Address
SalaryDetails
Reference number
Salary
Job grade
Contract type
Type of role
Operational Delivery
Policy
Project Delivery
Senior leadership
Working pattern
Number of jobs available
Contents
Location
About the job
Benefits
Things you need to know
Apply and further information
Location
About the job
Job summary
Business investment is crucial to the UK’s economic growth, creating high-quality jobs and improving innovation and productivity. Leveraging private investment is also fundamental to the Government’s plan to achieve Net Zero carbon emissions by 2050 and establish international leadership as a science and technology driven economy.
The Office for Investment (OfI), a joint unit between No10 and the Department for Business and Trade (DBT), is at the core of the Government’s efforts to achieve these aims. Created in 2020, the OfI’s mission is to improve the UK’s chances of landing large and impactful internationally contestable investment projects; increase the allocation of capital investment into the UK from the world’s most prolific and exciting financial investors; and give the world’s most important investors the best possible experience of investing in the UK.
The OfI is an exciting, creative and dynamic place to work, as part of a small and highly motivated and driven team with both commercial and public sector backgrounds. The Office works very closely with Ministers, Special Advisers, and their private offices (in DBT and other departments)
This role is an exciting, unique opportunity at the heart of Government to work on high-profile and transformational investment into the UK. This is a leadership role, with responsibility for the organisation’s strategy, policy and operational functions, ensuring the right approach, priorities, and structures are in place to enable the OfI to focus on delivering key investment projects, influence cross-government discussions, and support Whitehall colleagues to land major deals.
Job description
As Head of Strategy and Operations, you will have oversight both of the OfI’s day-to-day running and its longer-term strategic planning. This means that your remit will be incredibly broad and flexible: it will cover overarching priority-setting, team culture and capability, governance and reporting, Ministerial engagement, Whitehall policy and strategy influencing, and resourcing and recruitment. Ultimately, success in the role will be about understanding the OfI’s unique value-add – as a small, highly specialised, investor-facing team which complements the Government’s wider investment promotion operation – and working out how to nurture and optimise this, to maximum effect.
For instance:
- You will lead on business planning, ensuring that the OfI has clear organisational objectives and priorities, well-defined workstreams with the appropriate levels of resource, and a proactive recruitment strategy.
- You will position the OfI within Whitehall, building the Office’s wider network and collaboration with relevant Ministers, senior leaders, and experts in No10, DBT, other departments, and agencies.
- You will be responsible for culture and communication across the whole organisation, providing a key link between the OfI’s senior leadership team (with 3x SCS2 and up to 3x SCS1) and the OfI ‘Hub’ comprised of more junior grades. You will ensure effective information-flow, manage change, build resilience and wellbeing, ensure join-up across the OfI’s different geographical locations, and troubleshoot issues.
- You will have line-management responsibilities for up to 5x G7s as well as staff at more junior grades.
The role works hand in hand with the CEO and senior leadership, providing advice and constructive challenge to set organisational direction and culture and drive continuous improvements in delivery. This role will also require matrix management of a number of junior colleagues from EO-G7, some of whom will themselves manage other members of the team.
There is also opportunity in this role for involvement in and/or to lead investment projects, aiming to secure the highest value, most strategic investments into the UK.
Person specification
Essential Criteria
- Significant leadership, management, and operational experience
- Experience of working on cross-departmental issues with Private Offices, No10, and Ministers, a strong understanding of policy-making processes and how HMG operates, and a track record of navigating and influencing the Whitehall system to achieve results
- An eye for detail as well as a grasp of the bigger picture, with experience shaping and delivering complex organisational strategy
- Highly effective networking skills, and a proven ability to build strong relationships with officials, businesses, and investors at a senior level, and convene and mobilise stakeholders
- Commercial acumen and an understanding of investment analysis and decision-making processes
Desirable Criteria
- Ability to respond flexibly to change, ensuring our area of work continues to join-up with wider strategic and organisational priorities
- A willingness to learn and adapt in an ambiguous and changing environment, and the ability to help others do the same
Person Specification
- An inclusive, inspiring, confident and empowering leader, with highly developed written and oral communication skills
- An ability to upwards manage, challenge where needed and deliver at pace
- Confident and experienced external engagement with businesses and investors
Behaviours
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
- Changing and Improving
- Seeing the Big Picture
- Leadership
Benefits
- Learning and development tailored to your role
- An environment with flexible working options
- A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
- A Civil Service pension with an average employer contribution of 27%
We recognise the challenges that people with (multiple) 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
Please refer to the attached candidate pack for further information on our benefits.
Things you need to know
Selection process details
Interviews for this vacancy will be conducted virtually. We will, however, consider in-person interviews by exception.
Please ensure that you check your emails regularly as all updates from us will be sent to you this way.
To apply for this post, you will be asked to complete the following as part of the online application:
- A CV setting out your career history, with key responsibilities and achievements. Provide employment history that relates to the essential criteria, and that any gaps in employment history within the last 2 years are explained. The CV should not exceed more than 2 x A4 pages.
- A Personal Statement of up to 750 words explaining how you consider your personal skills, qualities and experience provide evidence of your suitability for the role in reference to the essential criteria.
It is likely that the sift will take place 1-2 weeks after the closing date and interviews 3-5 weeks after the closing date though this is subject to change.
In the event of a large number of applicants, an initial short sift will be conducted on the Personal Statement. Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift or progressed straight to assessment/interview.
Reasonable Adjustments
We are committed to supporting candidates so they can perform at their best throughout the recruitment process. This includes making reasonable adjustments to our process. In order to request an adjustment:
Complete the ‘Assistance required’ section on the ‘Additional requirements’ page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process.
Alternatively contact the Government Recruitment Service at DBTrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.
If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section.
Candidate Support
You may want to join a virtual Candidate Support Session. These sessions include helpful tips and advice on the recruitment process, from application to interview.
Please see attached Candidate Pack for further information on: Diversity and Inclusion; Benefits; Learning and Development; Working Patterns and what we deliver as a department.
Further Information:
- A reserve list may be held for a period of 12 months from which further appointments can be made. Reserve Lists will be for each location and appointments made in merit order based on location preferences.
- Any move to the Department for Business and Trade from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments.
- The Department will not consider sponsoring a visa or issuing a Certificate of Sponsorship. We are unable to offer advice on any Visa and Immigration cases.
- New entrants are expected to join on the minimum of the pay band.
- 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. Any applicant who has 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.
- Terms and Conditions are attached. Please take time to read the document to determine how these may affect you.
Please note – the successful candidate will be expected to remain in post for a minimum of 18 months before being released for another role.
In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to Disclosure and Barring Service /Disclosure Scotland/Access NI 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 Pre-EmploymentChecks.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk 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 Info@disclosurescotland.co.uk
Vetting Requirements
The requirement for SC clearance is to have been present in the UK for at least 3 of the last 5 years. Failure to meet the residency requirements will result in your security clearance application being rejected.
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
Security
See our vetting charter (opens in a new window).
Nationality requirements
This job is broadly open to the following groups:
- UK nationals
- nationals of the Republic of Ireland
- nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
- nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
- nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
- individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
- Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service
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).
Apply and further information
Contact point for applicants
Job contact :
Recruitment team
