Area Lead, Midlands and South-West Engagement Team

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.
Are you passionate about regional issues and would embrace becoming a specialist on the Midlands and South-West region?
Do you enjoy collaborating and developing positive relationships with senior leaders?
If so, we have an exciting opportunity available to join the Midlands and South-West Engagement Team and would love to hear from you!, + As an Area Lead, you will have a key role in helping to deliver a place-based approach to achieving better transport outcomes, local and regional economic growth and productivity, and wider Government objectives including and levelling up.
+ As Area Lead you will develop and maintain a comprehensive network of contacts, building positive working relationships that allow an open and honest exchange of dialogue through a proactive approach of regular engagement meetings.
+ You will become an expert in the local areas and wider Midlands and South-West region, developing a deep and broad understanding of transport priorities for the region. This will include building a wealth of invaluable intelligence on the transport networks, pipeline schemes, ongoing investment, challenges and opportunities faced by local stakeholders.
+ You will build connections across the department and wider to help local areas navigate central Government and to facilitate solutions to local problems, and use your understanding to support place-based policy making. Your role will include supporting the department’s work and contributing to wider intelligence gathering, providing Ministerial briefings for Topical Orals, visits, and meetings with high profile key stakeholders including Metro Mayors, Council Leaders and MPs.
Your key responsibilities will include, but are not limited to:
+ Establishing and maintaining robust and productive relationships with senior transport officials in local authorities and other key regional organisations, to represent the Department.
+ Developing a deep and broad understanding of transport priorities and working with other government departments to secure positive outcomes for the region.
+ Working with local authorities and regional stakeholders to support the local implementation of key policy drivers such as transport decarbonisation, Investment Zones, and Local Transport Plans.
+ Working collaboratively across the team and with the wider Department on the devolution of transport powers, including devolution deals and reforms arising from the Levelling Up White Paper.
+ Supporting the collation and interpretation of intelligence across the division as a whole, contributing to our central intelligence function.
For further information, please see the attached Role Profile., This role is available to individuals who wish to be spending their office time in Birmingham, and we would also expect the individual to be willing to regularly travel to meet with relevant stakeholders across the region, and occasionally visit alternative DfT offices.
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.
If you would like to find out more about what it’s like to work within the DfT Policy Profession, please click here - https://careers.dft.gov.uk/policy/

Behaviours
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
+ Delivering at Pace
+ Working Together
+ Communicating and Influencing
+ Seeing the Big Picture, Within your CV and Personal Statement please provide detailed evidence of your experience of the following:
+ Confident and strong communicator, able to represent the Department in meetings with senior local government officials, and at times with local political leaders.
+ Ability to explain complex issues clearly and concisely, verbally and in writing.
+ Ability to identify risks, issues and opportunities; the initiative to act on these and the judgement to decide when to escalate.
+ Strong organisational skills; able to not only plan but also reassess workloads and discuss priorities if situations change or you face conflicting demands.
The sift is due to take place from 05/06/2024.
Interviews are likely to be held week commencing 27/06/2024.
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.
+ A presentation.
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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+ You will be an articulate communicator, both verbally and in writing, with excellent briefing skills and the ability to explain complex issues clearly and concisely, ensuring that it is understood by all involved.
+ You will be comfortable communicating with stakeholders of all levels and will confidently handle challenging discussions when required.
+ You will be able to rapidly build the knowledge and understanding required to be the “go-to” person for your region both within DfT and with local and regional stakeholders.
+ You will enjoy collaborating with a wide range of stakeholders, enabling you to develop and maintain robust working relationships.

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.