Ministry of Justice

About The Role:

National Security is one of the foundations on which the Missions set in the UK Government’s Plan for Change are built. Through our work to achieve a safer Northern Ireland, the Security & Protection Group (SPG) in the NIO plays a key role in sustaining this foundation,  and in the delivery of the Government’s Safer Streets Mission. We do this through core teams working on: National Security Policy, Strategy, Programmes and Engagement, Operational Delivery, and Casework and Protection.

We pride ourselves on delivering high-quality work on issues that matter, at pace and often in challenging circumstances. All SPG colleagues have an anchor within one of the core teams, allowing them to build specialist knowledge, expertise and relationships. 

Everyone, regardless of grade or experience, also has the opportunity to get involved in project-based work across the group and the wider department beyond their core teams. This approach ensures we add more value, are agile enough to deliver on key departmental priorities and gives everyone in SPG a wide range of developmental opportunities. We are committed to using every opportunity to continuously improve ourselves and our business outcomes.

You can expect diverse, interesting and rewarding work that goes to the heart of public service and you can expect to do this in a safe space where individuals and teams are supported to deliver and encouraged to innovate, stretch, challenge and learn.

We are currently looking to recruit a Policy Adviser within the Security and Protection Group.

In this role you will gain a broad range of skills within a supportive and focused team.  

You will work closely with other group members in London and Belfast to ensure that Ministers are fully briefed on national security matters, and owing to the Department’s relatively small size this will mean more exposure to Ministers than might otherwise be the case in a larger Department.

You will work closely with partners in Number 10, the Cabinet Office, Home Office and other government departments, a range of security and law enforcement partners, and colleagues in the NI devolved government. 

You will support the delivery of work across SPG by coordinating key workstreams including briefing requests, correspondence and Write Rounds, ensuring that deadlines are met.

As a policy adviser you will help to develop strategic policy direction and use your policy and project management skills on a range of high-profile, complex and challenging national security issues. You will be ready to take on challenges with enthusiasm and commitment and move flexibly between policy and operational roles.

You will be responsible for working on long term policy priorities and may also work on a short to medium term basis on key policy and national security related casework priorities across the Security and Protection Group where there is a priority business need for additional or new skills.  

Building and maintaining a strong network of business critical relationships with policy and operational partners in Northern Ireland and in Whitehall will be key. Good communication and relationship management skills will be essential.

You will be articulate, discreet and thoughtful in your approach, quick to pick up new subjects and proactive in all your dealings. You will have a strong political antenna and inspire confidence when briefing verbally and in writing. You will be accustomed to building productive relationships in difficult contexts and being agile and able to anticipate and respond quickly to new challenges and unexpected developments. You will be focused on delivering clear outcomes. You will want to work in a group with a strong focus on learning and development and will work with your line manager to agree a development plan. You should be willing to undergo SC vetting for this role and, if later required, Developed Vetting.

Duties and Responsibilities:

Specific responsibilities may include:

• Coordination - support the delivery of key work streams with responsibility for coordinating Freedom of Information requests (FOIs), correspondence and cross government Write Rounds across SPG. Manage and monitor delivery of these and ensure that deadlines are met. Providing secretariat support to key Ministerial - and senior official-led meetings on security.
• Stakeholder management - build and maintain strong collaborative relationships across a range of UK Government departments, the Northern Ireland Civil Service and the Police Service of Northern Ireland to support effective delivery of mutual strategic outcomes.
• Policy delivery - provide timely, accurate and robust advice to Ministers and senior officials on relevant policy issues, including legislation and Codes of Practice. Support the development of handling plans and lines to take in response to policy development.
• Budget delivery - working with an SEO to deliver a budget forecast and maintain ongoing oversight ensuring that any issues are identified and flagged at an early stage.
• There will be opportunities to work across SPG on emerging work streams.

Essential Criteria:

• Excellent written and oral communication skills
• Strong organisational skills to ensure the delivery of work
• The ability to prioritise, meet deadlines and pay close attention to detail
• The ability to develop and maintain effective relationships with colleagues  and stakeholders, and to use your interpersonal skills to achieve results

Desirable Criteria:

• Experience of working on policy
• Experience of briefing senior leaders both orally and in writing
• A good understanding of the political and security environment in Northern Ireland

Behaviours:

We will assess you against the following Success Profiles behaviours at the HEO level during the application sift and interview process:

• Making Effective Decisions (lead behaviour)
• Working Together
• Communicating and Influencing
• Delivering at pace

Experience:

Please provide your work history and a statement of suitability no longer than 500 words outlining how you meet the essential and desirable criteria. Both will be used in order to assess any demonstrable experience, career history and achievements that are relevant to the role.

Your statement of suitability needs to set out evidence of how your experience meets the requirements set out above. Your layout is entirely your preference; you may choose narrative, bullets, etc. One narrative example may cover the requirements needed. You don’t have to explain the whole process, just what you have done and the skills and experience you have used. Share with us what makes you suited to this role and why. What you can do, the skills you have that are transferable and the life experience or passion you have that are linked to this role.

If you don’t have work-based examples then give examples from school/college, clubs, volunteering or other activities you have been involved in. 

Your work history will not be formally assessed so please put the main evidence of your skills into your personal statement. 

More information on behaviours and success profiles can be found here.

Please note that in the event of a large number of applications being received we will run the initial sift on the lead Behaviour “Making Effective Decisions” and the statement of suitability.

Interview:

You will be assessed against the same behaviours at the interview stage and will be asked to provide examples of how you have demonstrated the behaviours.

It may help to use one or more examples of a piece of work you have completed or a situation you have been in and use the WHO or STAR model to explain:   

• WHO - What it was? How you approached the work/situation? What the Outcomes were, what did you achieve? or
• STAR - What was the Situation? What were the Tasks? What Action did you take?  What were the Results of your actions?

If you do not have work-based examples then please give examples from school/college, clubs, volunteering or other activities you have been involved in.  

All applications for employment are considered strictly on the basis of merit.

Offer

Once all interviews have been completed, you will be notified of the outcome by email. Offers will be made in strict merit order to the highest scoring candidate first.

The successful candidate will be notified of a start date following successful security checks.

Additional information received after the closing date will not be considered.  Failure to provide sufficient information in support of an application prior to the closing date will not be considered as grounds for an appeal if an applicant is not shortlisted for interview.

Security Clearance:

This role requires National Security Vetting given the access to sensitive information afforded by the job role.  You can find more information by reviewing the information held in the following links:

United Kingdom Security Vetting: Applicant - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

The vetting charter - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

In addition, there is a minimum UK residency requirement set by the Cabinet Office which is dependent on the security level required for the role.

This role requires SC and to be eligible to apply for this role you should have been present in the UK continuously for the past 5 years

Neither Detached Duty terms nor relocation costs will apply to this post.

Further Information:

Further information about the post may be obtained from Victoria McMullan via email to Victoria.McMullan@nio.gov.uk.

All applications for employment are considered strictly on the basis of merit.

This job description should not be taken as constituting conditions of employment.

Please note that due to the high interest in NIO opportunities, feedback cannot be given if you are unsuccessful at the sift stage. Feedback is available on request if unsuccessful following the interview.