Job summary
Employer heading
Public Inquiry Strategy Lead
Civil Service: Grade 7
Job overview
The Public Inquiry Team leads UKHSA’s response the COVID-19 public inquiry and other ongoing inquiry processes. We are looking for individuals to lead strategic work, developing and shaping content across all elements of the response to allow UKHSA to assist the Inquiry most effectively with its work.
We will offer you support at every level and help you to shape the team into what you need. We are a flexible and friendly team and are happy to discuss flexible working arrangements were possible.
Main duties of the job
• Identifying the policy, scientific and operational issues which are likely to be contested and/or a source of potential reputational risk, supporting the development of strategies to address them and helping secure approval of those strategies; and ensuring that they are addressed accurately and appropriately in UKHSA evidence.
• Providing strategic input into the design, development and delivery of written statements (corporate, opening, closing), with a particular focus on ensuring that the high-risk issues are identified and escalated appropriately. This role will support the ‘response’ function of the UKHSA Public Inquiry team.
• Working with senior colleagues across UKHSA to identify lessons learned and the UKHSA strategic approach to critical issues, with a view to supporting the Inquiry’s recommendation-making work.
• Making preparation for public hearings, overseeing thematic analysis of relevant material and ensuring that UKHSA individual witnesses are appropriately supported to best assist the Inquiry.
• Making preparations for, and the organisational response, to the Inquiry’s Module reports.
• Working with colleagues across UKHSA to allow the organisation to assist the Inquiry to understand ‘lessons learned’.
• Building close working relationships with the UKHSA legal team and UKHSA’s external legal advisors.
• Build effective working relationships with other key internal and external stakeholders particularly subject matter experts to support delivery.
Working for our organisation
We pride ourselves as being an employer of choice, where Everyone Matters promoting equality of opportunity to actively encourage applications from everyone, including groups currently underrepresented in our workforce. UKHSA ethos is to be an inclusive organisation for all our staff and stakeholders. To create, nurture and sustain an inclusive culture, where differences drive innovative solutions to meet the needs of our workforce and wider communities. We do this through celebrating and protecting differences by removing barriers and promoting equity and equality of opportunity for all. Please visit our careers site for more information https://gov.uk/ukhsa/careers
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Working as a member of the Senior Leadership Team to provide strategic steers, support and advice to team members and model the UKHSA values, which are to be Impactful, Insightful and Inclusive.
This role forms part of a small team, led by a senior clinician who reports directly to UKHSA’s CEO. The role will deliver key elements of cross cutting work related to delivery of corporate statements, preparing for public hearings supporting witnesses, and coordinating UKHSA’s response to the Inquiry’s reports which are published in response to each module.
The successful candidate will be required to develop an in depth understanding of technical, scientific, policy and operational issues across key areas of the work undertaken by UKHSA covering the entire scope of the Government’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Essential criteria
• Excellent communication skills, both written and oral. In particular, the ability to tailor messages for the audience and to communicate succinctly and effectively to very senior stakeholders.
• An ability to rapidly understand, synthesise, evaluate and summarise large amounts of complex information.
• Proven track record of building and sustaining robust and effective relationships with senior stakeholders. Ability to provide both critical challenge and innovative ideas.
• Experience of working in a fast-paced environment. Ability to prioritise effectively.
• Ability to work in a flexible and supportive way to achieve the team’s joint priorities.
Desirable criteria
• Experience of working on or with Public Inquiries and understanding the legal framework that they operate in.
• Experience of working within the ‘Health Family’ on the Government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Experience of working closely with legal teams and leading work within a legal framework, such as that around a Public Inquiry.
• The confidence and presence required to work effectively with senior stakeholders and technical experts, advocating for strategies to mitigate risks and best explain the work of UKHSA to the public inquiry.
• Experience of delivering challenging projects in a fast-paced environment, working across UKHSA at senior levels and with technical experts, developing and advocating for their proposed approach to managing the issue under consideration.
Selection Process
Stage 1: Application & Sift
You will be required to complete an application form. You will be assessed on the above essential criteria, and this will be in the form of:
• Application form (‘Employer/ Activity history’ section on the application)
• a 1000 word Statement of Suitability.
This should outline how your skills, experience and knowledge provide evidence of your suitability for the role, with reference to the essential criteria.
The Application and Statement of Suitability will be marked together.
In the event of a large number of applications we will shortlist on the lead essential criteria of:
Excellent communication skills, both written and oral. In particular, the ability to tailor messages for the audience and to communicate succinctly and effectively to very senior stakeholders.
Late applications will not be considered.
If you are successful at this stage, you will progress to interview & assessment
Please do not exceed 1000 words. We will not consider any words over and above this number.
Feedback will not be provided at this stage.
Stage 2: Interview
You will be invited to a single remote MS Teams interview.
Behaviours, technical, experience, abilities and strengths will be tested at interview.
The Behaviours tested during the interview stage will be:
• Seeing the Big Picture (lead behaviour)
• Communicating and Influencing
• Working Together
• Delivering at Pace
Interviews dates to be confirmed.
Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.
Eligibility Criteria
Open to all external applicants (anyone) from outside the Civil Service (including by definition internal applicants).
Security Clearance Level Requirement
Successful candidates must pass a disclosure and barring security check.
Successful candidates will require Basic Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) as a minimum with a willingness and capability to work towards Security Check (SC) clearance.
Person specification
Application form
Essential criteria
- Application and Statement of Suitability
Behaviours
Essential criteria
- Seeing the Big Picture (lead behaviour)
- Communicating and Influencing
- Working Together
- Delivering at Pace
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Lisa Tweedie
- Job title
- Resourcing Support Officer
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Additional information
For information regarding the role please contact Dai Powell, Programme and Operations Coordination Lead, [email protected]
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