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Job summary
We recognise the challenges that people with protected characteristics may experience on the job market and in their career progression. We are fully committed to being an inclusive employer and ensuring equal opportunities. We are keen to make our workforce as diverse as possible, and we hope to attract applications from underrepresented groups, including ethnic minorities, people with a disability, and people with gender diverse identities.
Are you a natural leader who understands the value in building effective working relationships?
Would you embrace the opportunity to review and shape the strategy to enhance connectivity in the North and Midlands?
If so, we have an exciting opportunity available for you to work across some of the governments most high-profile major rail projects and would love to hear from you!
Job description
As Head of Midlands, Yorkshire and North-East (MYNE) Portfolio, you will join a friendly team which sits within the Rail Infrastructure Group (RIG). The group are responsible for leading the delivery of some of government’s largest projects and contributes to the levelling up agenda.
Following the Prime Ministers October announcement of Network North, you will have the exciting opportunity to provide leadership of the MYNE Portfolio of studies. The MYNE Portfolio will need to establish strategic studies looking at improving connectivity across the regions, including a focus on Leeds, consideration of connectivity improvements in the Northwest and East Midlands, and a series of workstreams considering improvements to Anglo-Scottish rail connectivity.
The MYNE Portfolio of studies are being managed within the Rail Infrastructure North, Midlands and Integrated Rail Plan (RIMiNI) Directorate, across different Deputy Director-led divisions. You will be responsible for acting as the guiding mind across the Portfolio, ensuring appropriate management and integration across the studies, and directly managing three teams leading individual studies. You will also be managing the assumptions used to model train service specifications, using your own knowledge of the network and working with other experts to ensure these are consistent and realistic.
A vital aspect of your role will be collaborating with a range of colleagues across the Department for Transports different modal teams, as well as No.10, HM Treasury and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC), sponsoring and interfacing with Network Rail, High Speed 2 Ltd (HS2 Ltd), Transport for the North, Midlands Connect and major local authorities. You will have the opportunity to work across some of the governments most high-profile projects, looking to maximise connectivity benefits, assess and negotiate funding requirements, and develop business cases for future government investments.
If you would like to find out more about what it’s like to work at DfT Rail, please click here.
Your key responsibilities will include:
- Leading, developing and managing a programme of inter-related projects across three Grade 7-led branches to enable successful delivery of the MYNE and other Integrated Rail Plan work streams, including modelling assumptions.
- Providing leadership and integration of MYNE studies at the portfolio level.
- Developing effective working relationships with key stakeholders, including across Whitehall and with No.10/ HMT, Network Rail, HS2 Ltd, the Devolved Administrations and with local and regional authorities.
- Managing the teams advice to Ministers and senior officials on the breadth of policy, delivery and communications issues that arise from the high-profile nature of this programme.
- Providing support and leadership to deliver the teams objectives, including by contributing to the wider leadership of the Directorate and our ambition to improve cohesion and inclusivity across our offices.
For further information, please see the attached Role Profile.
Person specification
About you
You will have a great knowledge of the railway network, especially within the geographical area of MYNE, and understand how to make trade-offs when developing rail schemes. You may have secured this through an engineering, operational, economist or other background.
You will be a positive leader with great organisational skills, enabling you to develop multiple policy proposals simultaneously, whilst handling conflicting priorities. When making decisions you will consider the wider impact of your actions and how they support the bigger departmental strategy.
You will have excellent communication skills and political acumen, both verbally and in writing, with the ability to communicate complex technical and analytical concepts to a broad range of people.
You will enjoy collaborating with a wide range of diverse colleagues and will have excellent interpersonal skills which will enable you to develop and maintain trusted and productive working relationships.
Additional Information
This role is available to individuals who wish to be spending their office time in Leeds, Manchester or Birmingham, and we would also expect the individual to be willing to travel to visit different locations relevant to the route.
A minimum 60% of your working time should be spent at your principal workplace, although requirements to attend other locations for official business, or carry out detached duty in another DfT workplace, will also count towards this level of attendance. DfT workplace attendance expectations were updated in recruitment campaigns on 17 November 2023. Occasional travel to other DfT offices will be required.
Behaviours
We’ll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
Benefits
Being part of our brilliant Civil Service means you will have access to a wide range of fantastic benefits. We offer generous annual leave, attractive pension options, flexible working, inclusive working environments and much more to support a healthy work/life balance.
Find out more about what it’s like working at the Department for Transport.
Things you need to know
Selection process details
How to Apply
When considering applying please look at how your experience relates to the role, and within your CV and Personal Statement (maximum 750 words) please provide detailed evidence of your experience of the following:
- Strong leaderships skills, building effective teams and inspiring others to fully engage in their work.
- Excellent communication skills and political acumen, both verbally and in writing.
- Ability to bring teams with different priorities together, integrating projects to improve outcomes.
The sift is due to take place from 11/12/2023.
Interviews are likely to be held from week commencing 08/01/2024.
We will try to meet the dates set out in the advert. There may be occasions when these dates will change. You will be provided with sufficient notice of the confirmed dates.
The selection process will be designed specifically for the role. As a result, your assessment will include:
- an interview
This interview could be conducted online via Teams or face to face at one of our offices. Further details will be provided to you should you be selected for interview.
Youre encouraged to become familiar with the role profile, as you may be assessed against any of the criteria recorded within.
The Department for Transport alongside other Government Departments recruit using Success Profiles. This means for each role we consider what you will need to demonstrate in order to be successful. This gives us the best possible chance of finding the right person for the job, drives up performance and improves diversity and inclusivity.
For further information on Success Profiles visit our Careers website.
Reasonable Adjustments
As a Disability Confident Leader employer, we are committed to ensuring that the recruitment process is fair, accessible and allows all candidates to perform at their best. If a person with a visible or non-visible disability is substantially disadvantaged, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes.
Complete the Assistance required section in the Additional requirements page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need during the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at an interview, or if youre deaf, a Language Service Professional.
If you need a reasonable adjustment so that you can complete your application, you should contact Government Recruitment Service via dftrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.
Document Accessibility
If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the ‘Contact point for applicants’ section.
This job advert contains links to the DfT Careers website. Our website provides useful guidance and information that can support you during the application process. If you cannot access the information on our website for any reason, please email DRGComms@dft.gov.uk for assistance.
Further Information
For more information about how we hire, and for useful tips on submitting your application for this role, visit the How We Hire page of our DfT Careers website. You can find detailed information about the recruitment process and what to expect when applying for a role.
Pre-employment Checking
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.
Pre-employment Checking
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.
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 : Rail Resourcing
- Email : RailResourcing@dft.gov.uk
Recruitment team
- Email : dftrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk
Further information
If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Department, you can contact the Civil Service Commission: Visit the Civil Service Commission website Here
