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Civil Service Pension with an average employer contribution of 27%
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About the job
Job summary
The Social Mobility Commission (SMC) is seeking a G6 Head of Stakeholder Management and External Affairs to join our successful secretariat team on a permanent basis.
The SMC is a non-departmental public body that is sponsored by the Cabinet Office. We have a responsibility to monitor the Government’s progress on social mobility, to improve and advocate for social mobility.
The secretariat is made up of four teams: Evidence & Analysis (E&A); Policy, Government & Parliament (PGP); Stakeholder Management and External Affairs (SM&EA); and Operations, Coordination & Governance (OCG).
The successful candidate will report to the Director of the SMC and be part of the secretariats Senior Leadership Team. the role combines management of the SMCs interaction with various stakeholder groups and all of the SMCs external affairs activities, including our online presence, strategic communications and campaign management.
Leading a diverse team of civil servants, you will help to improve social mobility by encouraging stakeholders to understand relevant issues and take action. You will be responsible for our advocacy programme deploying a range of influencing tools, while overseeing the commissions overall positioning and profile, helping shape the narrative around social mobility.
Working jointly with the Policy, Government and Parliament (PGP) team, you will ensure that Commissioners are supported effectively in their external engagements with high-quality briefing and advice. Together with the PGP team, you will be responsible for ensuring that day-to-day delivery reflects a wider vision; that policy and advocacy work are mutually reinforcing; and that we are able to monitor and evaluate impact – including by embedding clear cross-secretariat processes.
While the PGP team is responsible for managing our relationships with government departments, policymakers and across parliament, the SM&EA team oversees our work with other stakeholders primarily:
- Employers
- Parents/Families/Carers
- Educators (schools, colleges, universities)
- Young People
- The press
- Wider public
Through their team the successful candidate will have responsibility for delivering:
- A programme of engagement with employers, including toolkits, masterclass and an Employer Advisory Group.
- Increasing our engagement with other stakeholders outlined above, through implementation of a strategic engagement and communications plan, as set out in our Business Plan
- Leading our communications and engagement activity around key report/research releases, including the annual State of the Nation report.
- Implementation of a pilot parenting campaign
Job description
Responsibilities and duties:
- You will manage 2xG7s (and oversee 2xSEO + 1xHEO), empowering them to deliver and take control of their own development.
- You will provide quality assurance, tracking key performance indicators.
- You will work collaboratively with the SMC leadership team, maintaining good communication, reporting progress, and working responsively to align objectives across the teams remit.
- You will have innovative ideas about how we can shift the dial, landing our top messages on social mobility to drive the agenda forward and create real-world change.
- You will develop strategies, build team culture, engage with specialists and work closely with senior leaders.
- You will look ahead trying to anticipate, identify and resolve problems before they occur.
- You will translate evidence into messaging that resonates with different stakeholders.
- You will provide sound advice to Commissioners in order to execute their vision for social mobility policy and programme delivery.
Specifics:
- Oversee stakeholder engagement and comms across the SMC, including developing the comms strategy and engagement plan, alongside our Theory of Change.
- Oversee programme of engagement with employers, including toolkits, masterclasses, events and an Employer Advisory Group
- Strategic engagement with government departments and key stakeholders to influence policy and advocacy
- Responsibility for campaign planning and delivery.
- Oversee contractual obligations of agencies, delivering value for money.
Person specification
Essential Criteria:
The following skills are essential. The Social Mobility Commission is an open and diverse team that seeks to reflect the society we live in. We encourage applications from people from all backgrounds. Diversity is a strength, and we seek to work as inclusively as we can to harness it. In our team, your potential matters more than your qualifications.
- You have a passion for improving social mobility in the UK.
- You have a well developed network at a senior level in at least one of the priority stakeholder groups.
- You have a demonstrable track record of leading a high performing team and people development.
- You can quickly form strong relationships with a range of people from different backgrounds and perspectives.
- You can negotiate, influence, persuade, problem solve and be flexible to meet organisational objectives alongside stakeholder needs.
- You can provide strong leadership to provide stability and cohesion, finding common ground and purpose.
- You enjoy collaborating with others to drive forward a common goal.
- You have excellent project management skills, and an understanding of how to manage finances, so that activity remains in budget
- You have a digital first mindset, and always take into account low cost/no cost activity to support campaign and broader communications activity
Desirable Criteria:
- You have an excellent understanding of social mobility and the need to improve this for the hardest to reach communities.
- You know how to write and interpret agency briefs.
- You have a track record in managing behaviour change campaigns, including determining strategic direction, ensuring campaigns are audience centric and insight driven
- You have experience in overseeing all key milestones of all communication and campaign projects, setting clear KPIs, in order to measure and evaluate comms and campaign successes.
- You have worked with a variety of agencies, including creative, partnership marketing, research, media planning and media buying.
Behaviours
We’ll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
Benefits
£16,661 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 average employer contributions of 27%.
- 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
Selection process details
Application process
Applicants are required to complete a CV and 750 word personal statement demonstrating their evidence against the job description and person specification as detailed above.
Selection process
Applications will be sifted on CV and personal statement.
If successful at the interview stage, the candidates will be interviewed on their experience and behaviours and asked to complete a presentation. Further information on the presentation will be provided to the candidates who are shortlisted for the interview.
Expected timeline (subject to change)
Expected sift date 31 July 2023
Expected interview date/s w/c 9 – 11 August 2023
Interview location – Remote
Reasonable adjustments
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 at: cabinetofficerecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.
- Complete the assistance required section in the personal information page of your application form to provide information we should be aware of that will enable us to support you further on in the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at an interview, or if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional.
Further information
If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the ‘contact point for applicants’ section.
Please note that this role requires BPSS clearance. 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.
Please note terms and conditions are attached. Please take time to read the document to determine how these may affect you.
Any move to the 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. Determine your eligibility at: https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk.
If successful and transferring from another Government Department a criminal record check may be carried out.
In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to Disclosure and Barring Service/Disclosure Scotland 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.
For further information on the Disclosure Scotland confidential checking service telephone: the Disclosure Scotland Helpline on 0870 609 6006 and ask to speak to the operations manager in confidence, or email Info@disclosurescotland.co.uk
New entrants are expected to join on the minimum of the pay band.
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 applicants 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.
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
Security
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Working for the Civil Service
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).
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Contact point for applicants
Job contact :
- Name : Susan Power
- Email : Susan.Power@cabinetoffice.gov.uk
Recruitment team
- Email : cabinetofficerecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk
Further information
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 at: cabinetofficerecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk.
If you are not satisfied with the response that 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.
