Head of Northern Powerhouse Rail Engagement and Local Growth

If you would like to find out more about what it's like to work at DfT Rail, please click here.
As Head of NPR Engagement and Local Growth, your key responsibilities will include:
Stakeholder engagement:
+ Developing trusting and collaborative relationships with a diverse range of stakeholders, each with different priorities and views.
+ Working with lead sponsors for each area of NPR’s development to effectively interface between their activity and wider stakeholders.
+ Developing and implementing engagement policy.
Strategic Consultation:
+ Responsibility for the end-to-end development and running of a Strategic Consultation.
Local Growth:
+ Building strategic partnerships with a diverse range of local areas to understand their needs and help them to maximise opportunities for their areas off the back of better connectivity.
+ Developing local growth strategy and policy.
+ Overseeing the grant funding of some local authorities along the line of route.
Team leadership and management:
+ Line management responsibilities, supporting and developing your team of two Grade 7s and building an environment which enables everyone to continue thriving., 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.
Regular travel to attend meetings in London will be required.
For more information on the Policy Profession Standards., We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
+ Seeing the Big Picture
+ Making Effective Decisions
+ Leadership
We only ask for evidence of these behaviours on your application form:
+ Seeing the Big Picture
+ Making Effective Decisions

Technical skills
We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:
+ 1. Strategy - 1.1. Policy Context and Purpose - Level 1: Developing
+ 2. Democracy - 2.1. Working with Ministers - Level 1: Developing, This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Experience and Technical skills.
As part of the application process, you will be asked to complete a CV and 750 word personal statement. Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.
When considering your experience, please tailor your CV and personal statement to provide evidence of the following:
+ Experience of effective policy development and advising senior and/or political leaders, including working cross-organisationally and through ambiguity to shape and influence decision making.
+ Experience of leading, supporting and guiding your team members to flourish.
+ Experience of working collaboratively and building senior stakeholder relationships, which deliver outcomes contributing to the public good.
+ Experience of having delivered a public-facing engagement project or process.
Candidates are also required to provide written evidence for Seeing the Big Picture and Making Effective Decisions.
The sift is due to take place from 20/01/2025.
Written exercise will take place week commencing 03/02/2025. Interviews are likely to be held week commencing 10/02/2025.
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 and a written policy exercise.
This interview could be conducted online via Teams. Further details will be provided to you should you be selected for interview.
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., 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 applicant’s 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.

Security
Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.
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:
+ UK nationals
+ nationals of the Republic of Ireland
+ nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
+ 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)
+ 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)
+ individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
+ 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).

Apply and further information
This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.
The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window).
Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Are you an engaging leader with excellent stakeholder engagement, collaboration and influencing skills?
Would you relish an opportunity that provides exposure working with a range of senior leaders?
If so, we have a fantastic opportunity for someone who has the drive and desire to make a real difference, and we would love to hear from you., You will have excellent interpersonal and stakeholder management skills, with the credibility to negotiate, influence and advise senior leaders and partners across the programme. You will enjoy working collaboratively to build trusted relationships to successfully deliver Northern Powerhouse Rail.
You will demonstrate a depth of knowledge and experience of policy development and have the capability to work cross-organisationally and through ambiguity to shape and influence decision making.
You will display high quality drafting skills to prepare written advice and briefings for senior officials.
You will be an engaging leader with experience of supporting and developing your team to flourish and deliver results.

The Government is committed to developing a ten-year infrastructure strategy to help improve rail connectivity across the north of England. It aims to do this by improving transport across the North, including boosting rail connectivity from East to West.
Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) is an exciting opportunity, where you can really help shape a major project and impact lives. This project will deliver better transport connections in the North of England, boost local growth and transform lives.
In this outward-facing role, you will lead the team responsible for both engagement and local growth.
Working with local leaders, including local mayors, is key to delivering NPR. Doing so will help shape both the railway scheme itself and how local areas are able to maximise its benefits. Taking these together represents a real opportunity to maximise NPR’s impact and benefits.
You will be joining a friendly and dynamic division, who are passionate about delivering for the public.
Great line management is important to us as an organisation, and we will equip and support line managers to develop the skills they need. We aim to empower line managers to create teams where people can flourish and deliver excellent outcomes for the public.

Alongside your salary of £67,313, Department for Transport contributes £19,500 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.
Please note, the above example is based on the National minimum salary. The employer pension contribution will be 28.97% of your specific salary.
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.