Head of Media and International Analysis

Job summary

The Media and International Analysis team is embedded within the Media and International (MINT) policy directorate. Our directorate aims are to drive sustainable and inclusive growth in the media sector, serve the needs of audiences and protect the future of public service media. Within the directorate, analysts and policy officials work together closely to deliver these across a range of policy areas including television and broadcasting, advertising, press, radio, and international strategy.

As the Head of Media and International Analysis you will lead a multidisciplinary team of ten analysts with direct line management responsibility for four Grade 7s. You will support a wide range of policy areas, providing timely, impactful analysis to ensure high-quality evidence informs all stages of policy development and delivery. Our teams are sociable, friendly and supportive, and we put a strong emphasis on learning, development and wellbeing.

You will play a key role in MINT’s senior leadership team, working closely with policy officials to agree priorities and provide leadership across the directorate, with regular opportunities to engage and present to senior stakeholders.

The team is also part of a wider Sector Analysis Team (SAT), and you will work closely with the SAT Deputy Director and other senior analysts, playing an integral role in the leadership of the wider DCMS Analytical Community (DAC).

Job description

This role will provide an experienced analytical leader with a unique opportunity to play a vital part in shaping the direction of the UK media sector. At a time when the media landscape is rapidly evolving and the Government is considering what the future of media consumption might look like – online or offline, live or on-demand, at home or on-the-go – this role will provide an exciting opportunity to ensure that evidence and analytical thinking is at the heart of policymaking, and make a real impact to our daily lives.

Some of your responsibilities will include:

• Providing strategic direction and oversight of analysis across the directorate to drive effective delivery against the team’s priorities. This includes multiple programmes of analysis to support policy decisions, including the BBC Charter Review and Media White Paper
• Providing the right environment, support and opportunities for team members to flourish, to develop as individuals and to deliver high quality outputs whilst maintaining work-life balance and wellbeing.
• Acting as a challenge function, identifying obstacles and opportunities to policymaking through research and analysis and robust quality assurance.
• Collaborating with internal and external stakeholders to build trust, facilitate engagement and influence decision making.
• Providing active leadership and championing analysis across the Media and International Directorate and the wider DCMS analytical community.

Person specification

The ideal candidate will have the following essential criteria:

• A proven ability to lead high performing, inclusive teams, with the ability to manage resource effectively, build analytical capability and deliver through others.
• Effective senior stakeholder relationship management skills, with the ability to build strong relationships and influence decisions both internally and externally.
• Strong analytical experience, with the ability to think strategically about evidence and analysis and enact sound judgement when under pressure.
• Highly effective oral and written communication skills, with the ability to distil complex analytical issues down to their key insights, judgements and recommendations.

Desirable Skills:

• Knowledge of the UK media sector
• Experience commissioning and delivering externally commissioned research
• Experience delivering impact assessments and business cases

Eligibility and Testing Process

Applicants must be a badged member of either the Government Economic Service, Government Operational Research Service, Government Social Research or Government Statistician Group OR meet the criteria to become badged under one profession.

As part of the application process, you will be asked to confirm your current analytical profession (GES, GORS, GSR, or GSG), or indicate if you are applying to become badged in one of these professions.

If you are not currently a member of the GSR or GSG, you will be required to complete an online test to assess your suitability. This test will be administered after you have submitted your full application. You will receive an invitation via email containing the test details and the deadline for completion after you will submit your full application.

Please note: Failure to complete the test or meet the deadline will result in your application not being progressed further.

Information Session

We are running an information session where prospective applicants can find out more about the role. This will be hosted by Alex Wilkinson (Deputy Director for Sector Analysis), and will take place on:

• Monday 28th September at 11am

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

Memberships

Are you a badged member of GSR or GSG?

Please note this will be verified by the department.

This is not mandatory for applications to the role.

Behaviours

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

• Leadership
• Working Together
• Delivering at Pace

Technical skills

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

• Government Economic Service (GES) - ‘Application of Knowledge’ (Expert - Grade 6);

Government Social Research (GSR) - ‘Technical Skills’ (Senior Principal Research Officer);

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £64,903, Department for Culture, Media and Sport contributes

£18,802 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, Experience and Technical skills.

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

• A Technical Statement of 250 words demonstrating your experience with regards to the relevant profession:

Applicants must state if they are member of a Government analytical profession (GES, GORS, GSR, GSG) or state the profession the are looking to to become badged as. Candidates are only required to answer the skill applicable to their analytical profession. For example, Economists should answer the ‘GES - Application of Knowledge’ behaviour.

• 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 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 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 Technical Statement. 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 technical skills

The behaviours to be tested at interview are:

• Leadership
• Working Together
• Delivering at Pace

Technical skills to be tested at interview through questions will be based on your chosen profession at application:

• Government Economic Service (GES) - ‘Application of Knowledge’ (Expert - Grade 6);
• Government Social Research (GSR) - ‘Technical Skills’ (Senior Principal Research Officer);
• Government Operational Research Service (GORS) - ‘Knowledge and Application of OR’ (Grade 6) OR
• Government Statistician Group (GSG) - ‘Data Analysis’ (Grade 6).

You will also be required to prepare a presentation which will assess your approach to an analytical issue (separate to the technical questions above). Full details of this, including the topic, length of time, and whether or not you will need to use visual aids, will be sent to you prior to your interview.

Your interview will take place remotely via Teams.

Further Information

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

If the vacancy is offered as FTA/Loan, existing Civil Servan