behaviours – (Working Together, Communicating and Influencing, Making Effective Decisions)
• Strengths

The interviews will take place week commencing 20/07/2026

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.

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 : Ben Steward
• Email : benjamin.steward@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

Senior Policy Advisor – Airspace Modernisation Opens in new window (pdf, 202kB)