Senior Resilience Advisor

We recognise the challenges that people with protected characteristics may experience on the job market and in their career progression. We are fully committed to being an inclusive employer and ensuring equal opportunities. We are keen to make our workforce as diverse as possible, and we hope to attract applications from underrepresented groups, including ethnic minorities, people with a disability, and people with gender diverse identities.
Do you enjoy problem solving and finding creative solutions?
Can you grasp new complex subject areas quickly?
Would you like to be part of a team that is responsible for building resilience to future threats and hazards from terrorist incidents to volcano eruptions?
If so, then we would love for you to apply!, The Transport Resilience, Analysis, International and Sanctions Directorate within DfT is home to the Resilience Division. The Division’s main objective is to ensure that the Department can prepare for, mitigate and respond to a major incident impacting the UK transport network and wider UK Government interests.
The Division is responsible for leading the Department’s identification and preparedness for catastrophic and other security and resilience risks; and developing and implementing a new approach to resilience within the Department through a transport Resilience Strategy.
As a part of this Division, you will work with partners across DfT, other government departments, and academia and industry, to build the department’s resilience to future threats and hazards. These could range from terrorist incidents and cyber attacks to catastrophic flooding and volcanic eruptions.
One of the roles will focus on leading the exercising and lessons portfolio for the Department. There will be some scope for individual tailoring of focus areas according to expertise and interest, and plenty of opportunity to expand your skills and knowledge, particularly in leadership.
These roles are ideal for individuals looking to take on a challenge and broaden their experience. There will be opportunities to brief senior officials and Ministers and represent the Department at cross-Whitehall discussions and multinational fora., + Leading the department’s exercising and lessons programme.
+ Collaborating with modal policy experts to understand the impacts of different risks facing the department, and escalating appropriately to senior leaders.
+ Undertaking capability assessments on the department’s ability to mitigate and manage civil emergencies.
+ Implementation of the transport Resilience Strategy.
+ Supporting the planning for major events to ensure transport is factored into central government Concept of Operations.
+ Leading the department’s contingency and response planning for catastrophic risks such as nationwide blackouts, severe space weather events, and biological attacks.
+ Building relationships with analysis, science and research teams, and with experts across government and beyond, to provide evidence for the team’s work.
+ Deputising for the Head of Risk and Resilience Strategy and/or Head of Major Events Planning, Exercising and Lessons and/or Head of Catastrophic Contingency Planning at internal management, cross-Whitehall and external meetings.
For an in-depth insight into the role please refer to the Role Profile., We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
+ Seeing the Big Picture
+ Working Together
+ Making Effective Decisions
+ Communicating and Influencing

Technical skills
We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:
+ Pillar one: Strategy - 1.3. Participation and Engagement, The sift is due to take place from w/c 16th September.
Interviews/assessments are likely to be held w/c 30th September.
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.
This interview could be conducted online via Teams or face to face at one of our offices. Further details will be provided to you should you be selected for interview.
You’re encouraged to become familiar with the role profile and the Policy Profession Framework, as you may be assessed against any of the criteria recorded within.
The Department for Transport alongside other Government Departments recruit using Success Profiles. This means for each role we consider what you will need to demonstrate in order to be successful. This gives us the best possible chance of finding the right person for the job, drives up performance and improves diversity and inclusivity.
For further information on Success Profiles visit our Careers website.
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., 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.
For further information on National Security Vetting please visit the following page https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/demystifying-vetting
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

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).

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).
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You will need to be able to work at pace, and happy to work in an environment where roles need to be flexible at times. You are confident at communicating and will use these skills to communicate with peers, seniors and key stakeholders within DfT and in other government departments.
You will have the ability to familiarise yourself rapidly with the skills needed in such roles so that you can effectively develop the team’s products and deliver. You will also have the ability to think around an issue, listen effectively, and solve problems which will be critical to making this role a success.
Though you will not need to have previous experience of managing or leading others, you should be willing to do so, potentially in a matrix-management system. In any case, you will need to have (or develop) leadership skills as you lead pieces of work across the team. You will have the ability to quickly grasp new complex subject areas., + Experience of understanding complex problems and finding creative solutions considering risks and how to mitigate these risks.
+ Experience of collaborating with internal and external stakeholders, building trusted working relationships.
+ Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including experience of developing briefings and presentations.

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.