Ministry of Justice

Business Area:  Security and Protection Group

Role Title:  Senior Policy Adviser-Policy, Outreach and Engagement, and Programmes

Terms of Appointment:  Permanent

Band:  SEO  

Location:  Northern Ireland - Erskine House, 20-32 Chichester St, Belfast BT1 4GF

Occasional travel between Belfast and London will be required.

Vacancy Manager:  Colin Cameron

Applications Invited From:  External Candidates and Existing Civil Servants on level transfe

New entrants to the Civil Service will be expected to join on the minimum of the pay range. 

Existing Civil Servants will have their salary calculated in accordance with the Department’s pay on transfer / pay on promotion rules. The national starting salary is £41,462

Background

The Northern Ireland Office supports the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland in promoting the best interests of Northern Ireland. We make sure that Northern Ireland interests are represented within the UK Government and that UK Government responsibilities are fully and effectively represented in Northern Ireland. We are the centre of expertise on Northern Ireland issues across Government. 

The Northern Ireland Office employs around 170 staff, with offices in Belfast and London. As a small Department, we adopt a flexible project-based approach to ensure that we have the right people, with the right skills, in the right place to support the delivery of our key objectives. 

Due to our structure and size, we are able to offer extensive exposure to Ministers and the opportunity to work on a far wider portfolio of policy and responsibilities than might be the case in a larger department. This creates an interesting and stimulating work environment. 

Our key priorities are set out in our Operational Delivery plan and include: 

• Supporting greater inclusion, tolerance and openness in Northern Ireland 
• Contributing to a safer Northern Ireland, where terrorist and paramilitary groups are less able to cause harm to communities
• Ensuring that governance in Northern Ireland is responsive, transparent and able to deliver effective public service. 
• Addressing the legacy of the past in Northern Ireland 

For more information about what we do: 

Visit:https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/northern-ireland-office https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/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 senior policy adviser to work flexibly across policy, outreach and engagement and programme management portfolios within the Security and Protection Group. Teams across the group work closely together on many areas of shared and overlapping interest and this may be reflected in changes to the team structures in the medium term.   

In this role, as a policy advisor, you will be expected to develop a strong expertise on Northern Ireland politics, the full range of issues affecting communities in Northern Ireland, and the events, people and decisions that shape them. You will take the lead on a number of strands of work to develop a comprehensive and shared evidence base which informs the design and delivery of interventions to tackle the threat from terrorism and paramilitarism, in support of the UK Government’s national security foundation and the Safer Streets Mission. You will play a lead role in delivery of a priority project to develop and deliver policy interventions that move groups away from violence. You will need to build and maintain strong collaborative relationships with a wide variety of stakeholders across the UK Government, the Northern Ireland Civil Service, the Police Service of Northern Ireland and the wider security, law enforcement and justice community.  

Outreach and engagement will be core to your work. You will lead on a comprehensive programme of stakeholder mapping and engagement which provides insight and understanding of issues concerning communities affected by paramilitarism and terrorism in Northern Ireland and ensures that this insight is shared across partners. You will develop relationships with a wide range of community stakeholders, particularly in the communities affected by paramilitarism, to build an understanding of the challenges faced by communities in Northern Ireland and the impact these have on sentiment, to inform the development and delivery of policies and programmes that help to keep Northern Ireland safe. Your insight will play a vital role in how the department assesses the risk of and responds to disorder and violence in communities. You will support the planning and delivery of a programme of senior official and ministerial engagements with community stakeholders. You will also make a significant contribution to development and delivery of wider departmental priorities based on an understanding of community and political perspectives on these issues.   

On programmes, you will work to ensure that the evidence base which you are helping to build and the insight you provide from your engagement help to shape delivery of a multi-agency strategic programme of activity in support of the UK Government’s responsibility for tackling national security threats in Northern Ireland, as part of a system wide approach that aims to reduce violence and harm from a range of threats. You will play a key role in ensuring that the UK Government’s resources are used effectively to improve ways of working across the system to tackle the range of violence and harms, and to reduce individual vulnerability and build community resilience to these harms.  

You will play a key role in ensuring that the Northern Ireland Office and the whole of the UK Government maintains a strong understanding of politics, community concerns, events and issues in Northern Ireland and their impact on wider UK Government policy and approaches. 

You will work closely with other group members in London and Belfast to ensure that ministers are fully briefed on these 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. 

As part of a wider team covering policy, strategy, programmes and engagement, you will also be expected to flex to take on new work across this portfolio as the strategic context changes and the delivery environment evolves. 

For this role it is important that applicants have experience of working in policy, stakeholder engagement and programme environments in Government, and experience of building, maintaining and delivering through a diverse network of stakeholders with competing priorities. The role offers a significant amount of autonomy, and the post-holder should be comfortable with driving forward work and maintaining effective, responsive relationships with a wide range of stakeholders. 

Key skills in this role include the ability to explain complex information to stakeholders in a non-complex manner. You will be 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 experience in evidence based policy making alongside an ability to grip new issues quickly, work closely with senior managers and/or Ministers to deliver at pace. You will have an ability to continually innovate, challenge existing practices and identify opportunities for improvement. 

You will be focused on delivering clear outcomes. You will want to work in a group with a strong focus on learning and development. You should be willing to undergo DV clearance for this role. 

This is an exciting time to join SPG in what is a high profile and important role that will have regular exposure to senior officials and Ministers.  

Duties and Responsibilities:

The main responsibilities of the role include but are not limited to:  

• Analysis and policy development - Identifying risks to political/societal stability in Northern Ireland, and working with teams across the NIO and with devolved and other partners to better understand, manage and mitigate these. Actively monitoring and reporting on political and societal events in Northern Ireland, and using excellent political awareness and judgement to identify and communicate the wider implications of these for the work of the NIO and wider UK Government. Drafting submissions and providing written and oral briefings to Ministers and senior officials; leading on the development and delivery of policies and programmes that support efforts to tackle terrorism and wider violence and harm.
• Stakeholder outreach and engagement - building, maintaining and delivering through effective relationships with a diverse network of stakeholders including a range of statutory partners, community and voluntary sector partners in the communities most affected by paramilitarism. Supporting senior official/ministerial engagements with community stakeholders
• Innovation and improvement - this will include identifying opportunities for better coordination and delivery across a range of programmes, drawing on the expertise of partners in NI and across UK Government departments to ensure the strategic approach to tackling violence and harm in Northern Ireland continually reflects existing best domestic and international practice.
• Programme and project management - supporting programme management colleagues in the wider group on the design, delivery, and evaluation of programmatic activity.

Essential Criteria:

The post holder will need to demonstrate the following in their application and at interview:  

• Strong partnering and collaborating skills, and the ability to build strong relationships with a diverse range of stakeholders to support effective delivery of strategic outcomes.
• Excellent communication and influencing skills to influence a wide variety of stakeholders at different levels, and to present complex information and recommendations clearly and impactfully to senior officials and Ministers.
• Sound judgement and analytical skills, the ability to make timely, evidence based recommendations and decisions, the ability to develop workable options for policy delivery, and the ability to present and communicate complex information to a range of audiences.
• Strong ability to see the bigger picture and to weigh up the pros and cons of various factors to give robust and accurate advice to senior leaders.
• Ability to self-organise, prioritise and pay close attention to detail.
• DV clearance is essential and must be achieved before commencing the full duties of the post, therefore applicants will need to be prepared to go through this process and attain the requisite clearance.

Desirable Criteria:

• A good understanding of the political and societal environment in Northern Ireland.
• Experience working on policy, projects or programmes related to national security, community development, or conflict resolution.
• NI driving licence and access to a vehicle

Behaviours:

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

• Working Together
• Making Effective Decisions
• 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 may run the initial sift on the lead Behaviour “Working Together”.  

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?

Strengths

You will be asked two strengths questions. It is difficult to prepare for strength type questions. However, you can think through your answers, focus on your achievements and aspects you enjoy and decide how these can be applied in the organisation and role. While strengths questions are shorter and we do not expect a full STAR response, the panel is interested in your first reaction to the question and information or reasoning to support this. 

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 DV and to be eligible to apply for this role you should have been present in the UK continuously for the past 10 years  

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

Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. 

Please see our candidate guidance for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Further Information:

Further information about the post may be obtained from Colin Cameron via email to colin.cameron@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.

Complaints:

The Civil Service Code sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants. Appointment to the Civil Service is governed by the Civil Service Commission’s Recruitment Principles. You have the right to complain if you feel a department has breached the requirement of the Recruitment Principles. Please contact SSCL (Moj-recruitment-vetting-enquiries@sscl.gse.gov.uk) in the first instance. If you are not satisfied with the response, you may bring your complaint to the Commission. For further information on bringing a complaint to the Civil Service Commission please visit their web pages:

http://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk/civil-service-recruitment/complaints/

https://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk/code/

Reserve Lists:

In the event that the advertised post following interview, identifies more appointable applicants than available posts, we may hold applicant details on a merit/reserve list for a period of 12 months from which further future appointments can be made. Candidates placed on a reserve list will be informed of this. Those candidates who do not wish to remain on the reserve list should contact MoJ-recruitment-vetting-enquiries@gov.sscl.com to be removed from the reserve list.