Senior Policy Advisor
Home Office
Apply before 11:55 pm on Sunday 13th October 2024
Details
Reference number
Salary
London pay location: London £45,600 - £48,792.
Job grade
Contract type
Secondment
Length of employment
Business area
Type of role
Working pattern
Number of jobs available
Contents
Location
About the job
Job summary
The Home Office works to build a safe, fair and prosperous UK. We achieve this through our work on counter-terrorism, policing, fire, crime, drugs policy, immigration and passports.
The Public Safety Group’s role is to keep the public safe by cutting crime, disrupting the highest harm criminals, protecting the vulnerable and ensuring that our police, fire and rescue services are as efficient and effective as they can be in delivering front line public services. We work with our partners in other government departments, local government and the voluntary sector to develop and implement policy, provide funding, and deliver legislation.
This is a high-profile post which provides expert advice to Ministers and Senior Officials on the PCC role across the policing and crime landscape. The post aims to protect and strengthen the integrity and effectiveness of the PCC model, and includes leading on the Home Office grant to the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners (APCC).
The post will also have the opportunity to help take forward key work associated with the Government’s ambitions on Safer Streets and police system reform. You will be part of a team responsible for developing policy in a complex environment and making a real difference to policing and crime.
Job description
Your role will be to act as the senior policy lead for the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) model. Introduced in 2012, directly elected PCCs are the voice of the people and hold the police to account.
You will join the Police Strategy and Reform Unit which has responsibility for delivering the Minister’s strategic vision for policing, ensuring the system reform agenda is delivered within a strengthened framework of effective governance, accountability, and scrutiny. This role leads on the maintenance and development of the PCC model, the APCC grant and supports key work associated with the Government’s Safer Streets mission and reform to the national policing system.
Occasional travel may be required including attendance at APCC General Meetings and the joint annual summit held by the APCC and National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC).
Key tasks and areas of responsibility include:
- Acting as the senior policy lead for the PCC model, providing expert advice to Ministers and other policy units across the Home Office and Government on the role of PCCs in the wider policing and crime landscape. You will lead on key activities such as briefing, correspondence and PQs within your policy area and you will need to develop a sound understanding of the legislation underpinning the PCC model.
- Supporting senior colleagues in delivering the Government’s ambitions related to Safer Streets and reform of the national policing system. This will involve considering the impact on the PCC role and taking forward workstreams, including legislative and non-legislative changes, to strengthen and refocus the PCC model.
- Leading the design, delivery and monitoring of the annual grant to the APCC in compliance with Home Office grant requirements. You will work closely with the APCC and policy units across the Home Office and Ministry of Justice to design the grant objectives and specific deliverables, ensuring the grant supports the overarching missions of Ministers and delivers value for money.
- Leading on preparations for Ministerial and Senior Official attendance and speeches at key external policing events, including the annual APCC-NPCC joint summit.
Secondment:
This role is available permanently and also as a secondment option for candidates from other departments. The secondment will be offered for a period of 24 months.
For recruitment on secondment your home department will need to agree that you can be released for this period of time. At the end of the period you will return to your home department.
Working Pattern:
Due to the business requirements of this role, it is only available on a full-time basis. However, compressed hours are available.
Person specification
Essential Criteria:
- Strong written and oral communication skills, including in conveying objectives or policy thinking and effective summaries of decisions and meetings.
- Experience of effective stakeholder management including setting priorities, driving action, and informing senior colleagues and stakeholders.
- Strong interpersonal skills, including the ability to form effective working relationships with key stakeholders and senior and junior delivery partners and the ability to manage challenging conversations when necessary.
- The ability to take responsibility for your own work and meet tight deadlines, with experience of supporting or managing projects, programmes, portfolios, and evidence of taking a programme management approach to your work.
Desirable Criteria:
- Knowledge and understanding of policing services and policing governance.
- Experience of working with parliament, such as taking forward legislative reform or a role/project requiring a sound understanding of legislation.
Behaviours
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
- Communicating and Influencing
- Delivering at Pace
- Making Effective Decisions
- Working Together
We only ask for evidence of these behaviours on your application form:
- Communicating and Influencing
Benefits
In addition to your salary, a career with the Home Office offers a range of benefits, including:
- A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%.
- In-year reward scheme for one-off or sustained exceptional personal or team achievements.
- 25 days annual leave on appointment, rising with service to 30 days.
- Eight days of public holidays, plus one additional privilege day.
- Where business needs allow, some roles may be suitable for a combination of office and home-based working. This is a non-contractual arrangement where all employees will be expected to spend a minimum of 60% of their working time in an office.
Things you need to know
Selection process details
This gives us the best possible chance of finding the right person for the job, drives up performance and improves diversity and inclusivity.
We will endeavour to conduct the selection process in line with the dates indicated below, but cannot guarantee that these will not, where necessary, be revised.
Application – by the 13th October 2024.
As part of the application process, you will be asked to complete:
- Personal Statement (maximum 1000 words).
- Evidence of the Behaviour, "Communicating and influencing"(maximum of 250 words per Behaviour).
The Personal Statement should be aligned to and demonstrate how you meet the skills and experience set out in the essential criteria, detailed in the job description.
For guidance and information on how to construct your application (Personal Statement and Behaviours), you are encouraged to visit Civil Service Careers website.
Sift:
Sift – week commencing the 14th of October 2024.
The sift will be held on the Personal Statement and Behaviour "Communicating and influencing".
Should a high volume of applications be received, an initial sift will be conducted on the Personal Statement. Candidates who pass the initial sift will then be progressed to a full sift that will consist of the Behaviour "Communicating and influencing".
Interviews:
Interview – week commencing the 11th of November 2024.
If you are successful at sift stage, you will be invited to an interview that will be:
- Behaviour (as listed in the job advert) based questions.
The interview will take place remotely. Candidates will be required to have access to:
- A laptop (personal or work) with a working webcam
- Good internet connection
- Microsoft Teams
It is advisable to access your interview from a windows operating system laptop, desktop, phone, or tablet as there is no guarantee that Microsoft Teams will work without issue on an Apple laptop, tablet, or desktop.
Problems during the application process:
If you experience problems accessing this advert, or you think you’ve made a mistake on an initial application, please contact hocandidates.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk, including the vacancy reference, at least two working days before the vacancy closes. Further information can be found on our website.
Locations:
You can select up to two locations in order of preference. Please ensure that these are locations you are prepared to travel to. If you are offered a role at one of your preferred location(s) and you decline, your application will be withdrawn.
Reserve List:
A reserve list may be held for a period of up to 12 months from which further appointments may be made. There is no guarantee that being held on a reserve list will lead to a job offer. Further information can be found on our website.
Reserve lists will be held for each location. Candidates will be appointed in merit order by location.
Candidates judged to be a near miss at interview may be offered a post at the grade below the one advertised without the need to go through a further selection process, providing the role has the same Success Profiles elements and essential skills. There is no guarantee that further such vacancies will arise.
Security:
Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is Security Clearance(SC).
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.
Additional Security Checks:
As well as successfully obtaining UK Security Vetting clearance, candidates will be subject to a range of additional checks. The range of checks carried out will depend on whether you are a current Home Office employee, existing civil servant or an external new entrant as well as the role requirements. Further details are included in the Notes to Candidates.
Further Information
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 circumstances 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-EmploymentChecks.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk stating the job reference number in the subject heading.
For further information on National Security Vetting please visit the following page https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/demystifying-vetting
If you are invited to an interview, you will be required to bring documentation for thepurposes of establishing your identity.
You will need to meet the nationality requirements for this role and obtain the necessary security clearance to take it up. For meaningful security checks to be carried out, individuals need to have lived in the UK for a sufficient period of time. Learn more on our website. Security Checks - Home Office Careers
Visa sponsorship
We do not sponsor individuals via Skilled Worker Sponsorship / Tier 2 (General) work visas.
Reasonable Adjustments
If a person with disabilities is 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 HOrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs
- 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
If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the ‘Contact point for applicants’ section.
Feedback
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
Security
Nationality requirements
Working for the Civil Service
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
Apply and further information
Contact point for applicants
Job contact :
- Name : HORC Campaign Team (HSG, PSG & MBG)
- Email : HORCCampaignTeamHSGPSGandMBG@homeoffice.gov.uk
Recruitment team
- Email : HOrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk
Further information
principles, and wish to make a complaint, then you should contact in the first instance
HORecruitment.GRS@cabinetoffice.gov.uk. If you are not satisfied with the response that you receive, then you can contact the Civil Service Commission.
