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Civil Service Pension with an average employer contribution of 27%
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Finance
International Trade
Operational Delivery
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About the job
Job summary
The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) brings together business expertise and world-class trade negotiators under the vision of making the UK the best place to start and grow a business – driving growth, increasing jobs, and raising wages and living standards.
The Services and Skills sector supports businesses to trade and invest in the UK. Professional and Business Services employs over 4.9 million citizens in the UK and is the UKs largest services export covering sectors including marketing, recruitment, and business-to-business services. Given services currently contribute around 50% of UK exports, boosting trade in services is vital to future UK economic growth.
The jobholder will lead an exciting team to not only develop our trade and investment programme for business services, but also work across DBT to lead a programme to put in place the measures required to reach and support more services firms across sectors; and to embed a greater focus across the department on the trade and investment support we provide to services firms.
We are looking for somebody who will lead the departments engagement with the largest banks and consultancies, securing their commitment to partner with us to promote exporting, support their clients to export, and secure their commitment to run trade and investment initiatives across all sectors.
DBT is a modern and diverse workplace, committed to promoting and ensuring equality and valuing diversity. We do not discriminate based on race, religion, colour, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, or disability status. We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity. We ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process.
As the successful candidate, you will be a dynamic leader with good communication skills, strong commercial awareness, and able to motivate teams and engage credibly with senior business people. Programme and project management will also be required. The role will include line management of a small team.
Job description
- Guide a highly skilled DBT team in co-ordinating and driving DBTs trade in services strategy.
- Leadership of an account and relationship management programme of strategically important financial and professional services institutions, chairing a cross departmental group of partnership managers.
- Provide a specific focus on promoting trade and investment in Business Services
- Lead a change programme in DBT focused on improving understanding and support for service sector exports.
- Provide advice and support to Ministers engaging with key industry partners such as the major banks.
- Be a dynamic member of the DBT professional and business services leadership team; responsible for helping to embed new ways of working, sharing best practice, and driving forward performance, giving direction and input to colleagues across DBT in Whitehall and overseas.
- Work with marketing, and digital teams to improve the offer and promotion of DBT services to service exporters.
- Developing market-led campaigns to promote service exports to the Middle East, USA, and Asia Pacific.
Person specification
Essential Criteria:
- You take ownership of problems and show initiative in aligning the necessary resources to bring about a successful outcome for the business.
- You use evidence and knowledge to support accurate, expert decisions and advice. You carefully consider alternative options, implications, and risks of decisions.
- You deliver objectives with professional excellence, expertise, and efficiency, taking account of diverse customer needs.
- You form effective partnerships and relationships with people both internally and externally, from a range of diverse backgrounds, sharing information, resources, and support.
- Works with colleagues to understand plans, priorities issues, strategic aims and to assess long-term impact and dependencies and aligning thinking to DBTs objectives.
Desirable Criteria
A good understanding of one or more UK professional or financial services sectors and the ability to apply your knowledge to understanding the challenges and opportunities of the financial and professional services sectors. There will be opportunities for site-visits and discussions with industry experts to build or deepen your understanding.
Personal Attributes and Skill:
We are constantly looking to diversify our workforce to give us the broadest range of perspectives possible. We therefore actively encourage applications from underrepresented groups, or from people who will help us promote the value of diversity within our department.
Prior knowledge of financial and professional services sector is not essential but some experience of working in or with business would be preferred – we will quickly help you improve in the areas where you have less experience.
You will lead and develop your team, securing commitment to your vision and priorities, to ensure delivery of the departments ambitions to boost trade and investment in services. You will need good programme management skills, be able to demonstrate that you can understand issues and opportunities across the sector and show that you can develop strategies to increase engagement with services-based SMEs in the UK.
You will have the ability to engage and build trusted relationships at senior levels using evidence-based reasoning to broker consensus. A clear and persuasive communicator, you will work confidently with industry, senior officials, and Ministers.
You develop good working relationships with other DBT teams and government departments and negotiate approaches on cross-cutting issues to support services. You will secure consensus and reconcile differences of opinion between different teams.
Behaviours
We’ll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
Benefits
£14,040 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 with an average employer contribution of 27%
Things you need to know
Selection process details
Interviews for this vacancy will be conducted virtually. We will, however, consider in-person interviews by exception.
Please ensure that you check your emails regularly as all updates from us will be sent to you this way.
Sift will take place week commencing 28/08/2023
Interviews will take place week commencing 11/09/2023
As part of the application process, you will be asked to complete a CV and a Personal Statement. Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.
Please align your CV with previous skills and experience. Equivalent of 2 A4 pages.
In your Personal Statement, please explain your motivation for applying for this role and the extent to which you satisfy the essential and desirable requirements of the role. Maximum word count of 500.
In the event that there is a high volume of applicants, a short sift will be conducted based on CV only. Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift, or progressed straight to assessment/interview.
For this role, the Department will not consider sponsoring a visa or issuing a Certificate of Sponsorship. Please note we are unable to offer advice on any Visa and Immigration cases.
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 or 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.
Please note the successful candidate will be expected to remain in post for a minimum of 18 months before being released for another role.
The Department for Business and Trade embraces and values diversity in all forms. We welcome and pride ourselves on the positive impact diversity has on the work we do, and we promote equality of opportunity throughout the organisation.
Please note harmonised terms and conditions are attached. Please take time to read the document to determine how these may affect you.
Further Information
A reserve list may be held for a period of 12 months from which further appointments can be made.
Any move to the Department for Business and Trade 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
Reasonable Adjustment
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 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 an interview, or if youre deaf, a Language Service Professional
If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the ‘Contact point for applicants’ section.
Vetting Requirement
This role requires SC.
All security clearances require you to provide evidence of your UK footprint where you have been physically present in the UK.
The requirement for SC clearance is to have been present in the UK for at least 3 of the last 5 years.
Failure to meet the residency requirements will result in your security clearance application being rejected.
If you require SC clearance you will need to provide evidence of the below requirements.
Checks will be made against:
- Departmental or company records (personnel files, staff reports, sick leave reports and security records)
- UK criminal records covering both spent and unspent criminal records
- Your credit and financial history with a credit reference agency
- Security Services records
Working patterns
The role will be based in either Edinburgh or London. You will be asked to express a location preference during the application process. Please be aware that this role can only be worked from within the UK and not overseas. Informal hybrid working arrangements will be available as agreed with the vacancy manager and in line with the requirements of the role. Most DBT employees will be working a hybrid pattern, spending 2-3 days a week (pro rata) in an office, on average. If your office location is London, you will be eligible to receive London weighting. Appointments will be made to candidates in merit order based on location preferences.
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
Security
Nationality requirements
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 : Anthony Gerrard
- Email : anthony.gerrard@businessandtrade.gov.uk
Recruitment team
- Email : dbtrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk
Further information
