Senior Stakeholder Engagement Manager at Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in Bristol, London, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, York

Job summary

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is the UK government department responsible for safeguarding our natural environment, supporting our world-leading food and farming industry, and sustaining a thriving rural economy. Our broad remit means we play a major role in people's day-to-day life, from the food we eat, and the air we breathe, to the water we drink.

Water is vital for life - clean, freshwater for drinking and sanitation, providing for farms and industry, creating and sustaining the ecosystems on which all life depends. Yet water is a finite natural resource, facing increasing pressures from climate change and population growth. Never before has political, media and public attention been focused on water as it is now. This brings a great opportunity, and we have been given a mandate to make some once in a generation changes.

Job description

This role sits in the Water Stakeholder Engagement Team, which is a central stakeholder engagement function in support of Water Sector Reform. The team is responsible for overseeing how the directorate plans, coordinates and uses engagement across the water sector, ensuring activity is aligned, strategic, timely and focused on informing robust policy development. You will help deliver a coherent engagement approach across water reform, working closely with policy teams, senior officials, Private Office, communications colleagues and external stakeholders.

Key responsibilities

Stakeholder engagement strategy and planning

Ensure engagement is aligned to ministerial priorities, programme milestones, policy needs and delivery risks. Identify opportunities to join up activity across teams and reduce duplication or inconsistent messaging.

Stakeholder insight and reporting

Capture, analyse and deploy stakeholder insight to support policy development and senior decision-making. Maintain a strong understanding of stakeholder interests and opportunities across the water sector. Gather valuable insight and intelligence to inform robust decision making and develop how we report this.

Engagement delivery

Develop and deliver innovative engagement plans across a variety of channels to support Water Reform, ensuring that engagement is targeted, appropriate and productive

Relationship management

Build effective relationships across the Floods and Water Directorate, wider Defra, other government departments, arm’s length bodies and external stakeholders.

Create and maintain internal networks with policy, delivery, communications and programme teams to deliver engagement objectives.

The successful candidates will:

• Lead on the segmentation, mapping and handling strategies for key stakeholder groups and individuals, including key influencers and opinion formers.
• Manage accounts for a number of our key stakeholders to form a positive and trusted working relationship with that organisation.
• Manage events, consultations, workshops, meetings and other activities, ensuring the format, audience and content is appropriate to achieve the desired outcomes.
• Lead on the management of a stakeholder group for the Programme, analysing current engagement and sentiment, developing a prioritised approach to working with key individuals, build relationships and credibility and ensure plans are aligned with other delivery.
• Act as a trusted point of contact for teams seeking advice on stakeholder engagement planning and delivery.
• Develop stakeholder engagement tools and best practice across the Programme

Person specification

Essential skills and experience

• Experience working with ministers, senior officials, private offices and communications teams.
• Experience of stakeholder engagement and communications planning, building effective relationships and influencing senior leaders, stakeholders and influencers across organisations and business areas.
• Experience delivering policy, strategy, engagement or programme work in a fast-paced environment.
• Ability to gather, analyse and present information from multiple sources to support decision-making, with excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Good strategic judgement, including the ability to identify links, tensions, risks and opportunities across different areas of work.
• A proactive and adaptable approach to problem-solving, coordination and delivery in ambiguous or complex environments.
• Strong organisational skills and attention to detail, with the ability to manage competing deadlines and changing priorities.

Behaviours

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

• Delivering at Pace
• Communicating and Influencing

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £44,052, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs contributes

£12,761 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).

• 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 employer contribution of 28.97%

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 and Experience.

Application

As part of the application process, you will be asked to provide a name-blind CV and a 750-word personal statement demonstrating how your skills and experience meet the essential criteria outlined in the person specification.

You will also be asked to provide a 250-word statement for each of the following behaviours:

• Delivering at Pace
• Communicating and Influencing

Further details about what is required will be provided on the application form.

Sift

A sift will be conducted against your Personal Statement and behaviour statements. Your CV will not be scored but may be used as supporting information.

Should a large number of applications be received, an initial sift may be conducted using the Personal Statement only. Candidates who pass the initial sift may then be progressed to a full sift or progressed straight to assessment/interview.

Interview

If successful at application stage, you will be invited to interview where you will be assessed on experience and the following behaviours:

• Delivering at Pace
• Communicating & Influencing.

Interviews will be conducted via MS Teams.

Sift and interview dates to be confirmed.

Location

As part of the pre-employment process for this post, successful candidate(s) will be able to agree a contractual workplace from those locations listed in this advert. The agreed contractual workplace is then the substantive and permanent place of work for the successful candidate(s).

Where the location is ‘National’ the successful appointee should discuss and agree an appropriate contractual location in line with both Defra’s location policy and site capacity, prior to proceeding with pre-employment processes.

The agreed amount of time spent at a workplace for this post will reflect the requirement for Civil Servants to spend at least 60% of their working time in an organisation workplace with the option to work the remaining time flexibly from home. Working time spent at a workplace may include time spent at other organisational locations including field-based operational locations, together with supplier, customer or partner locations. This is a non-contractual agreement which is consistent with common Civil Service expectations.

Travel costs to non-contractual workplaces will be subject to departmental travel and subsistence policies. Travel costs to contractual workplaces are the responsibility of the employee.

The successful candidate is required to carry out all their duties from a UK location, and cannot do so from an overseas location at any time.

Defra includes the core department, APHA, RPA, Cefas and VMD.

Salary

New entrants to the Civil Service are expected to start on the minimum of the pay band. The internal roles rules apply to existing Civil Servants, i.e. level transfers move on current salary or the pay range minimum, transfers on promotion move to new pay range minimum or receive 10% increase. Either case is determined by whichever is the highest.

Reserve List

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

Near Miss

Candidates who are judged to be a near miss at interview may be considered for other positions in Defra which may be at a lower grade, but have a potential skills match.

Merit Lists

Where more than one location is advertised, candidates will be appointed in merit order for each location. You will be asked to state your location preference on your application.

Reasonable Adjustment

If a person with disabilities 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 defrarecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk 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.

Childcare Vouchers

Any move to DEFRA 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; for further information visit the Childcare Choices website .

Accessibility

If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section.

Criminal Record Check

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.

Higher Security Clearance

All of these posts require the successful candidate to hold basic security clearance. Candidates posted to London may be subject to a higher level of clearance because of the security requirements for that location. Job offers to these posts are made on the basis of merit. Security vetting will only take place after the receipt of a job offer.

For further information on National Security Vetting please visit the Demystifying Vetting website .

Please be aware the levels of national security clearance are changing which may impact on the level needed for this role by the time of appointment. All efforts will be made to keep candidates informed of any changes and what that will mean in terms of vetting criteria. For mor