24 Policy Jobs in Scotland

The Scotland Office supports the Secretary of State for Scotland, promoting the best interests of Scotland within a stronger United Kingdom. It ensures Scottish interests are fully and effectively represented at the heart of the UK Government, and that the UK Government’s responsibilities are fully and effectively represented in Scotland.

The Local Growth Team is responsible for the delivery of twelve City Region and Growth Deals worth £1.5 billion across all parts of Scotland. The team also has responsibility for oversight of the £140 million Local Growth Fund which has been targeted at five of Scotland’s Regional Partnerships, and the Pride in Place Programme, a £280 million investment programme across a number of local communities. The team promotes UK Government policy interests across all of these programmes, including interactions with local government, partners and other key stakeholders.

The team includes a Grade 6 Head of Team role, three Grade 7’s another SEO and an EO. The team works closely with other Scotland Office Divisions and our external stakeholders, including the Scottish Government and local partners, to support UK Government objectives.

The successful candidate will be expected to lead on a wide variety of work including policy, strategy and relationship management. This is a great opportunity for an enthusiastic individual who is keen to use their initiative to conceive and programme manage projects while collaborating and building trust in a dynamic, fast-paced environment. Applicants should have a knowledge of the devolution settlement and a keen interest in contemporary politics in Scotland, and be motivated by having the opportunity to contribute to the prosperity and future wellbeing of the country.

Please note the following:

● We will operate a six month reserve list for similar SEO roles which may arise in the Scotland Office.

● We are recruiting using Ministry of Justice terms and conditions.

● The security clearance required for this role is BPSS.

Key responsibilities

This is a fast-paced, high-output and varied role, including, but not limited to:

● Providing advice, briefing and support to the Secretary of State for Scotland, Ministers, Special Advisers and senior officials on local growth policy and delivery, including the City Region and Growth Deal Programme, Local Growth Fund and Pride in Place Programme.

● Portfolio oversight of the City Region and Growth Deal Programme delivery; Local Growth Fund implementation and delivery; and Pride in Place Programme delivery.

● Collaborating with team members as well as counterparts in other Government Departments, Scottish Government and local authorities to support the effective delivery of the Teams local growth objectives in Scotland.

● Representing the Scotland Office externally at events and meetings with key stakeholders, including private sector organisations, academia and the third sector, local government and the Scottish Government.

● Representing the Scotland Office at events and meetings with other UK Government Departments including HM Treasury and the Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government (MHCLG).

Person Specification (essential/desirable)

Essential criteria

● Excellent written and verbal communication, and confident working closely with senior leaders/ministers.

● Experience of providing policy and/or strategy advice to government ministers or senior leaders and demonstrating ability to pick up new topics quickly.

● Experience of Project or Programme management. Able to effectively communicate with and influence internal and external stakeholders.

Desirable criteria

● Knowledge of the Scottish political landscape, the Devolution Settlement, and local growth policy in Scotland.

● Experience of project or programme management in the context of HMT Treasury’s Green Book Guidance

● Experience of financial analysis within the management of programmes and projects.

● Strong planning and organisational skills, the ability to respond quickly and flexibly to new demands and manage competing priorities and tasks.

● The ability to establish good working relationships with a wide range of both internal and external stakeholders

Assessment methods

We will assess against four behaviours during the selection process:

● Making Effective Decisions

● Leadership

● Communicating and Influencing (lead)

● Delivering at Pace.

Additional information

Interview dates - TBC.

Person specification

Please refer to Job Description

Behaviours

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

Communicating and Influencing
Making Effective Decisions
Leadership
Delivering at Pace

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £42,914, Ministry of Justice contributes £12,432 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).

Access to learning and development
A working environment that supports a range of flexible working options to enhance your work life balance
A working culture which encourages inclusion and diversity
A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%
Annual Leave
Public Holidays
Season Ticket Advance

For more information about the recruitment process, benefits and allowances and answers to general queries, please click the below link which will direct you to our Candidate Information Page.

Link: https://justicejobs.tal.net/vx/candidate/cms/About%20the%20MOJ

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 Strengths.https://justicejobs.tal.net/vx/candidate/cms/About%20the%20MOJ

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.

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 : SSCL Recruitment Enquiries Team
Email : moj-recruitment-vetting-enquiries@resourcing.soprasteria.co.uk
Telephone : 0345 241 5359

Recruitment team

Email : moj-recruitment-vetting-enquiries@resourcing.soprasteria.co.uk

Further information

Appointment to the Civil Service is governed by the Civil Service Commission’s Recruitment Principles. If you feel a department has breached the requirement of the Recruitment Principles and would like to raise this, please contact SSCL (Moj-recruitment-vetting-enquiries@gov.sscl.com) in the first instance. If the role has been advertised externally (outside of the Civil Service) and you are not satisfied with the response, you may bring your complaint to the Commission. For further information on bringing a complaint to the Civil Service Commission please visit their web pages: http://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk/civil-service-recruitm…

https://jobs.justice.gov.uk/careers/JobDetail/20031?entityId=20031

Salary range

£42,914 - £53,081 per year