Senior Policy Advisor: Business (Ref: 77318)

We encourage applications from people from all backgrounds and aim to have a workforce that represents the wider society that we serve. We pride ourselves on being an employer of choice. We champion diversity, inclusion and wellbeing and aim to create a workplace where everyone feels valued and a sense of belonging. To find out more about how we do this visit: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice/about/equality-and-diversity.

Office of the Secretary of State for Wales
Job Description for Policy Advisor: Business

About the Office of the Secretary of State for Wales (OSSW)

The Office of the Secretary of State for Wales is the face of the UK Government in Wales and the voice of Wales in Westminster. We support the Secretary of State (SoS) for Wales and the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Wales (PUSS) in representing Wales at the heart of Government. The department plays a central role in shaping key Government priorities such as levelling up, the Union and net zero. We work in partnership with other UK Government departments and stakeholders to deliver a stronger Wales within a strong United Kingdom.

Our departmental values are Commitment, Collaboration and Quality. These shape how we operate in a challenging, demanding, and fast paced environment which requires flexibility, transparency, and professionalism.

The Office is based over two sites, with one base in Cardiff and another in London. As an accredited smarter working organisation, we offer considerable flexibility around ‘the way we work.’ We have a great technology and an attractive employee benefits package which includes a commitment to investing in the learning & development of our staff.

The expectation is that the postholder will travel extensively around Wales engaging and working with stakeholders.

About the Team

The role is within the Policy Team in OSSW, which is currently compromised of 13 people. The Policy Team operates across a wide range of reserved and devolved policy areas, working to identify opportunities to benefit Wales within emerging UK Government policy, and acting to identify and resolve issues that affect Wales. The day-to-day work of the team involves engagement with senior stakeholders inside and outside of Government as well as advising ministers, officials, and regional partners on a broad range of topics.

Description

This is an exciting, fast paced role which will require engagement with a wide range of senior stakeholders, including frequent engagement with Ministers. You will play a role in shaping the Department’s work to support businesses in Wales and in delivering the Government’s Plan for Wales, its levelling-up agenda, and the net zero transition in Wales, while strengthening Wales’s place in the United Kingdom.

As the Wales Office is not a direct policy delivery department, we rely on our ability to influence to deliver Ministerial priorities. You will need to quickly establish and maintain relationships with stakeholders both within and outside government. You will need to be confident and engaging with stakeholders and will be responsible for working across the policy team supporting the development of stakeholder engagement plans.

You will also need to be prepared to challenge and push back when under pressure as you deliver Ministerial priorities. You will need to work at pace to often challenging deadlines with an ability to draw together different sources of information and make sense of it for Ministers.

There will be a need for an excellent political antenna and so you will be proficient in keeping abreast of the latest developments in Wales and the rest of the UK. You will need to show leadership in the way you drive forward progress on your area of expertise.

Key Responsibilities

This is an exciting fast paced role which will require engagement with a wide range of senior stakeholders, both inside and outside of Government. You will develop trusted relationship with external stakeholders, to provide business intelligence for the Department and other Whitehall Departments.

You will play a role in shaping the Department’s work to support businesses in Wales and in delivering the Government’s Plan for Wales, its levelling-up agenda, and the net zero transition in Wales, while strengthening Wales’s place in the United Kingdom.

You will also drive forward the department’s work to increase Welsh exports and will coordinate trade promotion, working closely with the Department for Business and Trade. You will have frequent engagement with Ministers and Senior Civil Servants, providing advice and briefings. You will be decisive and confident working autonomously to drive forward departmental objectives, often at pace.

The role will involve:

• Building trusted relationships with external stakeholders in order to understand challenges and opportunities facing business and potential investors.
• Gathering evidence and intelligence and using it to inform the development of strategies and plans to deliver OSSW priorities.
• Working with the Head of Business to manage business shocks in Wales ensuring a coordinated UKG response.
• Forging partnerships with stakeholders across Government to help shape and influence policies.
• Representing stakeholder views convincingly with ministers and Whitehall.
• Coordinating trade promotion for the Department, working closely with the Department for Business and Trade.
• Advising and briefing ministers – supporting them in their Parliamentary and other duties.
• Replying to written correspondence from Parliamentarians, external groups, or members of the public, for example, and supporting the SoS/PUSS to prepare for Parliamentary engagements, such as Welsh Affairs Committee appearances and Welsh Orals sessions in the House of Commons.

The job description is not intended to be exhaustive, and it is likely that duties may be altered from time to time in the light of changing circumstances and after consultation with the postholder.

Person Specification

Please evidence in your Statement of Suitability, how closely you match the essential criteria:

Essential:

• Experience of building and maintaining relationships with senior stakeholders.
• Demonstrable experience of developing and giving effective policy advice to Senior Officials or Ministers through both oral and written briefing and correspondence.
• Clear evidence of experience of working in a time pressured environment
• Excellent communicating and influencing skills
• An ability to work and deliver in a fast-paced environment

Desirable:

• Welsh Language skills.
• Experience and knowledge of the Welsh economy and the business sector.

Recruitment Process

This campaign will be undertaken using the Civil Service Success Profile framework. You will need to provide evidence in your application to cover the following behaviours:

• Communicating and Influencing (Lead Behaviour) (Application & Interview)
• Making Effective Decisions (Application & Interview)
• Seeing the Big Picture (Application & Interview)
• Delivering at Pace (Application)

In the event of a high volume of applicants, we will sift only on the lead behaviour to create a shortlist for interview.

Successful candidates who make it to the interview stage will also be asked to provide a five-minute presentation on the key opportunities and challenges for businesses in Wales.

Additional Information

The Office of the Secretary of State for Wales is not an employer in its own right. Staff recruited to work at the OSSW will be employees of the Ministry of Justice who provide employment services on our behalf.

This role requires baseline checks (BPSS), and you will need to confirm your employment history for at least 3 years prior to the date of application so that pre-employment checks can be undertaken.

If you have spent significant time abroad (a total of 6 months in the past 3 years) you would be required to give a reasonable account of the reasons why.

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

• Communicating and Influencing
• Making Effective Decisions
• Seeing the Big Picture
• Delivering at Pace

• Access to learning and development
• A working environment that supports a range of flexible working options to enhance your work life balance
• A working culture which encourages inclusion and diversity
• A Civil Service pension with an average employer contribution of 27%
• Annual Leave
• Public Holidays
• Season Ticket Advance

For more information about the recruitment process, benefits and allowances and answers to general queries, please click the below link which will direct you to our Candidate Information Page.

Link: https://justicejobs.tal.net/vx/candidate/cms/About%20the%20MOJ

Job contact :

• Name : SSCL Recruitment Enquiries Team
• Email : Moj-recruitment-vetting-enquiries@gov.sscl.com
• Telephone : 0845 241 5359

Recruitment team

• Email : Moj-recruitment-vetting-enquiries@gov.sscl.com