Senior Policy Advisor

#DSIT

The responsibilities for the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology for 2023 are as follows:

• Positioning the UK at the forefront of global scientific and technological advancement
• Driving innovations that change lives and sustain economic growth
• Delivering talent programmes, physical and digital infrastructure and regulation to support our economy, security and public services
• R&D funding

For 2023, our priorities are:

• Optimise public R&D investment to support areas of relative UK strength and increase the level of private R&D to make our economy the most innovative in the world.
• Promote a diverse research and innovation system that connects discovery to new companies, growth and jobs – including by delivering world-class physical and digital infrastructure (such as gigabit broadband), making the UK the best place to start and grow a technology business and developing and attracting top talent.
• Put our public services – including the NHS and schools – at the forefront of innovation, championing new ways of working and the development of in-house STEM capability to improve outcomes for people.
• Strengthen international collaboration on science and technology in line with the Integrated Review, and ensure our researchers are able to continue to work with leading scientists in Europe and around the world.
• Deliver key legislative and regulatory reforms to drive competition and promote innovation, including the Data Protection and Digital Information Bill, the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumer Bill and our pro-innovation approach to regulating AI.
• Pass the remaining stages of the reformed Online Safety Bill to keep British people, especially children, safe online.

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 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.

The role and our team

The European Research and Innovation team is part of the Global Research and Innovation (R&I) Bilateral Relations team. We produce high quality advice to ministers and senior officials on effective international engagement, manage the DSIT relationship with the Science and Innovation Network in Europe, and lead on bilateral activity with European partners. We work across Whitehall in a full range of science diplomacy efforts, from multilateral EU R&I programmes through bilateral agreements to global challenges such as climate change.

Working in a friendly and supportive team, you will ensure that the right people have the right conversations at the right time to achieve UK government international objectives for R&I. The role creates stretching development opportunities and you will be acting as deputy head of the team. You will lead on advice, engagement and bilateral activities for a specific portfolio of countries within Europe, as well as supporting a small team of HEO country leads and an EO team coordinator. You will have scope in the role, and be encouraged, to develop and lead on your own projects to support wider team efforts

Key responsibilities

• Producing high quality advice on engagement to senior officials and ministers 

• Developing networks of contacts across government, overseas posts and in partner countries, developing strong interpersonal relationships with a wide range of colleagues. 

• Working effectively with policy colleagues, Embassy colleagues and international partners to achieve objectives 

• Proactively identify engagement opportunities for UK influence in international research and innovation 

• Developing detailed country and relevant Brussels institution expertise on your regional portfolio of countries 

• Maintaining broader awareness of the big picture in UK, EU, regional and national politics 

• Delivering at pace on multiple priorities and sensibly balance competing demands

• Subject to experience, there will be an opportunity to manage up to 2 HEOs and 1 EO

Skills and experience

 Essential Skills, experience and Qualifications

• Excellent written and oral communication skills: able to condense complex issues into clear language and confidently advise and voice opinions with colleagues, senior officials and Minister. 
• Natural and instinctive interest in current affairs, local and international politics 
• Ability to absorb information from a wide variety of sources and a knack for spotting key points of interest 
• Ability to work effectively through others to deliver objectives, as well as to work at pace to multiple deliverables 

Desirable skills, experience and Qualifications

• Line management skills, supporting your direct reports to grow and challenge themselves in the role 
• Strong organisational skills to ensure the team runs smoothly
• Interest in international engagement 
• Interest in research and innovation

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

• Communicating and Influencing
• Delivering at Pace
• Seeing the Big Picture
• Working Together

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology 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.

Job contact :

• Name : Ben Chesson
• Email : ben.chesson@dsit.gov.uk

Recruitment team

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