Deputy Director School Teachers Review Body and Major Review of Judiciary
Department for Business and Trade
Apply before 11:55 pm on Sunday 22nd September 2024
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About the job
Job summary
The last year has seen the public sector pay and the pay review bodies in the headlines like never before. Everyone has a view on how much public sector workers should be paid. But what does the evidence say? How can it be fair to both the taxpayer and the employee? Do you think you could help the pay review bodies answer these questions? If so, we look forward to hearing from you.
All governments wrestle with the problem of setting public sector pay at levels that are both fair and competitive. Since 1971, successive governments have decided that they want independent advice, to the help them decide. The public sector pay review bodies provide this advice, and the Office of the Pay Review Bodies (OPRB - previously ‘the Office of Manpower Economics (OME)’) gives them the professional support they need.
Today, there are eight pay review bodies who collectively influence more than £100 billion of annual public expenditure. Working in OPRB provides the chance to work closely with review body members (high- calibre senior people from private and public sector) and to gain an understanding of different public sector workforces and their pay arrangements. Alongside review body members, we hear directly from public sector workers, during visits to their places of work all over the country and internationally. We analyse written evidence provided by the various stakeholders and summarise it for the review body members. We arrange oral evidence sessions with ministers; public sector employers; and recognised trade unions. Finally, we help the review bodies develop their recommendations and draft their reports.
Working in OPRB requires a mixture of analytical ability, industrial relations sensitivity, good drafting and communications skills, and plain common sense. We are all civil servants on DBT's books, but our working relationships go across Whitehall and beyond. Collectively, our knowledge of different public sector pay arrangements is unmatched.
The office has evolved since the pandemic and now fully embraces hybrid working. But there is more to do to capitalise on new ideas, technology and data. Together with my small leadership team you will help develop staff and improve organisational capability.
Job description
Together the Pay Review Bodies make recommendations on pay for 2.3 million workers, with a pay bill of over £122 billion a year. All Pay Review Body reports are submitted to Parliament and are published on our website on gov.uk. You will be one of four Deputy Directors in OPRB, an independent civil service organisation of around 30 staff civil servants within DBT providing the secretariat for the eight independent public sector Pay Review Bodies.
In this role you will have more autonomy than many DD roles and be responsible for enabling Pay Review Bodies to make recommendations which are authoritative and can bear the intense scrutiny which public sector pay policy attracts. You will be the key adviser to the chair and members of the School Teachers Review Body and to members of the Review Body on Senior Salaries for its ‘Major Review’ of the Judiciary salary structure. You will manage their strategic relationships with the sponsoring departments, the employer organisations, and relevant trade unions.
Key responsibilities:
- Lead the team supporting the School Teachers Review Body (STRB) which advises on remuneration of teachers in England, with a pay bill of c£12 billion. Enabling STRB to arrive at robust recommendations in its 2025 report, to be delivered in the spring, will be your main initial task.
- Lead a second secretariat of the Senior Salaries Review Body (SSRB). This team is being created to conduct the Major Review of the Judicial Salary Structure. This fundamental review of the pay structure of the judiciary, the first since 2017-18, is likely to take 18 months and report in spring/summer 2026. You may also lead on some other elements of SSB work.
- With your small Grade 7-led secretariat teams, which include analytical support, you will support their Review Bodies to provide sound, well-evidenced independent advice to government, meeting agreed deadlines for submitting reports. You will help the chair and members determine their priorities and, as reports are developed, ensure the clarity and quality of drafting.
- Your STRB and SSRB tasks will require sensitivity to challenging contexts. Both the teaching profession and the judiciary are experiencing considerable pressures including recruitment shortfalls. There has been industrial action over teachers’ pay in 2023. The judiciary faces significant backlogs in the courts. Developing proposals for their future remuneration which respond to these challenges and offer the Government value for money for the taxpayer will require a strong grasp of the evidence, strategic thought and careful treatment of sensitive issues.
- As a member of the senior leadership team, you will also contribute to leading OME, developing its staff and organisational capabilities.
- It is expected that when the Major Review is complete you will take over the leadership of the SSRB secretariat, supporting it to produce future annual reports on all its remit groups.
Person specification
Essential Criteria
- A highly experienced and inclusive leader with the proven ability to lead and coach an effective team of professional and generalist staff and contribute to organisational capability
- Excellent influencing and relationship-building skills; able to gain the confidence of review body members and the respect of a wide range of senior external stakeholders.
- Excellent written and oral communication skills, with the ability to draft persuasive arguments.
- Proven experience of delivering at pace and working well under pressure to tight and inflexible timelines, with ability to apply good project management skills to ensure operational delivery of goals.
- Ability to interpret economic, statistical and other evidence to draw key conclusions
- A proven understanding and knowledge of the workings of government departments and the wider economy with experience in offering advice and recommendations for key policy areas.
Desirable Criteria
- Some knowledge of pay, the groups covered by and School Teachers Review Body, the Senior Salaries Review Body and/or working with secretariats or boards would be helpful.
Benefits
- 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%
Things you need to know
Selection process details
Candidate Information Call
The hiring manager for this position David Fry will be hosting a virtual call for any interested applicants to discuss the role and answer any questions. Please note this is not part of the formal assessment process.
This will be held via Microsoft Teams on 12th September 2024 14:00-15:00.
Please click here for the meeting link.
How to apply
Please follow the online instructions on the Civil Service Jobs website to apply for this role. Applications must be submitted no later than 23:55 on 22/09/2024.
You will be asked to upload the two documents outlined below.
It is essential you add your full name to both documents:
- A CV setting out your career history, highlighting specific responsibilities and achievements that are relevant for this role. Please provide reasons for any gaps within the last two years.
- A Supporting Statement of around two pages of A4, providing examples of how your experience meets the essential criteria.
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.
If you encounter any issues or are unable to apply online please contact SCSRecruitment@businessandtrade.gov.uk in the first instance and for further information please see the candidate pack attached.
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
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.
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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).
Diversity and Inclusion
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Contact point for applicants
Job contact :
- Name : SCS Recruitment Team
- Email : SCSRecruitment@businessandtrade.gov.uk
Recruitment team
- Email : SCSRecruitment@businessandtrade.gov.uk
Further information
