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Civil Service Pension with an average employer contribution of 27%
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About the job
Job summary
The Office for Veterans Affairs (OVA), based in the Cabinet Office, was created in 2019 to lead the cross-government delivery of the Strategy for our Veterans, to develop future iterations of that strategy, and to provide leadership, advocacy and improved coordination of veterans issues across government. The aim of the OVA is to realise the Governments ambitious strategic vision, to make the UK the best country in the world to be a veteran.
There are around 2 million veterans in the UK and 15,000 people leaving the Armed Forces every year. The government wants to ensure that every single veteran has the opportunity to move successfully into civilian life and can access the help they need to do so. The community of veterans and their families is diverse and varied in the support people need, with the work of the OVA spanning issues including housing, health and wellbeing, employment, diversity and inclusion, historical legacy issues, finance, criminal justice and societal recognition of the value of service in the Armed Forces.
An exciting opportunity has arisen for a proactive and experienced parliamentary and governance practitioner to join the OVA. Our ambitious agenda will help bring the very best out of you and enable you to demonstrate your capabilities. You will play a vital role in leading on high profile parliamentary business; including FOIs and correspondence together with providing pivotal support to various strategic board meetings.
You will be an essential member of a small team, leading on a collaborative approach to supporting both the OVA senior leadership team and the Minister for Veterans Affairs. You can expect to lead on your own project(s) that support departmental change initiatives and manage senior stakeholders internally and externally. This is a fast paced, varied role, which will involve working in an environment of ambiguity and with a high degree of autonomy.
Job description
- Provide strong leadership and management for a team of 1xSEO and 1xEO.
- Lead on high-profile parliamentary business and governance for the Minister for Veterans’ Affairs and Office for Veterans’ Affairs.
- Oversee all parliamentary business, FoIs and correspondence, ensuring the OVA is delivering high-quality outputs that advance the Government’s veterans agenda.
- Lead on high-profile governance support, including the Veterans Advisory Board, Cabinet Committee meetings and forums with senior representatives of service charities. This will include oversight of the logistics for meetings, secretariating meetings, and building close relationships with participants.
- Provide high-quality advice to Senior Officials and the Minister for Veterans’ Affairs.
- Collaborate with colleagues across Government and the OVA to ensure we are delivering the Minister’s priorities through appropriate governance forums.
- Ensure the public-facing mailbox is effectively managed.
- Collaborate with the OVA’s comms team to develop the Minister and OVA’s engagement plans and routinely conduct Meeting rationalisation and sequencing.
- Provide surge support for high-profile visits and events, collaborating with colleagues across the OVA to ensure these run effectively.
Person specification
Essential Criteria:
- You will be an effective communicator ideally with experience of responding to Parliamentary business and correspondence.
- You will have strong organisational skills and the ability to manage the governance, secretariat and correspondence functions efficiently, taking responsibility for delivering to deadlines.
- You will have comprehensive line management experience and skills.
- You have experience of working at pace and problem solving.
- You will work collaboratively with colleagues, and be a team player and build effective relationships.
- You will have strong stakeholder management skills, with an ability to bring together peers to deliver shared outcomes.
Desirable Criteria:
- Knowledge or experience working with the Armed Forces community.
Behaviours
We’ll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
- Communicating and Influencing
- Managing a Quality Service
- Seeing the Big Picture
- Making Effective Decisions
- Delivering at Pace
We only ask for evidence of these behaviours on your application form:
- Communicating and Influencing
Benefits
£14,418 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
As part of your application you will be asked to provide a name-blind CV detailing your job history and qualifications, 500 word Personal Statement and a 250-word statement on the lead behaviour (Communicating and Influencing). Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.
The Personal Statement should outline your suitability for this job role. Please pay particular attention to the person specification when writing your statement. This section will be used for the sift to assess your suitability to be invited to an interview. You do not have to refer to the Behaviours element in your statement.
Should a large number of applications be received, an initial sift may be conducted using the lead behaviour, Communicating and Influencing. Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift, or progressed straight to assessment/interview.
Selection process
The interview process will assess the Behaviour and Strengths elements of Success Profiles. We would generally expect answers to follow the STAR or CAR structure and encourage candidates to use this during the interview.
Expected timeline (subject to change)
Expected sift date w/c 25th Sep
Expected interview date/s w/c 16th Oct
Interview location – Virtual via MS Teams
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 via cabinetofficerecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.
Complete the Assistance required section in the Additional requirements page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or if youre 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 CTC clearance, which would normally need 3 years UK residency in the past 3 years. 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 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.
A reserve list will be held for a period of 12 months, from which further appointments can be made.
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 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.
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.
This role is full time only. Applicants who wish to work an alternative pattern are welcome to apply however your preferred working pattern may not be available and you should discuss this with the vacancy holder before applying.
Please be aware the levels of national security clearance are changing which may impact on the level needed for this role by the time of appointment. All efforts will be made to keep candidates informed of any changes and what that will mean in terms of vetting criteria. For more information please See our vetting charter
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).
Apply and further information
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Contact point for applicants
Job contact :
- Name : Morgan Price
- Email : morgan.price@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.
