Senior Strategy and Engagement Advisor – Transport Infrastructure Decarbonisation

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 working with a diverse range of stakeholders and building collaborative relationships?
Can you influence stakeholders and confidently deal with conflict?
Would you like to part of the team delivering infrastructure in the most carbon efficient way?
If so, then we would love for you to apply!, The Infrastructure Decarbonisation Division (IDD) is a newly formed and growing team within the Portfolio and Project Delivery Directorate. It was established to lead change, building a culture of whole life carbon reduction across DfT to help ensure that we are planning and delivering our infrastructure in the most carbon-efficient way.
This role is at the forefront of the Government’s wider environmental and decarbonisation ambitions, with growing interest from Ministers and industry stakeholders. Infrastructure decarbonisation cuts across a busy and complicated stakeholder landscape, and you will be leading the development and management of our relationships with ALBs, senior stakeholders in the department, other government departments (OGDs), both internal and external experts, Ministers and special advisers. You will also work to influence wider government policies and strategies, using DfT’s infrastructure portfolio to aid in the adoption of modern methods of construction, low carbon materials and other innovations.
This role reports to the Infrastructure Decarbonisation Strategy and Engagement Lead and provides the opportunity to develop strategy and policy development, project delivery and communicating and influencing skills., + Designing a strategy setting out how DfT can deliver transport infrastructure in line with wider Government policies and its legal duty to reach net zero by 2050 and, in the long-term, aiding in the delivery and monitoring of its implementation.
+ Leading development of IDD’s stakeholder engagement strategy to ensure IDD is effectively influencing stakeholders and is kept informed of the latest policies affecting infrastructure decarbonisation across DfT, our ALBs, wider government and industry.
+ Leading the Division’s engagement with DfT’s Environmental Strategy Team to ensure that relevant Boards are kept abreast of the team’s progress in supporting the management of DfT’s principal risk on reducing environment impacts.
+ Leading engagement on wider decarbonisation and environmental policies both within DfT and across Whitehall to ensure cross-cutting DfT policy objectives are recognised and properly embedded, including policies such as low carbon fuels and materials, R&D, and procurement.
+ Leading on the briefing and correspondence for the team.
For an in-depth insight into the role please refer to the Role Profile., 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.
Occasional travel to other DfT offices will be required.

Behaviours
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
+ Communicating and Influencing
+ Working Together
+ 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 - Policy Profession Framework
+ 2. Democracy 2.1. Working with Ministers Level 1: Developing - Policy Profession Framework, + Experience of developing recommendations in a complex area, taking into account a broad spectrum of factors, views, information, and data.
+ Experience of working with internal and external stakeholders, and a track record of building collaborative relationships across organisational boundaries.
Your Personal Statement will be limited to a maximum of 500 words.
The sift is due to take place from 4th November.
Interviews/assessments are likely to be held w/c 18th November.
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:
+ Interview
+ Written policy exercise
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, 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., 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).
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We are looking for an exceptional individual with strong research skills and stakeholder management skills to help drive forward our work on transport infrastructure decarbonisation.
You will require an ability to pick up complex and technical policy areas rapidly, which cut across several sectors and transport modes, and think creatively to find solutions to difficult policy problems or positions.
You will need to nurture working relationships with experts across government, industry and academia to identify and address the key challenges we face in decarbonising the DfT’s infrastructure portfolio.
You will be comfortable influencing stakeholders and confidently dealing with conflict; holding them to account on any goals/objectives they have set and pushing them to go further.
You will have strong written and oral communication skills, an awareness of the importance of data in policy and should be comfortable taking forward areas of policy development from early development to final touches.
Find out more about working within policy at the Department for Transport: https://careers.dft.gov.uk/policy

Alongside your salary of £40,808, Department for Transport contributes £11,822 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.