Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Senior Policy Advisor
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Bristol, London, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, York
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.
We are seeking capable people to contribute to our policy and strategy work. Whilst core policy skills are essential, we do not expect applicants to have specialist knowledge of the area. These roles are a great opportunity to acquire experience in developing new policies to reform and transform a sector, support the development of primary and secondary legislation, work with a wide range of stakeholders, and develop extensive opportunities to brief seniors and ministers on high profile policy areas.
We work in a programmatic way, prioritising work to ensure we’re focusing on the right things at the right time. This means that our teams can pivot onto new workstreams once projects and programmes are concluded, or if circumstances change and they are reprioritised. Through this we are able to offer a wealth of development opportunities and experiences as well as experience working in an agile and flexible way.
Whichever part of the Directorate you’re in, you will play an active role in shaping and delivering our priorities, working creatively and collaboratively with others to deliver excellent outcomes. You will need to build excellent relationships across the Directorate, with wider Defra colleagues, other government departments, arm’s length bodies, and with external stakeholders, inspiring confidence and trust. You can expect frequent interaction with Ministers, Special Advisers and senior officials, including in other government departments. It’s a very exciting time to join the team and be part of supporting important policy areas.
Job Description
As a senior policy advisor you may have responsibility for:
- Owning key elements of policy and policy development
- Independently driving progress to meet key milestones
- Briefing Ministers and senior leaders, orally and in writing
- Drafting responses to written correspondence
- Responding to Parliamentary Questions on your policy area
- Negotiating policy positions with other departments
- Drafting consultations and official government responses
- Working with stakeholders and experts to design new policy interventions
- Line and task management for junior colleagues
Our policy vacancies span a number of teams, all of whom are gearing up to play their part in the coming changes.
Person specification
Skills
We are looking for proactive and enthusiastic people who are used to working autonomously, are confident at communicating and assimilating information, and are exciting by the opportunity to contribute to once in a generation changes to a sector. Essential Skills for our roles:
- Experience of confidently leading on various aspects of the policy and legislative cycles including the delivery of key policy outcomes
- Experience using analysis and information to develop and assess options for decision makers, drawing on expertise from others as required
- Excellent written and oral communication skills,
- Evidence of working confidently with varied teams or colleagues to deliver common goals
- Good strategic judgement to identify tensions and links between different areas of work and recognise where your work fits with wider organisational objectives
- Excellent task management and prioritisation, with a strong focus on delivery
- Ability to work at pace to deliver with competing deadlines
- Proactive, organised, excellent attention to detail,
- Capable of taking a leadership role in complex and multi-faceted scenarios
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Behaviours
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
- Making Effective Decisions
- Communicating and Influencing
- Delivering at Pace
- Seeing the Big Picture
We only ask for evidence of these behaviours on your application form:
Making Effective Decisions
Alongside your salary of £42,665, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs contributes £12,360 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).
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.
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.
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.
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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, Personal Statement and 250 words on the lead behaviour Making Effective Decisions.
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.
Interview
If successful at application stage, you will be invited to interview where you will be assessed on Experience and Behaviours.
Interviews are expected to last no longer than 60 Minutes.
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.
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.
Reserve List
A reserve list may be held for a period of 12 months from which further appointments can be made.
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
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Skills
Location