26 Policy Jobs in Cardiff

Job summary

Ofgem is working to deliver the energy infrastructure needed for Net Zero, helping combat the challenges facing Britain's energy system while shaping the policies that will power a cleaner, more secure future. We're looking for Senior Policy Managers to join us and lead strategic policy development across some of the UK's most significant energy infrastructure programmes.

Ofgem is Great Britain’s independent energy regulator. We’re at the forefront of change across the energy sector, driving toward Net Zero whilst protecting energy consumers, especially vulnerable people.

We're offering two permanent opportunities to join our Major Projects Directorate at a pivotal time for Britain's energy infrastructure transformation. You'll play a leading role in developing policies that support major electricity and gas network upgrades, working on flagship programmes that will help unlock investment, strengthen energy security and accelerate the transition to a low-carbon future. This is an exciting chance to influence nationally significant projects within one of our most high-profile and fast-moving directorates.

Working across cutting-edge policy and strategic planning, you'll collaborate with government, industry and key stakeholders to help shape the future regulatory landscape for major energy infrastructure. You'll operate in a fast-paced environment where your work will contribute to complex, high-impact decisions that support the delivery of cleaner, more resilient energy systems across Great Britain.

Job description

Role Purpose:

The Executive Private Secretary is an exciting and pivotal role working directly with the Chief Operating Officer (COO) and leaders across Ofgem. They will provide high-level, organisational and strategic support spanning the work of Ofgem and the responsibilities of the COO. Acting as a key conduit between senior leadership, their teams and external stakeholders, this role ensures the smooth running of the Private Office, optimises leaders’ time and drives delivery of organisational priorities. The postholder will report into the Deputy Director – Corporate Services Strategy and work collaboratively with offices across Ofgem. They will represent senior leaders’ views, managing information flows and supporting cross-cutting projects in a fast-paced, dynamic environment.

Key Accountabilities:

• Ensure the COO’s priorities and time are focused on the issues that matter most to organisational objectives and strategic goals.

• Act as a trusted adviser and conduit between senior leadership, teams and external stakeholders to enabling effective information flow, judgement and decision-making.

• Safeguard the reputation and effectiveness of the COO’s office by handling sensitive matters with discretion, judgement and professionalism.

• Drive operational grip and continuous improvement in the Private Office ensuring clear prioritisation, forward planning and effective coordination.

• Represent senior leaders effectively in meetings and engagements, providing clear steers, resolving issues where appropriate, and ensuring actions and commitments are tracked and delivered.

• Lead or drive forward priority cross-cutting projects on behalf of the COO, working through others to secure progress and outcomes.

Key responsibilities:

Strategic Support

• Align COO’s time and priorities with organisational objectives; provide advice on urgent, sensitive or complex matters and ensure decisions are informed by the right evidence, context and judgement.

• Lead or drive forward priority cross-cutting projects on behalf of the COO, working through others to secure progress and outcomes.

Administrative Excellence & Logistical Support

• Proactively manage competing priorities across the COO’s portfolio, ensuring the COO is well prepared, key risks and choices are surfaced early, and time is used to maximum effect.

Stakeholder Management

• Lead day-to-day stakeholder engagement for the COO Office, using judgement to triage, resolve and escalate issues, manage competing interests, and maintain confidence in the group. Build trusted relationships across Ofgem and with external partners, ensuring senior engagement is purposeful and well-coordinated.

Information Flow & Co-ordination

• Filter, synthesise and advise on incoming information, acting as a trusted adviser and conduit between senior leadership, teams and external stakeholders.

• Lead the coordination and quality assurance of advice, briefings, submissions and papers for the COO, ensuring they are clear, accurate, timely and strategically aligned.

Relationship Building

• Develop and maintain effective working relationships across the organisation, government departments, industry stakeholders and consumer groups, using those relationships to unblock issues and support delivery.

Representation and Influence

• Represent and act on behalf of the COO or other senior leaders in meetings as required, providing reliable steers, exercising judgement on escalation, and tracking actions through to completion.

• Promote organisational priorities and resilience in sensitive or contentious situations, tracking and challenging delivery and working with senior stakeholders constructively to resolve issues.

Team Collaboration

• Work collaboratively with the private office network, supporting shared objectives, setting clear expectations and mentoring colleagues where appropriate.

• Contribute to, and where appropriate lead, continuous improvement of Private Office operations.

Person specification

Key Skills & Capabilities:

• Demonstrates strong strategic thinking and problem-solving skills with the ability to anticipate issues, assess risk, align competing priorities with organisational goals and exercise judgement on what requires senior attention.

• Exceptional organisational and prioritisation skills, with the ability to maintain grip across a complex and fast-moving portfolio.

• Strong stakeholder engagement and relationship-building capabilities with confidence to influence and manage senior relationships internally and externally.

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to synthesise complex information clearly and handle sensitive matters with discretion and professionalism.

• Adaptability and resilience in a fast-paced, dynamic environment including the ability to remain calm and effective under pressure.

Please ensure you demonstrate clearly, within your supporting statement, how you meet each of the essential criteria. In the event of receiving a large number of applications, an initial sift may take place on just the lead criteria indicated in the essential criteria.

Essential Criteria:

• Proven experience supporting senior leaders to manage competing priorities, make effective use of their time, and focus on the issues that matter most to organisational priorities and strategic objectives. (Lead Criteria).

• Excellent organisational and analytical skills, with the ability to maintain grip across a complex and fast-moving portfolio, work independently, and exercise sound judgement on risk, escalation and delivery.

• Strong interpersonal and communication skills, with the confidence to engage, influence and build trusted relationships with senior stakeholders, both internally and externally.

• Ability to analyse and synthesise information, solve problems logically, identify risks and options and provide constructive challenge and fresh ideas.

• Experience handling confidential, sensitive or contentious matters with discretion, resilience and professionalism.

• Ability to work flexibly, manage multiple priorities and remain calm and delivery-focused under pressure.

Desirable Criteria:

• Experience working in a complex, regulatory organisation.

• Knowledge of strategic planning and organisational performance frameworks.

Behaviours

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

• Communicating and Influencing
• Delivering at Pace
• Working Together

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £63,443, OFGEM contributes £18,379 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).Ofgem can offer you a comprehensive and competitive benefits package which includes; up to 30 days annual leave. Excellent training and development opportunities. The opportunity to join the Civil Service pension arrangements which include a valuable range of benefits. Flexible working hours and family friendly policies. Restaurant and subsidise gym (London only). Interest free season ticket loan.

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.

You will be asked to provide a 1250 word ‘personal statement’ evidencing how you meet the essential skills and capabilities listed in the role profile. Please ensure you demonstrate clearly, within your supporting statement, how you meet each of the criteria listed in the role profile. In the event of receiving a large number of applications, an initial sift may take place on the lead criteria indicated in the essential criteria.

The interview will include a presentation or exercise - details of which will be released to candidates invited to interview.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

The personal information we have collected from you will be shared with Cifas who will use it to prevent fraud, other unlawful or dishonest conduct, malpractice, and other seriously improper conduct. If any of these are detected, you could be refused certain services or employment. Your personal information will also be used to verify your identity. Further details of how your information will be used by us and Cifas, and your data protection rights, can be found by [https://www.cifas.org.uk/fpn].

At Ofgem, we expect our staff to carry out their roles with honesty, fairness and openness. They should follow the Civil Service code and be free from any influence or bias. We are committed to making sure interests are recognised, declared and managed appropriately so that we can fulfil our duties as an energy regulator. Our Conflicts of Interest policy outlines the types of interests Ofgem staff must declare before onboarding, and the rules they must follow throughout employment so that we can clearly demonstrate that our decisions are not influenced by private interests.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

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.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 : Dominique King
• Email : dominique.king@ofgem.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : dominique.king@ofgem.gov.uk

Further information

If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Civil Service Commission Recruitment Principles and you wish to make a complaint, you should email The Head of Talent Acquisition at: Recruitment@ofgem.gov.uk in the first instance. If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the department, you can contact the Civil Service Commission. More detailed information can be found on the Civil Service Commission website.

Attachments

Terms and Conditions Apr25 Opens in new window (pdf, 335kB)Final Executive Private Secretary 2b Opens in new window (docx, 94kB)Executive Private Secretary Candidate Pack COO Opens in new window (pdf, 700kB)