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Civil Service Pension with an average employer contribution of 27%
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About the job
Job summary
The National Security Secretariat (NSS) in the Cabinet Office keeps the UK safe, secure and prosperous by bringing together the UKs national security community, providing high-quality support to the Prime Minister and the National Security Council and maintaining centre-to-centre relationships internationally. Working within the wider Cabinet Secretariat and led by the Prime Ministers National Security Adviser (NSA), we assist the Prime Minister and the Cabinet in the development, coordination and implementation of its highest priority objectives.
Our overarching strategy is set out in the here, which describes the Governments vision for the UKs role in the world over the next decade, and the action we will take to 2025.
The NSS value professional and personal development for all of our staff and recognise that a continued focus on learning and development (L&D) will enable us to grow our capability. We are also committed to fostering a culture which welcomes new ideas and fresh perspectives, and supporting diversity and inclusion, including through flexible patterns and ways of working.
We can offer stretching and engaging work to enhance career development and gain highly transferable skills. We expect our staff to rise to new challenges, demonstrating the agility required to respond to urgent and changing events, and to work collaboratively to achieve results both within NSS and across government. A role with the NSS is a real opportunity to impact the lives of our citizens and make a difference every day.
The Investment Security Unit (ISU) sits within NSS and leads the government’s national security investment screening regime, including through advising the Deputy Prime Minister on the use of the National Security and Investment (NSI) Act. This includes detailed assessments of national security risks arising from investments into the UK economy, as well as wider policy and strategic development and communications. The ISU works closely with departments across the government on both specific NSI cases and wider issues, sitting at the heart of a growing economic security community.
The ISU is an exciting and diverse place to work, with teams delivering a range of operational, policy, analytical and international activity. We are a welcoming and inclusive team, actively seek a broad range of skills and perspectives to enable working across the breadth of national security, economic and international policy. We strongly encourage applications from individuals from under-represented groups.
Job description
The Policy Team owns the policy and strategy for the NSI Act, ensuring the legislation and its use remains effective and proportionate and leading strategic stakeholder communication, including with businesses and Parliament.
The Risk Assessment team leads investigations of NSI cases to advise the Deputy Prime Minister, using internal expertise and close relationships with other departments and legal advisers to identify national security risks and mitigations. As part of the investigations, the team engages with companies and their legal advisers whose transactions have been called in. This requires balancing the need to be open and transparent; ensuring businesses have a positive experience of the National Security and Investment process whilst balancing commercial sensitives and national security interests.
The role will span both the Policy and Assessment teams, driving greater joint working.
Responsibilities
Key responsibilities for the post will include:
- For the Policy Team, you will lead public engagement on the NSI Act, including developing strategic stakeholder engagement plans and speaking to a large number of interested stakeholders. You will support senior officials and ministers to do the same. You will consider the key messages to land, using knowledge of the audience, ministers priorities, and the NSI Act itself. As part of this, you will lead on drafting briefings for Ministers and senior civil servants for public engagements. You will also work on the strategic side of policy communications and public messaging.
- For the Risk Assessment Team, you will lead engagement with businesses, becoming a subject expert and working to improve consistency in how we approach these engagements. This requires supporting the Risk Assessment case lead to coordinate and judge what can be communicated to external parties whilst balancing the need to be transparent without prejudicing the final outcome of a case. As part of this, you will work with case leads to coordinate engagement with the ISU and other government departments and external parties. You will act as a centre of expertise on domestic handling on major NSI cases, using your expertise to advise case leads on drafting letters, communicating with affected parties, and leading engagement with Parliament on these cases.
- In this work, you will be producing high-quality written and oral advice to support senior officials when engaging with stakeholders. You will manage the implementation of a comprehensive calendar of events ensuring the seamless delivery of engagements, considering the wider strategic objectives of this programme of engagement. You will also conduct research to gather business insight and intelligence to better understand what their priorities and interests are.
- There will be opportunities to support wider casework, depending on case volumes, and other priority work across ISU. This could include leading on NSI investigations into acquisitions and crafting remedies imposing conditions on these acquisitions.
Person specification
Essential:
- Strong leadership skills, being a team player who leads by example.
- Proven ability to work in a fast-paced, dynamic and deadline-oriented environment, managing competing priorities.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills and experience drafting submissions, engagement briefings and policy documents. You should also be able to communicate persuasively and be comfortable with delivering difficult messages.
- The ability to establish professional, constructive relationships with a range of stakeholders.
- Ability to research and analyse complex issues through engagement with a wide variety of stakeholders while keeping in mind the bigger picture considerations.
- Excellent organisational skills to manage your and colleagues schedules.
Desirable:
- Experience of national security, economic security and/or business engagement with private businesses, including with C-suite executives, legal advisors and institutional investors across a range of sectors.
- Experience working with Select Committees and/or with Departmental Parliamentary Units.
- Knowledge of, through professional or academic experience, or an interest in, mergers and acquisitions, foreign direct investment, and/or financial transactions.
- A background working in policy and/or operations.
Existing Developed Vetting clearance is desirable but not essential, but you must be prepared to undergo Developed Vetting clearance (if you do not already possess it). This normally requires 10 years continuous residency in the UK. This is not an absolute requirement, but supplementary checks may be required where individuals have not lived in the UK for the required period. This may mean that your security clearance (and therefore your appointment) will take longer or, in some cases, not be possible.
Behaviours
We’ll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
We only ask for evidence of these behaviours on your application form:
- Communicating and Influencing
- Delivering at Pace
- Making Effective Decisions
Technical skills
We’ll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:
- Written exercise
Benefits
£12,015 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
As part of your application you will be required to provide a CV setting out your career history and qualifications, highlighting specific responsibilities and achievements that are relevant for this role, together with reasons for any gaps within the last two years.
You will also be required to provide a Statement of Suitability (250 words max.)
Please use your statement of suitability to explain how you consider your personal skills, qualities and experience provide evidence of your suitability for the role, with particular reference to the essential criteria in the person specification section of the job advert.
You will also be assessed on Behaviours at application stage.
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.
Should you be successful at sift, you will be invited to attend an interview where you will be assessed on Behaviours and Strengths.
You will also be asked to perform a written exercise at interview. Further information will be provided in the interview invites.
Expected timeline (subject to change)
Expected sift date WC 20/11/2023
Expected interview date/s WC 04/12/2023
Interview location TBC
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 terms and conditions are attached. Please take time to read the document to determine how these may affect you.
A reserve list will be held for a period of 6 months, from which further appointments can be made.
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
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.
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
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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).
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Contact point for applicants
Job contact :
- Name : Deborah Adedeji
- Email : deborah.adedeji@beis.gov.uk
Recruitment team
- Email : cabinetofficerecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk
Further information
If you are not satisfied with the response 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.
