Head of Operations, Government Economic and Social Research team

About HM Treasury

If you’re interested in making a difference to people’s lives, the Treasury can offer you an exciting opportunity to influence decision making that affects the whole of the UK. Working at the heart of government, we collaborate across government to promote responsible public spending and drive strong and sustainable economic growth.  

Our work ranges from protecting customers through the regulation of the financial sector, helping to reduce carbon emissions and creating a greener economy, to promoting British trade around the world and supporting people across the country on jobs, growth and more.  

HM Treasury is proud of a diverse and inclusive work environment, committed to fairness and the promotion of equality of opportunity for all. We know that having a range of experiences, ways of working and thinking makes us stronger and better at developing policy that reflects the needs of every community. We embrace different views and experiences and value the new perspective that people from a variety of circumstances bring to the work we do. We welcome applications from candidates who have not previously worked for the Civil Service, mid- and late-career changers with transferrable skills, people from all backgrounds and circumstances regardless of disability, gender, age ethnicity, LGBT+ identity and socio-economic status.  

We are part of the Darlington Economic Campus, a pioneering new cross-government hub which brings people together to play an active role in the most important issues of the day whilst working closer to the communities we serve. The campus provides the opportunity for people from all over the UK to help shape the future of the country, and our flexible working practices ensure you can collaborate effectively with our partners. It’s central government, made more accessible to you! 

About the Group

Economics Group

The Economics Group leads HM Treasury’s analysis of developments in the UK economy and advises ministers on the implications for the Government’s economic strategy. It provides expert economic analysis and advice for Ministers. The Group’s data hub is transforming how the Treasury uses data across its entire business. The Group collaborates with external experts on the UK economy, including the Bank of England, Office for Budget Responsibility and leading academics. Economics Group provides support for the UK Government’s economic and social research professions, including running centralised recruitment and the annual conferences.

About the team

The Government Economic and Social Research Team (GESR) is a friendly and dynamic team of around 20 people providing specific support to the Government Social Research (GSR) and Government Economic Service (GES) professions, which have over 2,500 and 3,700 members across government, respectively. Economists and social researchers work at the heart of decision-making in government, providing analysis and insight in support of the entire range of UK Government and public service activities.    

GESR’s work also reaches right across government – working with Departments, Devolved Administrations, and other organisations in the UK Civil Service. We work with external organisations as partners on shared agendas including growing diversity in recruitment and improving the use of evidence in policy making.  

The team is organised into a Strategy and an Operations team, who together deliver all the policies and commitments in the GES and GSR Strategies on behalf of and in conjunction with the Boards of senior staff who govern both professions. on behalf of and in conjunction with the Boards of senior staff who govern both professions.

The GESR team leads the many central recruitment routes into the professions, working to open the door to a wide range of people to start and then build a long and fulfilling career as government economists and social researchers.

We are committed to delivering a quality service to continuous improvement and to promoting diversity and inclusion. You must also be committed to role modelling the positive and inclusive behaviours we expect of our membership.  

The post holder will have the advantages that come from building their career inside HM Treasury, and from working right across the differing departments and organisations that make up the UK Government. This is the ideal post for an individual who can see the bigger picture and wishes to build more experience of working with senior leaders and delivering real cross-government change.  

About the Job

Do you want to lead an outstanding operations team?

We are looking for a dedicated individual to lead the GESR Operations Team, setting high standards for operational performance and developing a strong culture of service delivery. You will be a role model for learning and continuous improvement and promote teamwork across the Ops team and with the GESR Strategy Team.

The post holder will be part of the GESR Senior Leadership Team, working closely with the Deputy Director and the Head of Strategy Team. They will deputise for the Deputy Director where appropriate and own the relationship with key operational partners including the Cabinet Office Fast Stream team.

The successful candidate will also:

• Develop and maintain plans for GESR Operations to deliver a high-quality service to both departments and job candidates. Monitor performance against plans and our Service Level Agreements, taking action and deploying resource flexibly where appropriate in order to maintain performance.
• Actively develop the skills of their team, both as individuals and as a collective. They will line manage the heads of recruitment and talent, and to provide pastoral and development for the whole Ops team. We have a shared ambition that everyone in GESR has a meaningful job and feels valued and included as part of a successful team.
• Lead the implementation of an improvement plan for central GESR recruitment schemes. Delivering this plan and obtaining full agreement from the team, will be essential to successful performance. They will evaluate performance against plans and encourage a culture of continuous improvement, including considering changes to protect the integrity of assessments against AI.
• Oversee the integration of Fast Stream reforms and the new GSR Degree Apprenticeship into GESR business-as-usual, and take overall responsibility for contract management of external providers

GESR is committed to building diverse and inclusive professions, and we are looking for a role model for inclusive behaviour.

Candidate Drop-In Session 
 
We will be running a candidate drop-in session for this role to give you greater insight about the role as well as the chance to learn more about HM Treasury and the recruitment process. If you would like to join us, then use the appropriate link below to join the call at the right time. 

Tuesday 5th December 2023 17:00 – 17:45 Click here to join the meeting

If you would like to speak to the hiring manager informally prior to the closing date for applications to find out more about the job, please contact tom.aldred@hmtreasury.gov.uk

We are looking for the below skills, experience and behaviours and we will ask you to demonstrate these in your application form. Please review the Candidate FAQ document that is attached to the advert for guidance on how to complete your application form.  

1. Experience – Experience of leading a team focused on operational delivery under pressure.
2. Managing a Quality Service – Created opportunities for colleagues, stakeholders, delivery partners and customers to improve the quality of service.
3. Communicating and Influencing – Delivered difficult messages with clarity and sensitivity.
4. Changing and Improving – An example of when you’ve identified early signs of things going wrong and responded promptly.

The lead criterion is: Experience – Experience of leading a team focused on operational delivery under pressure.

If we receive large volumes of applications, we will conduct an initial sift on the lead criterion only.

Required Qualifications: CIPD Qualified or willing to work towards

Candidate Guidance Support Session 
 
We will be running an overview of Success Profiles and the STAR approach; top tips for the application and interview process and an opportunity to ask general questions around our recruitment practices. If you would like to join us, then use the link below to join the call at the right time. 

Friday 1st December 2023 12:30 – 13:00 Click here to join the meeting

Tuesday 12th December 2023 17:00 – 17:45 Click here to join the meeting

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

• Managing a Quality Service
• Communicating and Influencing
• Changing and Improving
• Leadership

We only ask for evidence of these behaviours on your application form:

• Managing a Quality Service
• Communicating and Influencing
• Changing and Improving

• 25 days’ annual leave (rising to 30 after 5 years), plus 8 public holidays and the King’s birthday (unless you have a legacy arrangement as an existing Civil Servant)

• Flexible working patterns (part-time, job-share, condensed hours)

• Generous parental and adoption leave package

• Onsite restaurant and coffee bar. The London office also offers a gym, showers and prayer room

• Access to a cycle-to-work salary sacrifice scheme, season ticket advances and payroll giving

• Access to a retail discounts and cashback site

• A Rental Deposit Advance Scheme to help meet the total costs of deposits for privately rented homes

• A range of active staff networks, based around interests (e.g. analysts, music society, sports and social club) and diversity (e.g. women in the Treasury, ethnic minority network, LGBT* network, faith and belief network).

Flexible working arrangements:   HM Treasury views flexible working as essential in enabling us to recruit and retain talented people, ensuring that they are able to enjoy a long-lasting career with us. All employees have the right to apply for flexible working and there are a range of options available including; working from home, compressed hours and job sharing.

HM Treasury operates an office based working approach across all Treasury sites – Darlington, London, and Norwich, with the expectation of achieving 50% attendance in the office as a minimum requirement, along with the flexibility of working remotely. This blended working approach allows you to work collaboratively, meet stakeholders face to face, support others and promotes a healthy work life balance (please be aware that this role can only be worked in the UK and not overseas). Some roles will not be suitable for Hybrid Working. Similarly, Hybrid Working will not suit everyone’s circumstances. Arrangements will be discussed and agreed with the successful candidate(s) and subject to regular review. All our offices have been recently modernised and designed to collaborate and connect with colleagues as well as desk and quiet space to allow a range of ways to work.

Job contact :

• Name : Tom Aldred
• Email : tom.aldred@hmtreasury.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : hrrecruitment@hmtreasury.gov.uk