Director, Employee Experience and People Performance

We are looking for a Director, Employee Experience and People Performance, Civil Service who can work across organisational boundaries to understand and shape how we ensure we develop and maintain a culture that enables our people to be the best they can be, which in turn will provide better outcomes for citizens across the country. Our people are our best asset which is why this role sits within the Government People Group at the heart of Government in the Cabinet Office. We want leaders who reflect our core Civil Service values (Honesty, Objectivity, Impartiality and Integrity), professionalism and a commitment to building capability and diversity.
The post holder will have the opportunity to advise some of the most senior decision makers in government. If you are a transformational leader looking for a unique opportunity which provides a stimulating professional challenge, then we would love to hear from you.
To find out more about the role you can request to join one of the Candidate Information Sessions being held on Friday the 8th of November at 4pm and Tuesday the 12th of November at 4pm. Please submit your request to scscandidate.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk and specify the date you wish to attend., The Director, Employee Experience and People Performance, Civil Service provides leadership and coordination across the Civil Service to ensure that we have a culture across departments which enables employees to thrive and be better able to deliver the Government’s missions across all regions and nations. The role reports directly to the Government Chief People Officer and will be a member of the Government People Group Senior Leadership Team.
Key Responsibilities include:
+ Develop and deliver the culture strategy for the Civil Service. We are entering a new phase in the culture activity and the post holder will have the opportunity to co-lead and shape how the work is delivered, at a pivotal time for the Civil Service. You will need to understand the current culture/s and, through building consensus, drive towards a shared vision. You will draw on best practice across the public and private sectors. You will need to use a range of formal and informal levers and interventions to achieve sustainable and measurable impact.
+ Collaboration. You will collaborate and work in partnership with senior colleagues leading on related policies to ensure join up so that we are more than the sum of our parts.
+ Stakeholder Engagement. You will use your extensive stakeholder engagement skills to advise and engage multiple stakeholders taking people and teams on a journey. Stakeholders include ministers, the Cabinet Secretary, the Civil Service COO, Permanent Secretaries/Chief Executives, Heads of Corporate Functions, HR Directors as well as other departmental colleagues.
+ Develop and Implement the Employee Experience Strategy. Oversight of creating and executing a comprehensive strategy to improve the overall experience of the Civil Service workforce - including on equality, diversity and inclusion - feeding into the wider culture strategy. You will put in place structures to measure, analyse and act on employee feedback.
+ Horizon scanning. Anticipating and preparing for strategic future challenges, ensuring we have the strategic capability and frameworks for the future and championing a culture of continuous improvement and outstanding behaviours., + Evidence of leading and delivering transformation programmes in complex and large scale organisations and linking them to business performance. This might include organisations with a federated model , different brands, cultures and subcultures or geographically spread employees in diverse roles. You will have set direction, shaped solutions and implemented strategic change at pace., We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
+ Leadership
+ Delivering at Pace
+ Communicating and Influencing
+ Changing and Improving
+ Working Together, 1.A CV (max 2 pages) setting out your career history, with key responsibilities and achievements. Please ensure you have provided reasons for any gaps within the last two years.
2.A Statement of Suitability (1250 words) explaining 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.
Failure to complete both sections of the online application form (CV and Statement of Suitability) will mean the panel only have limited information on which to assess your application against the criteria in the person specification.
As part of the online application process, you will be asked a number of diversity-related questions. If you do not wish to provide a declaration on any of the particular characteristics, you will have the option to select 'prefer not to say’. See the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy for more information.
Should you encounter any issues with your online application please get in touch with us via: scscandidate.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk
Shortlist
You will receive an acknowledgment of your application through the online process.
The selection panel will comprise:
+ Sarah Pittam, Civil Service Commissioner as Chair.
+ Fiona Ryland, Government Chief People Officer.
+ Ravi Chand, SRO and Director for Civil Service People and Places Directorate.
+ Philippa Bonay, Director for Operations, HR Director for the Government Analysis Function Office for National Statistics.
The panel will assess your application to select those demonstrating the best fit for the role, by considering the evidence you provide against the criteria set out in the ‘Person Specification’. Failure to address any or all of these may affect your application.
The timeline later in this pack indicates the date by which decisions are expected to be made, and all shortlisted candidates will be advised of the outcome as soon as possible thereafter.
Assessment
If you are shortlisted, you will be asked to take part in a staff engagement exercise. This will not result in a pass or fail decision. Rather, it is designed to support the panel’s decision making and highlight areas for the panel to explore further at interview. For more information about the assessment process, please follow this link: https://scs-assessments.co.uk/
If shortlisted you may be invited to meet with a Minister for a conversation prior to the final interview. You will be given further details about this after shortlisting has taken place. Please note that this will not be part of the formal assessment process.
If shortlisted you may also have the opportunity to speak to Fiona Ryland prior to the final interview to learn more about the role and the organisation. Please note this is not part of the formal assessment process.
The panel interview will involve a more in-depth discussion of your previous experience and professional competence in relation to the criteria set out in the Person Specification and the Behaviours listed in the advert together with Strengths.
Full details of the assessment and interview process will be made available to shortlisted candidates. You may be required to prepare a presentation. If that is the case then you will be given the subject in advance.
If we receive applications from more suitable candidates than we have vacancies for at this time, we may hold suitable applicants on a reserve list for 12 months, and future vacancies in the Civil Service requiring the same skills and experience could be offered to candidates on the reserve list without the need for a new competition.
Offer
Regardless of the outcome, we will notify all candidates as soon as possible.
We will send you a copy of any report for any assessment that you may have undergone as part of the recruitment process (if requested).
Expected timeline (subject to change)
Expected sift date – Week commencing 2nd December 2024.
Expected Assessment date - Week commencing 9th December 2024.
Expected interview date/s – Week commencing 16th December 2024.
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 at: scscandidate.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.
Complete the ‘assistance required’ section in the ‘personal information’ page of your application form to provide information we should be aware of that will enable us to support you further on in the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional.
Further information
If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact: scscandidate.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk
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 here.
Current Civil Servants (all contract types) will need to ensure that they are still employed as a civil servant at the point of starting in the relevant new post. If their contract ends (e.g. end of FTA contract or resignation) at any point during the recruitment/onboarding process for the advertised role, they will no longer be eligible and may be withdrawn.
Please note that this role requires SC clearance, which would normally need 5 years UK residency in the past 5 years. This is not an absolute requirement, but supplementary checks may be needed where individuals have not lived in the UK for that period. This may mean your security clearance (and therefore your appointment) will take longer or, in some cases, not be possible.
Reserve lists
A reserve list may be held for up to 12 months, which the Civil Service may use to fill future suitable vacancies across government for candidates who are considered appointable following interview.
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
This role has a minimum assignment duration of 3 years. An assignment duration is the period of time a Senior Civil Servant is expected to remain in the same post to enable them to deliver on the agreed key business outcomes. The assignment duration also supports your career through building your depth of expertise.
As part of accepting this role you will be agreeing to the expected assignment duration set out above. This will not result in a contractual change to your terms and conditions. Please note this is an expectation only, it is not something which is written into your terms and conditions or indeed which the employing organisation or you are bound by. It will depend on your personal circumstances at a particular time and business needs, for example, would not preclude any absence like family friendly leave. It is nonetheless an important expectation, which is why we ask you to confirm you agree to the assignment duration set out above.

Security
Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.
Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check (opens in a new window).See our vetting charter (opens in a new window).
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:
o UK nationals
o nationals of the Republic of Ireland
o nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
o nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
o nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
o individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
o Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service
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.

Diversity and Inclusion
The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

+ Being an inspirational and collaborative senior leader, with a successful track record of leading, developing and motivating multidisciplinary teams in a high profile and changing environment.
+ Exceptional communication and influencing skills. You must possess the gravitas to earn the trust and confidence of board level leaders and build strong relationships quickly across a range of stakeholders.
+ The ability to build values driven corporate strategies which take into account wide ranging stakeholder demands and needs which can be conflicting.
+ The ability to challenge the status quo and make the case for change, where needed, to introduce innovative or different ways of working.
+ A strong understanding of and commitment to delivering Equality, Diversity and Inclusion strategies.

Alongside your salary of £98,000, Cabinet Office contributes £28,390 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.
Whatever your role, we take your career and development seriously, and want to enable you to build a really successful career within the Department and wider Civil Service. It is crucial that our employees have the right skills
to develop their careers and meet the challenges ahead, and you’ll benefit from regular performance and development reviews to ensure this development is ongoing. As a Civil Service employee, you’ll be entitled to a large range of benefits.
This includes:
+ 25 days annual leave on entry, increasing on a sliding scale to 30 days after 5 years’ service. This is in addition to 8 public holidays.
+ This will be complimented by one further day paid privilege entitlement to mark the King’s Birthday;
+ A competitive contributory pension scheme that you can enter as soon as you join where we will make a significant contribution to the cost of your pension; where your contributions come out of your salary before any tax is taken; and where your pension will continue to provide valuable benefits for you and your family if you are too ill to continue to work or die before you retire;
+ Generous paid maternity and paternity leave which is notably more than the statutory minimum offered by many other employers;
+ Childcare benefits (policy for new employees as of 5 April 2018): The government has introduced the Tax- Free Childcare (TFC) scheme. Working parents can open an online childcare account and for every £8 they pay in, the government adds £2, up to a maximum of £2000 a year for each child or £4000 for a disabled child. Parents then use the funds to pay for registered childcare. Existing employees may be able to continue to claim childcare vouchers, so please check how the policy would work for you here;
+ Interest-free loans allowing you to spread the cost of an annual travel season ticket or a new bicycle;
+ The opportunity to use onsite facilities including fitness centres and staff canteens (where applicable);
+ And occupational sick pay.