Maritime Strategy and Arm's Length Body Sponsorship

Birmingham, Leeds and London. Frequent travel to other sites may be required.
As a member of the SCS you will be leading teams working on a hybrid basis. The expectation is that you will spend over the 60% workplace attendance requirement of your time in the workplace. Some travel to other DfT workplaces and travel overseas may be required, Transport plays a crucial role in connecting people across the country and is vital to our prosperity and quality of life. Transport is central to the UK’s growth agenda and ensuring that our transport network is secure and resilient is fundamental to the functioning of our economy and the wellbeing of our citizens and how we go about everyday life.
The UK maritime sector is at the heart of the government’s plans for economic growth and the UK’s position as a global trading nation. This is an opportunity to help lead a vitally important and hugely successful sector through a period of significant change. We are rightly proud of the UK’s position as a global maritime leader and the Department’s expertise and influence on maritime matters around the world. The UK remains the world’s most important maritime centre, servicing the majority of the world’s shipping on which the global economy depends. The UK is dependent on maritime trade to move much of the food, energy, goods and commodities on which we depend, moving 95% of everything that enters or leaves the United Kingdom. UK ports are also the crucial link in our export chain.
As Deputy Director for Maritime Strategy and Arm's Length Body (ALB) Sponsorship you will drive delivery of maritime strategy priorities and ensure effective sponsorship of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) and The General Lighthouse Authorities. This is a great high-profile role, and you will need to provide influential thought leadership to the sector, building trust and working closely with Ministers, across government, arm’s length bodies and industry partners., You will be responsible for Maritime Strategy and sponsorship, this includes responsibility for a team covering strategy and governance (including oversight of the Maritime Council), sponsorship of maritime Arms Length Bodies (including sponsorship of the maritime and coastguard agency), Ministerial support (briefings, correspondence, and visits) and the Programme Management Office. You will set the direction for how Maritime will deliver its priorities and objectives, ensuring that outputs are delivered to time and to budget. This will include overall oversight of any forthcoming Spending Review bids – including coordination across government as required.
This role requires exemplary leadership with a broad and deep policy, strategy, governance, and corporate delivery remit. You will lead relations with the MCA to provide governance and support them in delivering their priorities, work collaboratively and innovatively with a range of stakeholders including ports, shipping operators, investors, local and devolved administrations, business groups, regulators and the rest of the maritime sector to design policy
The roles will involve working in close partnership across DfT, the maritime and coastguard agency, the general lighthouse authorities and HMT. You will also work closely with the Secretary of State and Maritime Minister, their Private Offices and Special Advisers. You will also be a key part of the Maritime senior management team, taking a key role in ensuring the leadership of the Directorate functions effectively.
This is an interesting and wide-ranging role where you can make a real-world impact and improve the global maritime sector. You will need to be confident engaging and supporting senior Ministers and officials in testing and fast-moving circumstances.
The post requires regular travel both in the UK and occasionally overseas as part of engagement with the maritime sector, executive agencies, Arms Length Bodies, and other government departments.
Responsibilities of the role include:
+ Leadership of multi-disciplinary teams, setting direction and providing strategic oversight
+ Oversight of strategic direction across the Directorate including delivery of Ministerial priorities on maritime and for the sector]
+ Sponsoring the Maritime and Coastguard Agency and the General Lighthouse Authorities
+ Delivering London International Shipping Week, a biennial global event showcasing the UK maritime sector to a domestic and international audience
+ Supporting the development of the maritime cluster development fund/maritime clusters across the UK structure through effective working with industry representative bodies].
+ Delivering the Merchant Navy Medal, a state honour delegated to DfT
+ Oversight of business planning and programme management of the Directorate – including setting and monitoring progress against Full Time Equivalent (FTE) and finance targets, The application will include:
+ A CV setting out your career history, with key responsibilities and achievements. Please ensure you have provided reasons for any gaps within the last two years.
+ A Statement of Suitability (no longer than 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 criteria in the person specification.
Failure to submit both documents 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’.
All monitoring data will be treated in the strictest confidence and will not be provided to the selection panel.
Should you encounter any issues with your online application please get in touch with us via scscandidate.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk
Shortlist
Your application will be acknowledged when it is received.
The panel will select a shortlist of candidates whose applications best demonstrate suitability for the role, by considering the evidence provided against the essential criteria set out in the Person Specification.
Candidates applying under the Disability Confident Scheme who meet the minimum selection criteria in the job specification are guaranteed an interview.
Assessment
Shortlisted candidates may be asked to take part in a series of assessments which could include:
+ Staff Engagement Exercise - a presentation and Q&A with a representative staff group from across the DfT
These assessments will not result in a pass or fail decision. Rather, they are designed to support the panel’s decision making and highlight areas for the panel to explore further at interview.
Interview
You will be asked to attend a panel interview in order to have a more in-depth discussion of your previous experience and professional competence in relation to the criteria set out in the Person Specification.
The Success Profile Framework will be used to assess and recruit the most suitable candidate. As well as Experience, we will also be using the following five behaviours will be used at the interview stage:
+ Leadership
+ Seeing the big Picture
+ Changing and Improving
+ Working with people
+ Managing a Quality Service
Further information about Success Profiles can be found here:
Interviews are expected to take place face to face in our London office, all shortlisted candidates will be asked to prepare a 5 minute presentation.
Offer and Feedback
Unfortunately, due to the anticipated number of applicants for this role, we are unable to provide feedback to those not successful at shortlist stage. Candidates who are shortlisted and attend an interview will be offered verbal feedback from a member of the interview panel.
The timeline later in this pack indicates the date by which decisions are expected to be made, all candidates will be advised of the outcome as soon as possible thereafter, and we will advise on any delays.
Expected Timeline
We will try and offer as much flexibility as we can, but it may not be possible to offer alternative dates for assessments or interviews. You are therefore asked to note the below timetable, exercising flexibility through the recruitment and selection process, in order to meet the dates given. Please note that these dates may be subject to change.
The anticipated timetable is as follows:
Advert Closing Date: 10 November 2024
Shortlist: 20 November 2024
Assessments: 28 November 2024
Panel Interviews: 3 December 2024 and 5 December 2024
Reasonable Adjustment
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.
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.
Further Information
If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact: scscandidate.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk
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:
+ 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).

You will need to be able to show, through your application, that you have the professional skills, breadth of experience and personal qualities for this post, as well as the leadership skills to succeed at Deputy Director level in the Senior Civil Service.
We are looking for a Deputy Director who is capable of progressing complex policies and programmes with energy and pace; can deal flexibly with uncertainty and change; adeptly work with external and Whitehall partners to deliver outcomes collaboratively; and excel at leading and building high performing teams. The successful candidate must therefore be able to demonstrate their capabilities and experience in the following areas:
+ Proven ability to negotiate and influence at the highest level. Able to build credibility and solid relationships with influential stakeholders across organisational boundaries including industry partners, Ministers and cross Government officials to deliver successful outcomes.
+ Proven leader, able to lead diverse and highly motivated teams through transformational change with exceptional emotional intelligence. Able to build a resilient team who thrive under pressure and uncertainty. This will include a commitment to promote and drive forward diversity and inclusion initiatives in the Department.
+ Proven financial leader, experienced in managing complex funding streams and able to use interdisciplinary evidence to influence decision making.
+ Able to effectively analyse complex and inter-related issues and deliver information in a clear and concise manner.
+ Excellent policy skills and good decision-making ensuring our policy delivery thinking is robust, identifying solutions to key risks and emerging issues, with experience encompassing policy development, legislation, and operational implementation by a range of delivery partners.

Alongside your salary of £76,000, Department for Transport contributes £22,017 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 with 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. You’ll benefit from a wide range of training and development opportunities, 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 and one privilege day 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;
+ Flexible working patterns including part-time or time-term working and access to Flexible Working Schemes allowing you to vary your working day as long as you work your total hours;
+ Generous paid maternity and paternity leave which is notably more than the statutory minimum offered by many other employers;
+ 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.