Candidate Applicant Pack
Grade 7 Team Leaders:
Careers and Further
Education Group
“Welcome and thank you for your interest
in joining us at the Department for
Education”
Join us and become part of a Department that is transforming the way it offers its
services to make this an ever greater country in which children and young people
grow and learn.
This year alone the Department for Education (DfE) has launched a new social work
agency for 2018, enabled three million citizens to undertake Apprenticeships via the
National Apprenticeship Service, funded schools, academies and colleges to the
tune of £60 billion each year. All to ensure that children and young people of
England can study in institutions that offer more choice, whatever their background
or location.
At DfE, you will have the chance to make a real and tangible difference to the
country’s educational landscape and the lives of thousands of children and young
people. We work to achieve a highly educated society in which opportunity is equal
for all, no matter what their background or family circumstances.
Our Department is responsible for:
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teaching and learning for children in early years and primary schools and for
young people under the age of 19 years in secondary schools and
apprentices in further education;
supporting professionals who work with children, young people and the
education system;
helping disadvantaged children and young people to achieve more;
making sure that local services protect and support children;
teaching and learning at universities;
promoting lifelong learning and wider skills for an educated society;
creating and implementing equality strategy and legislation across
government.
At DfE we have a strong culture of inclusion and diversity and are committed to
being an equal opportunities employer. We aim to develop all our staff to enable
them to make a full contribution to meeting the Department's objectives, and to fulfil
their own potential. We promote and support the use of a range of flexible working
patterns to help staff to balance home and work responsibilities and we treat people
fairly irrespective of their working arrangements.
This culture is supported and built upon by our 10 staff networks, ranging from the
BME and LGBT networks to the Carers and EU/EEA Nationals networks. We are
proud to be recognised by leading diversity organisations as actively promoting
diversity in the workplace. We are also on the Stonewall Index and a member of the
business disability forum, as well as achieving Level 2 Disability Confident employer
this year.
At DfE, we are dedicated to working across all our sites, and have moved away from
a traditional London-centric focus, valuing all our employees regardless of their
location.
Being a Grade 7 Team Leader in the
Careers and Further Education (CAFE)
Group
This is an exciting opportunity to join the DfE in a pivotal role
DfE is a fast paced environment where no two days are the same. You will get the
opportunity to utilise and demonstrate your transferrable skills in an expanding and
changing landscape.
Grade 7 Team Leaders are an essential part of the senior management of each
division within the Department. They are expected to provide strong leadership
based on a clear vision; drive forward policy and delivery to demanding timeframes
and with competing priorities; manage large and complex budgets; and contribute to
setting the strategic direction of their areas of work.
Grade 7s provide expert policy and delivery advice in their areas of responsibility,
and are expected to work collaboratively to identify and build links across different
areas of the Department and its Agencies, and with external stakeholders, to ensure
the effective development and delivery of policy. You should expect to have frequent
and direct contact with a range of senior officials as well as Ministers and their
private offices and advisers. You should also expect to become a trusted and
As a Grade 7 you will be expected to work proactively, using your own initiative and
judgement to make effective decisions for which you will be accountable. You will be
comfortable working with large amounts of complex and sometimes conflicting data
and information from a wide variety of sources, working methodically and with close
attention to detail to marshal ideas and produce evidence-based assessments and
recommendations. You will need to have outstanding communication skills – both
verbally and in your writing – to convey complex ideas succinctly and persuasively,
often to senior audiences both within the Department and externally.
Rewards
Salary
The starting salary for Grade 7 Team Leaders is £47,304.
Applicants currently holding a permanent post in the Civil Service should note that, if
successful, salary on promotion would be determined by the Department’s
transfer/promotion policies.
Pension
You will be entitled to join the highly competitive Civil Service Pension Scheme,
which many experts agree is one of the most generous in the UK.
The Institute for Fiscal Studies recently said, “the biggest difference between public
and private sectors remains the value of employer contributions to public service
pensions. These are much more generous in the public sector than in the private
sector”.
If you have accrued pension rights in another pension scheme, you may be eligible
to transfer these rights into the Civil Service Pension Scheme.
Annual Leave
Your annual leave allowance will be 25 days, increasing by one day every year to a
maximum of 30 days after five years’ service.
In addition, all staff receive the Queen’s Birthday as a privilege one-day holiday in
addition to eight days’ bank and public holidays.
Flexible Working and Family Friendly Culture
We offer flexible working arrangements that recognise the importance of a good
work/ life balance. We offer support with childcare and holiday play schemes costs
by providing childcare vouchers for staff who meet the eligibility criteria. There is also
a generous maternity/adoption/paternity leave package.
Flexible working is open to everyone regardless of their personal circumstances,
where business or operational needs allow. For example, we offer: job share,
compressed hours, term-time working, and part-time working.
Development and Progression
DfE exists to support lifelong learning, offering all staff a minimum of five days formal
learning and development every year, supported by ongoing professional
development and opportunities for professional accreditation. We also have many
different talent schemes and groups to help you achieve your full potential.
Advice on providing competency evidence
in your application
The competencies and level identified for the post are those that people need to be
able to work effectively at the advertised grade. The selection panel will be looking
for statements that are within the word limit for each competency. Part of the skill
which is required is to express yourself clearly while covering all the necessary
points.
When completing your application you will need to provide examples of particular
situations where you displayed all or most of the indicators for each competency
required. By describing what you did, how and why you did it and the
outcome/impact this had will demonstrate to the panel that you can undertake what
is required in this role.
When writing your competency statements you should:
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Ensure you are content that you have provided evidence to demonstrate you
have met the essential criteria within your competency examples.
Do not make overarching statements.
To provide structure to your evidence use the STAR technique; the Situation
of the example, the Task you were involved in, Action you took in dealing with
the situation and what the Results were and were the aims met.
Use relevant and specific examples to support your evidence, clearly
explaining us know what you have done and how you have done it.
Use concise text and check spelling.
Be honest and factual.
The application you have been asked to complete requires you to demonstrate your
knowledge and skills against the specific competencies set out in the relevant job
description for the post(s).
Should we receive a high volume of applications we will sift only on the
competency or competencies specified in the relevant job description.
Complaints
The Department for Education’s recruitment processes are underpinned by the Civil
Service Commissioner is Recruitment Principles, which outline that selection for
appointment, is made on merit based on fair and open competition.
If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the values in the
Civil Service Code and/or if you feel the recruitment has been conducted in such a
way that conflicts with the Civil Service Commissioner’s Recruitment Principles, you
may make a complaint, by contacting (insert the vacancy manager and contact
details).