Head of Corporate Sustainability


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Details

Reference number

317540

Salary

£51,997

Job grade

Grade 7

Contract type

Permanent

Business area

Human Resources and Estates Directorate

Type of role

Environment and Sustainability
Estates
Senior leadership

Working pattern

Flexible working, Full-time, Job share, Part-time

Number of jobs available

1

Contents

Swansea

Job summary

At the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), we encourage applications from everyone, particularly groups currently underrepresented in our workforce. We pride ourselves on the positive impact diversity has and promote inclusivity and equality of opportunity for all. Our recruitment process is anonymised, which means that your name, date of birth and other personal details will not be seen by the sift panel.  

Are you an effective leader?

Do you have experience of working within the sustainability profession at a strategic level?

Are you motivated with a passion for driving continuous improvement strategies?

If so, we’d like to hear from you!

Job description

Reporting to the Head of Centres of Excellence, this role will drive the development and delivery of DVLA’s Sustainability, Environmental and Compliance activities, including the Sustainability Management Plan. This role requires working across DVLA and other Government stakeholders, building a culture of sustainability innovation and implementation. Continuous improvement will be a key theme of this role and the role holder will be required to consider both internal and external factors which will shape and improve sustainable strategy across the department.

Key Responsibilities will include:

  • Development of an overarching action plan and programme to deliver the strategic objectives and outcomes including meeting the Greening Government Commitments and developing and delivering a Net Zero programme.
  • Developing, managing and maintaining an overall Sustainability action plan to deliver the strategy and ensure appropriate policies, standards and targets are in place and communicated across the organisation and suppliers.
  • Working across the organisation to ensure that Sustainability objectives are fully integrated into the delivery models of each Directorate.
  • Leading and managing the Sustainability team (team of 5), ensuring they have the right skills, capability and training to undertake their roles.
  • Ensuring the team and supply chain have the right skills, capabilities, objectives and resources to meet objectives and performance manage these to ensure delivery against these objectives.
  • Advising the DVLA Executive Team and DfT on all aspects of sustainability ensuring an appropriate level of understanding of the compliance requirements, risks, and activities to deliver the DVLA Sustainability Objectives.
  • Maintaining and developing the ISO14001 Environmental Management accreditation which the Agency currently holds.
  • Accountable for the overall data, MI and reporting related to Sustainability, driving continuous improvement.

Further information and responsibilities can be found in the attached Role Profile.

Person specification

To be successful in this role, you will be an effective communicator with the ability to build relationships with a variety of stakeholders.

You will have leadership experience and will be able to demonstrate extensive experience of previously working within the sustainability profession at a strategic level. You will also have previous experience of working with accreditations such as ISO14001.

You will have had exposure of working towards strategic objectives and delivering commitments in line with programme requirements.

An important element of the role will be continuous improvement and so you will have previous experience of driving improvements and changes to process and strategies.

You will have also have excellent knowledge of current legislation relating to sustainability.

Further Information

Whilst we welcome applications from those seeking part time employment, please note, that the successful candidate will be required to work a minimum of 35 hours per week (over a 5 day period).

You may be required to travel at times to other sites to attend team meetings but this will be on an infrequent basis.

This role will be based in Swansea, and we will be operating a hybrid working model that allows you to work between home and on-site giving you greater flexibility about where and when you work, subject to business needs and this also allows for ongoing support, development, and collaboration with colleagues. 

Therefore, the expectation is that you will spend a minimum of 40% of your working time based at your principal workplace (DVLA). We would encourage you to discuss the working arrangements for this role with us during the recruitment process.

We strive to ensure that DVLA is a great place to work where everybody can be their true self, be treated with dignity and respect, and according to their individual needs. We have a number of staff network groups run by staff to support their colleagues. 

Due to the evolving nature of the business, vacancies can become available at any time. Therefore, this campaign may create a reserve list to fulfil demand if it arises which will be held for a period of 12 months.

Qualifications

Holds appropriate accreditation for responsibilities aligned to this core role e.g. MIEMA for core sustainability operations roles, MCIEEM for Ecologists, MEI for Energy Managers, CIWM or CIWEM for waste managers, MIES for environmental sciences, Chartered Forester for Foresters etc

Behaviours

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

Being part of our brilliant Civil Service means you will have access to a wide range of fantastic benefits. 

  • Best in class learning and development tailored to your role 
  • An environment with flexible working options where we encourage a great work-life balance
  • Generous average employer contribution of 27%, depending on rate of salary and chosen pension scheme
  • 25 days holiday, increasing by one day each year up to 30 days pro rata
  • Access to the staff discount portal
  • 24-hour Employee Assistance Programme providing free confidential help and advice for staff

There are many more opportunities and great benefits of working at DVLA, visit our Careers website for further information.   

 

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours and Experience.

How to Apply

For this role you will need to submit a CV and personal statement of up to 1250 words (250 per point as listed below). We need to understand how your skills and experience meet all the essential criteria for this role. You can use any part of your life to demonstrate your skills and experience, but it must be relevant to the role. You can refer to your work experience, education, hobbies, or interests.

You can decide the best way to structure your personal statement. You may choose to address each of the essential criteria on their own. Or you can give one example that covers all the essential criteria we are looking for. Click here for further guidance on submitting your CV and personal statement. 

It is essential when submitting your personal statement that you provide as much detail as possible, within the word count, against the essential criteria outlined below as this will be used in conjunction with your CV to assess candidate suitability to move to the next round in the recruitment process. 

For your CV and personal statement, please provide detailed evidence of your experience of the following essential criteria: 

  • Demonstrable leadership experience where you have successfully managed and motivated a team.
  • Experience of where you have worked within a professional sustainability environment.
  • Experience of where you have driven change and implemented continuous improvement strategies.
  • Experience of where you have demonstrated effective communication skills and have built relationships with a variety of stakeholders.
  • Evidence of your knowledge of current legislation relating to sustainability and ISO14001.

Sift and Interview Dates

The sift is due to take place from w/c 20th November 2023.

Interviews will be held from 5th December 2023.

This interview could be conducted via a video interview, details of which will be provided to you should you be selected for interview. 

We will try to meet the dates set out in the advert. There may be occasions when these dates will change. You will be provided with sufficient notice of the confirmed dates. 

If invited to interview, this may consist of a range of question types. These could include questions around behaviours and how you would respond in any situation as well as specific examples of things you have done. 

The selection process will be designed specifically for the role. As a result, your assessment will include: 

  •              An interview and presentation

You’re encouraged to become familiar with the role profile, as you may be assessed against any of the criteria recorded within. 

The Department for Transport alongside other Government Departments recruit using Success Profiles. This means for each role we consider what you will need to demonstrate in order to be successful. This gives us the best possible chance of finding the right person for the job, drives up performance and improves diversity and inclusivity.  

For further information on Success Profiles visit our Careers website. 

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

If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the ‘Contact point for applicants’ section.

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 cannot access the information on our website for any reason, please email DRGComms@dft.gov.uk for assistance.

Further Information

For more information about how we hire, and for useful tips on submitting your application for this role, visit the How 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.

Pre-employment Checking

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.

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.
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 : Cennydd Powell
  • Email : cennydd.powell@dvla.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 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

Role Profile Opens in new window (pdf, 137kB)

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