Policy Adviser – International Trade in Services & Investment Birmingham, England
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About the job
Job summary
Our Mission
At BEIS, we are leading the UK’s recovery from coronavirus and are building a stronger, greener country. Our varied work makes a real difference to people across the UK and internationally. This is a fantastic opportunity to become part of the BEIS team and our exciting mission!
We lead on the UK’s commitments to tackle climate change and drive green economic growth. We support businesses to create jobs and increase opportunity in regions across the UK. We also encourage investment and innovation to make the UK a science superpower producing research that will improve lives.
Our Inclusive Environment
We are building an inclusive culture to make BEIS a brilliant place to work where our people feel valued, have a voice and can be their authentic selves. We value difference and diversity, not only because we believe it is the right thing to do, but because it will help us be more innovative and make better decisions.
We offer first-class flexible working benefits, excellent employee well-being support and a great pension. We are fortunate to have a range of excellent staff networks and are proud to be a Disability Confident Leader employer. We will support talented people from all backgrounds to build a career and thrive.
We actively welcome applications from anyone who shares our commitment to inclusion. We will fully support candidates with a disability or long-term condition who require adjustments in our recruitment process.
Job description
The team sits within the Trade and Investment Negotiations (Services) Directorate (known as TINS) of the wider “Trade and Opportunities” Group.
You will be part of the Cross-Border Trade in Services (CBTS) team, which represents BEIS’ interest in the UK’s trade agreement negotiations, as regards services trade. The team works closely with the Investment and Mobility teams and the position would involve some cross-team working.
Supporting a number of on-going FTA negotiations, you will work closely with our DIT and BEIS colleagues to ensure our trade agreements and negotiating positions reflect a business environment that is open to cross-border trade in services and creates opportunities for UK services exporters. You will also help to ensure the UK’s domestic policy priorities are protected, including delivering Net Zero, encouraging innovation and enterprise and protecting consumers.
Negotiating cross-border trade in services in free trade agreements can be challenging and complex. As such, there is a lot of potential to grow in the role and develop your skills and expertise further. Attention to detail, excellent communication skills and an ability to build good working relationships are important. In the role you will also be able to develop strong influencing skills and an understanding of both key legal concepts and the big picture.
We are looking for an enthusiastic and naturally curious new team member. A background in trade policy is not essential, although an interest in international politics or economics is helpful. For new staff members without a previous background in trade policy a comprehensive programme of trade policy training, which includes a mixture of virtual learning modules and in-person sessions, is available.
We are a friendly and inclusive team and place a strong emphasis on personal development and supporting each other to help members develop in-depth expertise in international trade issues and effective cross-Whitehall working and leadership. Our team works collaboratively with other policy teams in BEIS, with external organisations and other departments in central government. We will support you to build connections and a sense of team spirit with your colleagues. We also encourage all staff members to make a corporate contribution to the wider directorate, in areas such as wellbeing or learning & development. We are happy to accommodate flexible working arrangements where needed.
This role is available in Edinburgh, Salford and Birmingham where TINS has a presence, with an expectation that you will be working at least 40% of your time (2 days per week for full-time contracts) in the office. Further team members are located in London and there will be opportunities to travel to the other BEIS offices.
To make a competitive application, you are advised to follow the STAR method when drafting your “Behaviour” examples and to familiarise yourself with the relevant “Civil Service Behaviours” at HEO/SEO level being tested. These can be found attached at the bottom of this page.
You are also encouraged to contact the vacancy holder for an informal chat to discuss the role before applying [email protected]
Person specification
- Working across BEIS and wider government to contribute to the development of policy on the UK's international services trade agenda and negotiating mandates. This will include consulting and influencing stakeholders where necessary and securing agreement from others to achieve policy outcomes.
- Analysing complex and varying sources of evidence and data to inform trade policy options.
- Working with multi-disciplinary professionals, including analysts, project managers, lawyers, commercial and procurement to ensure delivery of the policy outcomes.
- Contributing to high quality, expert policy advice and briefing to Ministers, negotiators and senior civil servants to support decision-making and policy delivery.
- Building and developing relationships with both internal and external stakeholders, devolved administrations, other government departments and business to support successful policy delivery.
- Making a contribution to the running and corporate culture of both the directorate and the wider department.
Skills and Experience
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills, and are able to communicate complex matters to different audiences
- Analytical skills and the ability to weigh up various sources of evidence to formulate pragmatic options
- A demonstrated interest in and/or previous experience of working in a role related to trade or policy
- The ability to build effective relationships with different partners and work across teams, professions and organisations
- The ability to balance competing priorities and deliver excellent results at pace
- The motivation to engage with a comprehensive trade policy training programme, if you are new to this policy area.
Behaviours
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
- Delivering at Pace
- Making Effective Decisions
- Communicating and Influencing
We only ask for evidence of these behaviours on your application form:
- Making Effective Decisions
- Communicating and Influencing
Benefits
BEIS offers a competitive mix of benefits including:
A culture of flexible working, such as job sharing, homeworking and compressed hours.
Automatic enrolment into the Civil Service Pension Scheme.
A minimum of 25 days of paid annual leave, increasing by 1 day per year up to a maximum of 30.
An extensive range of learning & professional development opportunities, which all staff are actively encouraged to pursue.
Access to a range of retail, travel and lifestyle employee discounts.
A hybrid office/home based working model where staff will spend a norm of 40-60% of their time in the office (minimum of 40%) over a month with flex dependent on balancing business and individual need (from September 2021, depending on how the public health guidance evolves).
Things you need to know
Selection process details
As part of the application process you will be asked to complete a CV and personal statement. Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.
Please use your personal statement (in no more than 750 words) to explain why you are interested in the role and why you feel you are a good candidate, providing evidence of the key requirements listed under ‘Skills and experience’ within the job description.
Please note - the CV incorporated into the application form is for information purposes only and will not be scored.
Applications will be sifted on behavioural statements and personal statement.
In the event of a large number of applicants, applications will be sifted on the personal statement. Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift, or progressed straight to assessment/interview.
The interview will consist of behaviour and strength-based questions.
Expected Timeline subject to change
Sift dates: w/c 27th February 2023
Interview dates: w/c 6th March 2023
Interview Location: MS Teams.
Candidates are asked to note the above timetable, exercising flexibility through the recruitment and selection process.
Further Information
Reasonable Adjustment
If a disabled person is put 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 [email protected] 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.
We are proud to be a disability confident leader, more information about the Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) and some examples of adjustments that BEIS offers to disabled candidates and candidates with long-term health conditions during our recruitment process can be found in our candidate guidance document. A plain text version of the guidance is also available.
If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section.
If successful and transferring from another Government Department a criminal record check may be carried out.
New entrants are expected to join on the minimum of the pay band.
A location based reserve list of successful candidates will be kept for 12 months. Should another role become available within that period you may be offered this position.
Please note terms and conditions are attached. Please take time to read the document to determine how these may affect you.
Any move to Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax Free Childcare. Determine your eligibility https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk
BEIS does not normally offer full home working (i.e. working at home); but we do offer a variety of flexible working options (including occasionally working from home).
BEIS cannot offer Visa sponsorship to candidates through this campaign. BEIS holds a Visa sponsorship licence but this can only be used for certain roles and this campaign does not qualify.
In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to Disclosure and Barring Service / Disclosure Scotland 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 [email protected] stating the job reference number in the subject heading.
For further information on the Disclosure Scotland confidential checking service telephone: the Disclosure Scotland Helpline on 0870 609 6006 and ask to speak to the operations manager in confidence, or email [email protected]
Applicants who are successful at interview will be, as part of pre-employment screening, subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database (IFD). This check will provide information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences. This check also applies to employees who resign or otherwise leave before being dismissed for fraud or dishonesty had their employment continued. Any applicant’s details held on the IFD will be refused employment.
A candidate is not eligible to apply for a role within the Civil Service if the application is made within a 5 year period following a dismissal for carrying out internal fraud against government.
BEIS wants to be accessible for all, and this includes offering assistance to attend interviews. The offer is targeted toward those from a lower socio-economic background, or who struggle to cover the cost of attending an interview. Please see the attached guidance document at the bottom of this Civil Service Jobs advert. Embedded in the document on page 5, are 2 documents that must be completed and returned to the email addresses listed on the forms to claim an expenses payment. If you have any issues accessing these documents please contact us at [email protected]
Feedback
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
Security
Nationality requirements
This job is broadly open to the following groups:
- UK nationals
- nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
- nationals of the Republic of Ireland
- nationals from the EU, EEA or Switzerland with settled or pre-settled status or who apply for either status by the deadline of the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
- relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals working in the Civil Service
- relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals who have built up the right to work in the Civil Service
- certain family members of the relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals
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).
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