Wales Office
Job Description for Various Roles
Job Title
Various Roles
Pay Grade
HEO
Salary
£35,335 - £37,847 (National) / £40,014 - £42,859 (London)
Ty William Morgan, Cardiff, CF10 1EP / Gwydyr House, London, SW1A
Location
2NP
Multiple roles including permanent and 18 Month Fixed Term Contract
Contract
with possibility of extension or permanency. Loan from other Government
Departments also considered.
Clearance
CTC (See Additional Information)
About the Wales Office:
The Wales Office is the face of the UK Government in Wales and the voice of Wales in
Westminster. We support the Secretary of State for Wales and the Ministerial team in
representing Wales at the heart of Government. We work in partnership with other
Government Departments and other stakeholders to deliver a stronger Wales within a strong
United Kingdom.
Our departmental values are Commitment, Collaboration and Quality. These shape how we
operate in a challenging, demanding and fast paced environment which requires flexibility,
transparency and professionalism.
The Office is based over two sites, with one base in Cardiff and another in London. The roles
which are currently being advertised as part of this campaign are based in Cardiff as part of
our commitment to the Government’s Places for Growth programme. (Posts with a London
location may be offered where this is an essential requirement of the job role)
As an accredited smarter working organisation, we offer considerable flexibility around ‘the
way we work.’ We have an attractive employee benefits package which includes a
commitment to investing in the learning & development of our staff.
About the team:
Our teams operate flexibly across a wide range of reserved and devolved policy areas,
working to identify opportunities to benefit Wales within emerging UK Government policy and
acting to identify issues and resolve challenges across governments and stakeholders. This
provides our staff with opportunities to gain experience across a range of areas.
Team members will often be called upon to provide briefing for Ministers or senior officials and
provide understanding and insight on the impact of current events on their policy areas.
Description:
We are recruiting for various roles at Higher Executive Officer (HEO) level, which may include:
• Policy, including areas such as economic policy, responses to economic shocks, key
sectors in Wales, domestic affairs, regional growth, constitutional issues and many
more.
• Private Office
• Visits and Events
• Communications
• Corporate
• Programme Management
• And possibilities to work on new programmes such as ‘Brand Wales’ looking to
increase trade and investment for our key sectors.
Additional posts may become available and therefore a reserve list will be held for 12 months
from which further appointments may be made.
Purpose of the Role:
The post holder will play an integral role in working with key stakeholders throughout Whitehall,
delivering policy on reserved matters, whilst progressing the Secretary of State’s priorities.
You will be expected to build effective relationships across Whitehall to help deliver the UK
Government core missions. You will need to work at pace to often challenging deadlines with
an ability to draw together different sources of information and make sense of it for busy
Ministers. You will need to be proficient in keeping abreast of the latest developments within
Wales and throughout the rest of the UK.
Key requirements & responsibilities could include:
• Providing high quality advice and written and oral briefings to the Secretary of State
(SoS) or the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (PUSS).
• Replying to written correspondence from Parliamentarians, external groups, or
members of the public, for example, and supporting the SoS/PUSS to prepare for
Parliamentary engagements, such as Welsh Affairs Committee appearances and
Welsh Orals sessions in the House of Commons.
• Working with other Government Departments across Whitehall and wider external
stakeholders in Wales to ensure that Welsh interests are fully reflected in UK
Government policy.
• Communicating and managing relationships with Local Authorities, Welsh
Government, and other UK Government Departments.
• Researching key information to support Ministers and Senior Officials.
• Supporting with international investment campaigns.
• Developing and maintaining effective relationships with internal teams including
Private Office and the Correspondence Team, working with them to effectively manage
expectations and resolve issues where they arise to ensure consistent delivery.
• Travel may be required to provide support on Ministerial visits or when attending
stakeholder meetings.
• Line management duties.
The job description is not intended to be exhaustive, and it is likely that duties may be altered
from time to time in the light of changing circumstances and after consultation with the
postholder.
Should you be offered a role from this campaign, a full job description will be provided.
Person Specification
In your Statement of Suitability, please evidence how closely you match the essential criteria
and where applicable, please confirm role preferences from those listed in this job advert.
Essential:
• The ability to work autonomously.
• The ability to plan and manage your workload, adapting quickly to changing
circumstances, using initiative, and working proactively as part of a team.
• Proven ability to analyse information from a wide range of sources, working accurately
with good attention to detail.
• An ability to communicate confidently with people at all levels and build rapport with
important stakeholders.
• Experience of drafting, ensuring your work is accurate and precise.
• Intermediate or advanced IT skills, with specific experience of using Microsoft Office
suite.
Desirable:
• Welsh Language skills.
Recruitment Process:
This campaign will be undertaken using the Civil Service Success Profile framework. You will
need to provide evidence in your application to cover the following behaviours:
• Communicating and Influencing (Lead Behaviour) (Application & Interview)
• Delivering at Pace (Application & Interview)
• Working Together (Interview Only)
• Managing a Quality Service (Interview Only)
In the event of a high volume of applicants, we will sift only on the lead behaviour to create a
shortlist for interview.
Strengths may also be tested at interview, but these are not shared in advance.
Additional Information
The Wales Office is not an employer in its own right. Staff recruited to work at the Wales Office
will be employees of the Ministry of Justice who provide employment services on our behalf.
This role requires CTC level clearance. Applicants for National Security Clearance (CTC) must
be resident in the UK for 3 years immediately prior to their application for Security Clearance.
If you have spent significant time abroad (a total of 6 months in the past 3 years), you would
be required to give a reasonable account of the reasons why.
If you do not meet the above requirement, you may still be considered for the role if, for
example:
• You have been serving overseas with HM Armed Forces or in some other official
capacity as a representative of HM Government.
• You were studying abroad.
• You were living overseas with parents.