Policy Advisor, Advertising Policy

Job summary

The successful candidate will hold a key role in the Radio, Advertising and Press policy team. The team is responsible for a wide range of high profile work with current priorities including the Radio Review, delivery of the Local News Fund and working with the Advertising industry through the Online Advertising Taskforce.

The team team sits within the wider Media and International Directorate (MINT) which covers a broad range of work on sectors including BBC and TV policy; as well as having a key role leading the department’s international work.

This is an exciting, varied role and the candidate will work with many colleagues across the team. There will also be development opportunities in a team with a supportive and engaging culture. We pride ourselves on our inclusivity and there will be many opportunities to get involved in corporate work.

Job description

The successful candidate will join the Radio, Advertising and Policy team, and working in an engaging role focused on an exciting subject area relevant to the whole of the UK public.

As Executive Officer, you will be responsible for a diverse range of activities to support the delivery of the team’s priorities. The role holder will play a key role supporting policy teams through a broad range of activities including the coordination and drafting of correspondence on a wide range of subjects. In addition, the role holder will support the wider team by drafting policy briefings, cross-government and Parliamentary commissions and there will be potential to hold responsibility for specific pieces of work within a programme or project, working across policy teams in RAP.

The candidate should be well-organised and resilient, able to juggle competing priorities effectively and be able to make decisions under tight time constraints. You should be responsive and collaborative, able to communicate effectively and to a high standard, both orally and in writing, and engage with different groups of people, building effective working relationships.

Person specification

The ideal candidate would have the following key skills and experience, please note that desirable skills will only be used in the event of tied candidates.

Essential requirements:

• Highly organised and a proactive self-starter, who enjoys working in a fast paced environment with an ability to be flexible and prioritise effectively to deliver across multiple projects to meet deadlines.
• An excellent communicator both orally and in writing, with an ability to express ideas clearly and accurately and adapt communication to different audiences and formats.
• An inclusive and collaborative team player, who is able see how their work fits into the bigger picture, and to build strong relationships with colleagues and stakeholders from different backgrounds and disciplines to deliver common goal.

Desirable skills:

• Knowledge or experience working in a policy making environment.
• Knowledge or interest in working on media policy

If you do not hold this knowledge, please do not be deterred from applying for the role.

We are running an information session where prospective applicants can find out more about the role. This will be hosted by Lisa Bourke and will take place on: 22nd September at 1pm

The session will be an opportunity to hear more about the role, the team and wider directorate and the department. It will also be an opportunity for you to ask any questions.

Please register your interest by filling out this Registration form and you will be sent an invitation. Invites will only be sent after this deadline has passed.

Please note that the session will not be recorded and will not focus on the DCMS recruitment process - please direct any queries that you have on this topic (timelines, reasonable adjustments, onboarding etc) to resourcing.team@dcms.gov.uk

Behaviours

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

• Working Together
• Changing and Improving
• Communicating and Influencing
• Delivering at Pace

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £30,307, Department for Culture, Media and Sport contributes

£8,779 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme.

Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).

DCMS values its staff and offers a wide range of benefits to everyone who works here. We’re committed to developing talent, and supporting colleagues to have great careers in our department. To support with that, some of the benefits we offer include:

• Flexible working arrangements and hybrid working - DCMS staff work on a flexible basis with time spent in offices, and time spent working from home
• 26.5 days annual leave on entry, increasing to 31.5 days after 5 years’ service
• A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%
• Access to the Edenred employee benefits system which offers discounts to popular retailers and access to various useful resources such as financial and savings advice
• 3 days of paid volunteering leave
• Up to 9 months maternity leave on full pay + generous paternity and adoption leave
• Staff reward and recognition bonuses that operate throughout the year
• Occupational sick pay
• Access to the Employee Assistance Programme which offers staff 24/7 confidential support and resources such as counselling, debt guidance and management advice
• Active and engaged staff networks to join including the LGBT+, Ethnic Diversity, Mental Health and Wellbeing and Gender Equality Networks
• Exceptional learning and development opportunities that you can explore alongside your day to day work
• Season ticket loan, cycle to work scheme and much more!

Terms and conditions at SCS grades will vary. Those applying for SCS roles should refer to the candidate information pack for more information on terms and conditions.

Things you need to know

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 (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window) , and will assess your Behaviours, Strengths and Experience.

To apply for this vacancy, you will need to submit the following documents which will assessed against the experience success profile :

• A CV setting out your career history, with key responsibilities and achievements. Please ensure you provide employment history that relates to the essential and desirable 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 and you should insert your CV into the "Job History" section on the Civil Service Jobs application form.
• A Statement of Suitability (max 500 words) explaining how you consider your personal skills, qualities and experience provide evidence of your suitability for the role in reference to the essential requirements highlighted. You may also choose to reference the desirable skills listed however these will not be considered in the assessment of your application except in circumstances where there are a high number and calibre of candidates.

For the shortlist , we will select applicants demonstrating the best fit for the role by considering the evidence provided in your application.

In the event of a large number of applicants, an initial sift will be conducted on the statement of suitability . Those who are successful in the initial sift will then be scored on all elements of the application.

For support in writing your application and interviewing, please refer to the ‘Application and Interview Guidance’ document attached to the job advert.

The interview process will assess behaviours and strengths

The behaviours to be tested at interview are:

• Working together
• Changing and improving
• Communicating and influencing
• Delivering at pace

Prior to the interview you will be sent the behaviour questions in advance.

You will not be made aware of the strengths being assessed prior to your interview.

For indicative sift and interview dates please refer to the attached Candidate Information Pack.

In most cases interviews will take place remotely via Google Meet video call. However please refer to the Candidate Information Pack to confirm the interview approach.

Further Information

If the vacancy is offered as FTA/Loan, existing Civil Servants must join on a Loan basis only. Prior agreement to be released on loan must be obtained before commencing the application process. In the case of Civil Servants, the terms of the loan will be agreed between the home and host department and the Civil Servant. This includes grade on return.

This role is full time only. Applicants who wish to work an alternative pattern are welcome to apply however your preferred working pattern may not be available and you should discuss this with the vacancy holder before applying.

A reserve list may be held for a period of 12 months from which further appointments can be made.

Any move to Department for Culture, Media and Sport 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 at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk

New entrants are expected to join on the minimum of the pay band.

DCMS has a London and a National pay scale. For more information on this, including the circumstances in which each pay scale will apply, please see the ‘Candidate Information Pack’ attached.

If successful and transferring from another Government Department a criminal record check may be carried out.

In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to Disclosure and Barring Service 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.

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.

Reasonable Adjustment

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, please:

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. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or a verbal test rather than a written one.

Alternatively, contact the Government Recruitment Service via dcmsrecruitment.g