Operational Delivery Team Leader

Are you passionate about leading and supporting a team to drive productivity?
Do you care about supporting our food and farming industry, and helping rural communities create a better place to live?
If you are, then why not join the Rural Payments Agency and be a part of a dynamic team dedicated to administering direct aid and rural development payments of over £2 billion annually to farmers and rural businesses in England. We are committed to world class farming and land management for the environment, food, and rural resilience.
Please see below a short video giving an overview of why the RPA is a great place to work:
We are holding drop-in sessions to give candidates the opportunity to speak to Team Leaders within the RPA to find out more about the role on offer.
Please join us on MS Teams via the links below:
Thursday 8th August 10am-11am
Tuesday 13th August 5pm-6pm
Thursday 22nd August 12noon-1pm
Further information can be found on in the candidate pack attached to the advert or on the Rural Payments Agency website here: rpa.gov.uk, As a Team Leader you will be leading colleagues to deliver an excellent service to rural communities by developing and leading people, building an innovative and resilient team, and driving the quality of our work and improving performance.
You will work flexibly to contribute to the best outcome for the agency and our customers, while meeting the changing demands of our organisation. The skills and requirements of Executive Officers (EO's) are similar across all our operational areas and training will be provided on all our systems and tasks.
As a Team Leader within the Rural Payments Agency, your duties will include but are not limited to:
+ Leading a team of Administrative Officers (AO's).
+ Delivering in a fast-paced environment.
+ Monitoring and managing performance of your team, including HR responsibilities.
+ Using data to manage workloads and drive productivity.
+ Lead and support people through change.
Some roles may include Line Management of a dispersed team and there may be the requirement for regular travel., We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
+ Leadership
+ Communicating and Influencing
We only ask for evidence of these behaviours on your application form:
+ Leadership, Your Personal Statement should be no more than 500-words and detail evidence of how you meet the Essential Criteria as noted in the person specification section of the job advert. Guidance on how to write a Personal Statement.
Your Behaviour Statement should be no more than 250-words and be aligned to the Behaviour 'Leadership'. Guidance on how to write to a Behaviour Statement.
Sift
An initial sift will be conducted using the Personal Statement. Candidates who pass the initial sift will be progressed to a full sift.
Interview
If successful at application stage, you will be invited to interview where you will be assessed on Experience, Behaviours and Strengths. The behaviours 'Leadership' and 'Communicating and Influencing' will be assessed via a situational task. Details of the task will be provided to you 45-minutes prior to your interview start time.
Your interview will either be conducted face to face or by video. You will be notified of the location if you are selected for interview.
Reserve List
A reserve list may be held for a period of 12 months from which further appointments can be made.
Candidate Pack
Please see the candidate pack attached to this advert.
Merit Lists
Where more than one location is advertised, candidates will be posted in merit order by location. You will be asked to state your location preference on your application.
Near Miss Candidates
Candidates who are judged to be a near miss at interview may be considered for other positions in RPA which may be at a lower grade but have a potential skills match., + Complete the “Assistance required” section in the “Additional requirements” page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional.
Accessibility
If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section.
Criminal Record Check
If successful and transferring from another Government Department, a criminal record check maybe carried out.
In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to Disclosure and Barring Service on your behalf. However, we recognise in exceptional circumstance some candidates will want to send their completed forms direct. If you will be doing this, please advise Government Recruitment Service of your intention by emailing Pre-Employment.Checks@cabinetoffice.gov.uk stating the job reference number in the subject heading.
Internal Fraud Database Check
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.
Childcare Vouchers
Any move to Defra from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax Free Childcare. Determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk
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.

+ Experience in leading, motivating and supporting others.
+ The ability to communicate and influence others at all levels.
+ Demonstrable organisational skills with the ability to work at pace.
+ The ability to manage work, monitor and track progress of yourself and others.
+ Confident in the use of standard IT packages, with the ability to learn and adapt to different technologies and software packages.

Where the location is ‘National’ the successful appointee should discuss and agree an appropriate contractual location in line with both Defra Group location policy and site capacity, prior to proceeding with pre-employment processes.
Successful applicants currently employed by the hiring Defra organisation for this post may choose to remain in their current contractual location or may choose to change contractual location to one of those listed above. This should be discussed and agreed prior to proceeding with pre-employment processes.
The agreed amount of time spent at a workplace for this post will reflect the requirement for Civil Servants to spend at least 60% of their working time in an organisation workplace with the option to work the remaining time flexibly from home. Working time spent at a workplace may include time spent at other organisational locations including field-based operational locations, together with supplier, customer or partner locations. This is a non-contractual agreement which is consistent with common Civil Service expectations.
Travel costs to non-contractual workplaces will be subject to departmental travel and subsistence policies. Travel costs to contractual workplaces are the responsibility of the employee.
The successful candidate is required to carry out all their duties from a UK location, and cannot do so from an overseas location at any time.
Defra includes the core department, APHA, RPA, Cefas and VMD.
Visa Sponsorship Statement
Please take note that Defra does not hold a UK Visa & Immigration (UKVI) Skilled Worker License sponsor and are unable to sponsor any individuals for Skilled Worker Sponsorship.
Accessibility
If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the ‘Contact point for applicants’ section.
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 via defrarecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible to discuss your needs. Please note that it may take up to 48hours for GRS to respond to your request, so please contact them more than 48 hours before the closing date.

Alongside your salary of £27,470, Rural Payments Agency contributes £7,416 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.
+ Learning and development tailored to your role
+ An environment with flexible working options
+ A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
+ A Civil Service pension with an average employer contribution of 27%