Renewable Energy Senior Policy and Strategy Adviser


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Details

Reference number

301692

Salary

£37,470 – £45,565
National: £37,470 – £41,925 London: £41,055 – £45,565
A
Civil Service Pension with an average employer contribution of 27%

Job grade

Senior Executive Officer

Contract type

Permanent

Business area

DESNZ – Energy Infrastructure – Renewable Electricity

Type of role

Policy
Strategy

Working pattern

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

Number of jobs available

3

Contents

Aberdeen, Birmingham, Cardiff, Darlington, Edinburgh, London, Salford

Job summary

#DESNZ 

The responsibilities for the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero for 2023 are;

  • Delivering security of energy supply
  • Ensuring properly functioning energy markets
  • Encouraging greater energy efficiency
  • Seizing the opportunities of net zero to lead the world in new green industries

For 2023, our priorities are;

  • Ensure security of energy supply this winter, next winter and in the longer-term – bringing down energy bills and reducing inflation.
  • Ensure the UK is on track to meet its legally binding Net Zero commitments and support economic growth by significantly speeding up delivery of network infrastructure and domestic energy production.
  • Improve the energy efficiency of UK homes, businesses and public sector buildings to meet the 15% demand reduction ambition.
  • Deliver current schemes to support energy consumers with their bills and develop options for long-term reform to improve how the electricity market works for families and businesses.
  • Seize the economic benefits of Net Zero, including the jobs and growth created through investment in new green industries.
  • Pass the Energy Bill to support the emerging CCUS and hydrogen sectors; to update the governance of the energy system; and to reduce the time taken to consent offshore wind.

Our Inclusive Environment

We are building an inclusive culture to make the Department a brilliant place to work where our people feel valued, have a voice and can be their authentic selves.

We value difference and diversity, not only because we believe it is the right thing to do, but also because it will help us be more innovative and make better decisions.

We offer first-class flexible working benefits, excellent employee well-being support and a great pension. We are fortunate to have a range of excellent staff networks and are proud to be a Disability Confident Leader employer. We will support talented people from all backgrounds to build a career and thrive.

We actively welcome applications from anyone who shares our commitment to inclusion. We will fully support candidates with a disability or long-term condition who require adjustments in our recruitment process.

Job description

The role and our team

The UK is pursuing an ambitious pathway to net zero emissions by 2050 and we need you to help us deliver it! Rapidly scaling-up new low carbon electricity generation is fundamental to delivering this ambition, improving the UK’s energy security, boosting jobs and creating affordable, clean power.

These Senior Policy Adviser roles sit at the heart of this decision-making, at a time of significant – and exciting – change. 

We are the Renewable Electricity Directorate, a high-profile, friendly and diverse group. We have responsibility for the whole of the renewables sector, from off-shore wind and solar, to tidal stream and biomass technology. As a Directorate, we support part-time and flexible working at all grades and particularly encourage applications from people with a diverse set of backgrounds and experience.

Person specification

Key responsibilities

We are recruiting for three roles outlined below, and the precise responsibilities may vary to reflect emerging priorities.

We are looking for enthusiastic and confident new team members who can think about a wide range of policy issues and work collaboratively across teams.

We are looking for candidates who are comfortable working in complex and often fast-paced environments and have a track-record of delivering and evolving policy.

Given the strong public, political and industry interest in this policy area, you will need to be comfortable operating flexibly, anticipating and responding to events and handling issues with diplomacy, discretion and a ‘can do’ approach.

You do not need prior knowledge of renewable energy, but we are looking for candidates who can quickly get to grips with complex, technical concepts and communicate these to non-specialists effectively, as well as skills in analysing information and working with multi-disciplinary teams of analysts, lawyers and engineers.

These roles sit in the Renewables Strategy and Delivery teams, responsible for designing and delivering low carbon finance support mechanisms, supporting the integration of renewables in the wider electricity system, coordinating central renewables strategy and communication, and developing supply chain policy.

Two of these are policy and strategy roles focused on delivering and evolving the UK’s main mechanism for low carbon finance, the Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme, and one is focused on future strategy across the renewable electricity directorate.

Role 1 – Renewable Policy and Delivery
This role will focus on implementing policy changes to the CfD scheme to support an increase in the scale and pace of renewables needed to meet the UK’s decarbonisation targets. This may include leading on changes to secondary legislation to deliver reforms, ensuring changes comply with UK subsidy control policies, as well as drafting briefings for ministers and engaging with other government departments on aspects of renewable energy policy.

Role 2 – Renewable Policy and Strategy
This role will advise on future CfD policy reform to ensure the CfD best enables delivery of wider renewables strategy and decarbonisation targets. You will develop CfD policy for the longer-term (for CfD Allocation Round 7 in 2025 and beyond), including considering options for supporting existing CfD generators coming to the end of their support on the scheme, how to achieve the benefits of greater coordination in the offshore wind sector, and how to adapt the CfD to support HMG’s ambition on hydrogen production.

Role 3 – Cross-cutting Renewable Strategy and Communication
This role works on developing and reviewing future renewable deployment goals and ambition. You will work for example on reviewing the role of individual technologies and identifying barriers to deployment, working together with technology and analytical teams. As part of this you will own the Renewable Electricity Deployment Plan and lead engagement with senior civil servants around Whitehall. The role will also require you to work flexibly across teams on all areas of renewable strategy such as supply chains or international engagement. As part of the strategy and communication team you will provide ad-hoc support on communication and lead briefings concerning cross-cutting renewable electricity ambitions.

Skills and experience

Candidates should be able to demonstrate the following:

Essential criteria;

• Excellent interpersonal skills and confidence forging relationships across teams and boundaries.

• Self-motivated, comfortable working at pace, and able to effectively prioritise work.

• Excellent written and oral communication skills, including the ability to clearly and concisely communicate technical ideas to seniors.

• Experience of leading policy/strategy coordination and development in complex, often ambiguous environments.

• Comfortable working closely with legal and analysts to understand technical advice.

• Ability to grasp issues quickly and understand the big picture for DESNZ and HMG.

• Good problem-solving skills with an eye for detail.

Desirable criteria;

• Experience or understanding of the challenges facing the UK electricity system would be advantageous but it is not critical, you will learn on the job!

Behaviours

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

Alongside your salary of £37,470, Department for Energy, Security & Net Zero contributes
£10,116 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme.

Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero offers a competitive mix of benefits including;

  • A culture of flexible working, such as job sharing, homeworking and compressed hours.
  • Automatic enrolment into the Civil Service Pension Scheme, with an average employer contribution of 27%.
  • A minimum of 25 days of paid annual leave, increasing by 1 day per year up to a maximum of 30.
  • An extensive range of learning & professional development opportunities, which all staff are actively encouraged to pursue.
  • Access to a range of retail, travel and lifestyle employee discounts.
  • A hybrid office/home based working model where staff will spend a norm of 40-60% of their time in the office (minimum of 40%) over a month with flex dependent on balancing business and individual need.

Find more about HMRC benefits in ‘Your little extras and big benefits handbook’ for further information or visit Thinking of joining the Civil Service.

Selection process details

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

As part of the application process you will be asked to complete a CV and a number of behavioural statements.

Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.

Please note – the CV incorporated into the application form is for information purposes only and will not be scored.

Applications will be sifted on behavioural statements.

In the event of a large number of applicants, applications will be sifted on the lead behavioural statement (Making Effective Decisions).

Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift, or progressed straight to assessment/interview.

The interview will consist of behaviour-based questions.

Sift and interview dates

Expected Timeline subject to change

Sift dates: w/c 31/07/2023

Interview dates: w/c 14/08/2023

Interview Location: MS Teams.

Candidates are asked to note the above timetable, exercising flexibility through the recruitment and selection process.

Further Information

Reasonable Adjustment

We are proud to be a disability confident leader and we welcome applications from disabled candidates and candidates with long-term conditions.

We fully support adjustments throughout our recruitment process and we encourage candidates to discuss their adjustment needs by emailing the job contact which can be found under the contact point for applicants section.

We do not have an exhaustive list of adjustments that we support but just some examples include additional time to complete your application form, behaviour questions up to 72 hours prior to interview and having extra time at interview. 

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

If successful and transferring from another Government Department a criminal record check may be carried out.

New entrants are expected to join on the minimum of the pay band.

A location based reserve list of successful candidates will be kept for 12 months. Should another role become available within that period you may be offered this position.

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 Department for Energy, Security and Net Zero  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 https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk

DESNZ does not normally offer full home working (i.e. working at home); but we do offer a variety of flexible working options (including occasionally working from home). 

DESNZ cannot offer Visa sponsorship to candidates through this campaign. DESNZ holds a Visa sponsorship licence but this can only be used for certain roles and this campaign does not qualify.

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 

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 Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
  • nationals of the Republic of Ireland
  • nationals from the EU, EEA or Switzerland with settled or pre-settled status or who apply for either status by the deadline of the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
  • relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals working in the Civil Service
  • relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals who have built up the right to work in the Civil Service
  • certain family members of the relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals

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.
The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.
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 : Jack Attridge
  • Email : Jack.Attridge@energysecurity.gov.uk

Recruitment team

  • Email : desnzresourcing.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

Further information

Appointment to the Civil Service is governed by the Civil Service Commission’s Recruitment Principles. If you feel that your application has not been treated in accordance with the recruitment principles, and wish to make a complaint, then you should contact in the first instance desnzresourcing.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk. If you are not satisfied with the response that you receive, then you can contact the Civil Service Commission. For further information on bringing a complaint to the Civil Service Commission please visit their web pages at: https://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk/contact-us/

Attachments

Combined T&C and OGD Pay English v 6 (26-07-22) (1) Opens in new window (docx, 114kB)

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