We recognise the challenges that people with protected characteristics may experience on the job market and in their career progression. We are fully committed to being an inclusive employer and ensuring equal opportunities. We are keen to make our workforce as diverse as possible, and we hope to attract applications from underrepresented groups, including ethnic minorities, people with a disability, and people with gender diverse identities.

Would you like an opportunity that offers exposure to the government's agenda and involves collaboration across Whitehall and with industry partners?

If so, we are looking for two Senior Policy Advisors to join our Freight and Borders (FAB) Directorate, and we would love to hear from you.

Every day, millions of deliveries are made in the UK. Each parcel received at a front door, every product purchased in a shop, and every component delivered to a factory result from the UK's exceptional freight and logistics sector. This sector plays a crucial role in supporting the UK's prosperity, economic growth, health, well-being, and security by ensuring the smooth flow of goods into, out of, and across the country. 

Our Directorate is at the central point of leadership for maximising impact and facilitating collaboration across the government and the sector. Its goal is to support the UK's domestic freight system, current and future border arrangements and the numerous supply chains reliant on the uninterrupted flow of goods and people across UK borders, highlighting the significance of this issue for the UK's economic stability. 

In these senior policy roles, you will be part of a fantastic team that advocates for the freight and logistics sector. You will be working in a fast-paced and changing environment, collaborating across multi-disciplinary teams which provides opportunities to enhance existing expertise, develop new skills and expand your professional network.

The objective of our Multimodal Freight Division (MFD) is to support the government's missions through improving the performance of the UK's domestic freight network as a multimodal system. This means monitoring and understanding the performance of the current network, predicting how it may evolve in the future, and selectively intervening and coordinating interventions to better achieve the government's desired outcomes. Key objectives for intervention include economic growth and decarbonisation, whilst key forms of intervention include infrastructure, innovation, people and skills, and data and insights.  

We have two fantastic opportunities:

• Role 1 - Senior Policy Advisor, Freight Strategy
• Role 2 - Senior Policy Advisor, Multimodal Freight Data & Insights
  
  

Duties and responsibilities for both roles will include:

• Developing and maintaining working relationships with internal, cross-government, and industry partners to support policy development and implementation.
• Contributing to policy advice for senior leaders, including, Ministerial briefings, Parliamentary business, freedom of information requests and correspondence.
• Raising the importance of transport and freight in cross-government forums, making DfT strategic priorities clear.
• Facilitating MFD engagement with the Freight Steering Group to make the case for freight and promote collaboration across the Department.
• Potential for direct line management responsibilities for one Policy Advisor.
  
  

For further information, please see the attached Role Profile.

About you

• You will have excellent policy development skills, and the ability to assimilate a wide range of information quickly. 

• You will be an innovative and strategic thinker who is able to communicate complex information and data into clear and usable insights for Ministers and other decision makers.  

• You will have experience of building effective relationships, and the ability to engage persuasively and confidently at all levels. You will display quality drafting skills for ministerial advice and briefings. 

• You will have excellent networking and negotiation skills, and a track record in obtaining and retaining trust with colleagues and stakeholders at all levels. 

• You will be comfortable working in a changing environment and a variety of structures, either leading high performing teams, working independently, or delivering as part of a team. 
  
  

Additional information

A minimum 60% of your working time should be spent at your principal workplace, although requirements to attend other locations for official business, or carry out detached duty in another DfT workplace, will also count towards this level of attendance. 

For more information on the Policy Profession Standards.

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Seeing the Big Picture
• Communicating and Influencing
• Making Effective Decisions
• Working Together
  
  

We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:

• Policy Profession Standards - 1. Strategy - 1.1. Policy Context and Purpose - Level 1: Developing
• Policy Profession Standards - 2. Democracy - 2.1. Working with Ministers - Level 1: Developing
  
  

Being part of our brilliant Civil Service means you will have access to a wide range of fantastic benefits. We offer generous annual leave, attractive pension options, flexible working, inclusive working environments and much more to support a healthy work/life balance.

Find out more about what it's like working at the Department for Transport.

Job contact

• Name: Daryl Ogbeifun
• Email: [email protected]
  
  

Recruitment team

• Email: [email protected]