Welcome to the Acas Application Pack
Organisational Background
Acas provides help and advice to organisations to enable them to improve
their employment relations. It is an accredited NDPB with a chief
executive and reports to an independent Council made up of
representatives from bodies such as the CBI and the TUC. Acas is a BIS
partner organisation and a Civil Service employer.
Acas is a service delivery organisation, dealing direct with employers and
employees on issues that affect people’s working lives every day – from
helping to resolve disputes between individuals and their employer to
giving employers and employees guidance on issues such as zero hours
contracts and flexible working. We are best known for helping resolve
disputes between larger employers and unions (known as collective
conciliation).
Our core business is prevention; we aim to improve
procedures and organisational resilience by helping organisations put in
place practise and procedures to realise the potential of the workforce.
Range of benefits
Annual leave: generous allowances for paid holiday starting at 25 days
per year, and increasing to 30 days after 5 years service. Additional paid
time off for public holidays and 1 privilege day.
Pension: the Civil Service offers a choice of pension schemes, giving you
the flexibility to choose the pension that suits you best.
Training: Acas is committed to staff development and offers an extensive
range of training and development opportunities.
Support: a range of policies such as opportunities to work flexibly, access
to flexible benefits such as salary sacrifice arrangements for childcare
vouchers, Ride to Work Bicycle purchase scheme and interest free season
ticket loans (following completion of satisfactory probation.)
Free annual sight tests for employees who use computer screens.
Submitting your application
Your completed Application Form and Diversity Data Form should be sent
electronically together with your application form to George Sutton Email: [email protected] or by post address to George Sutton, Acas,
Recruitment, Lower Ground Floor, Victoria Square House, Victoria Square,
Birmingham, B2 4AJ . Please include the vacancy reference number
in the subject of your e-mail.
Applications must reach us no later than 23:59 Friday 21 August.
Late applications will not be considered.
Further information
If you have any questions about the application and selection process or
the posts concerned, please email your queries to: [email protected].
If you have a disability which requires you to submit your form in a
different format or method, please email us at: [email protected].
Equality
Acas will ensure applicants will not be discriminated against because of
their protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010.
Protected characteristics include age, disability, gender reassignment,
race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, marriage and civil
partnership, pregnancy and maternity. Acas will make all efforts to meet
your access requirements.
Application Form Guidelines
The Application Form has standard sections which capture biographical
information about you. It also asks you to address the competencies
related for this job. This section is self-report and requires you to provide
evidence of how you have demonstrated the behaviours associated with
the specified competencies, defined at the end of this pack. This evidence
must be objective and truthful, and describe real examples of what
happened and how the behaviour led to the outcome. The specified
competencies represent skills and abilities, which all applicants will need
to have to be successful.
By providing us with documentary evidence of your experiences and
achievements to date in relation to the specified competencies, you are
giving us an insight into your ability to operate successfully at this level.
The Application Forms are reviewed and marked by a team of trained
Assessors, who use strict criteria to ensure that the highest standards of
accuracy and consistency are applied in all cases.
Some hints for completing the Application Form:

Read the question carefully and ensure all parts are answered.

You can provide either work-related or non work-related examples
appropriate to the questions. However, wherever possible, please
select examples from the workplace.

Give examples that are recent, preferably within the past 2 years.

Focus on what YOU did and what YOUR specific contribution was.

Be as specific as possible and try to explain exactly what you
personally did.

Ensure your examples are written clearly and legibly. We cannot
give you credit for what we cannot read. If you prefer, you can type
your examples.

You should focus on identifying how and where you have made a
contribution at work or to an outside interest. This may be:
-
A specific one-off incident, or the results of sustained effort over
a period of time.
-
An achievement in which you invested a lot of personal effort.
Further guidance is provided in the relevant section of the form.
Competencies in Key Areas
The following competencies ask you about the achievements that you are
proud of both in your work and other settings. The questions relate to
some of the skills and abilities which have been determined to be required
in order to work effectively as a Grade 8 within Acas. One of the best
predictors of how you are likely to perform in this role is your performance
in previous situations. Your responses to these questions will be used to
help assess your initial application, so please take some time to think
about your responses and present them in the format set out below.
For each of the competencies, you must include each of the following
elements in your response:

What was the situation and/or task? Briefly describe what the
situation was.

Action. What was it that you did in that situation and to what extent
were others involved?

Result. What was the actual outcome of the action that you took?
Please try to provide examples that focus on your involvement in the task,
as it is you that we are interested in. The examples you choose can be
from any setting – work, education, home life, voluntary activities etc.
However, please make them as relevant as possible. Please try to use a
different example for each question, as a spread of responses gives us the
most comprehensive picture of you.
Please avoid using ‘jargon’ in your answers.
Acas Competencies Required
Acas recognises the specialist nature of our expertise. This suite of
behaviours allows operational staff to demonstrate what makes us so
effective in improving workplaces and resolving employment disputes.
This suite concentrates on 2 main areas – “Dispute Resolution/ Promoting
Good Employment relations” and “Building Relationships”.
The levels in the operational suite reflect Civil Service competency
building as a cumulative process, with each level building on the levels
below i.e. a person demonstrating competency at level 3 should also be
demonstrating level 2 indicators as a matter of course.
Dispute Resolution/ Promoting Good Employment Practice
Level 3
Effective Behaviours
People who are effective are likely
to….
Explore parties’ positions and
interests highlighting common
ground to promote an acceptable
solution.
Overcome barriers to help
engagement. Seek consensus, but
does not compromise organisational
values.
Use a range of approaches and
strategies to break deadlock and
defuse unhelpful tension, sharing
their knowledge and expertise in an
appropriate way, remaining
independent and impartial with
clear professional boundaries.
Accurately assess customers’ real
needs through in depth diagnosis
and design solutions that work.
Confidently facilitate groups.
Create emphasis and impact
through body language, pitch, pace
and tone.
Use initiative to create and maintain
relationships with customers and
stakeholders to support and
increase the use of Acas services
and products.
Ineffective Behaviours
People who are less effective are
likely to…..
Not take account of parties’
positions or views. Does not seek to
influence them.
Allow own values/style to hamper
progression.
Demonstrate a narrow approach
when faced with an impasse.
Display minimal interest in the
needs of the customer.
Show little control and struggle to
engage audience.
Wait for work to come their way or
take minimal steps to create or
maintain relationships with
customers or stakeholders
Civil Service Competency Framework
Seeing the Big Picture
Level 3 (HEO & SEO or equiv)
Effective Behaviour
People who are effective are likely
to…
Be alert to emerging issues and
trends which might impact or
benefit own and team’s work
Ineffective Behaviour
People who are less effective are
likely to…
Ignore changes in the external
environment that have implications
for Departmental policy and
considerations
Develop an understanding of own
area’s strategy and how this
contributes to Departmental
priorities
Shows limited interest in or
understanding of Departmental
priorities and what they mean for
activities in their area
Ensure own area/team activities are
aligned to Departmental priorities
Be overly focused on team and
individual activities without due
regard for how they meet the
demands of the Department as a
whole
Actively seek out and share
experience to develop
understanding and knowledge of
own work and of team’s business
area
Take actions which conflict with or
mis-align to other activities
Seek to understand how the
services, activities and strategies in
the area work together to create
value for the customer/end user
Commit to actions without consideration
of the impact on the diverse needs of
customers/end users – apply a “one size
fits all” approach
Building Capability For All
Effective Behaviour People who are
effective are likely to…
Ineffective Behaviour People who are
less effective are likely to…
Level 3 (HEO & SEO or equiv)
Identify and address team or
individual capability requirements
and gaps to deliver current and
future work
Manage others in a weak or
ineffective manner, allowing capability
gaps to persist
Identify and develop all talented
team members to support succession
planning, devoting time to coach,
mentor and develop others
Choose to only develop team
members who reflect own capabilities,
styles and strengths
Value and respond to different
personal needs in the team using
these to develop others and promote
inclusiveness
Be insensitive to and unaware of the
diverse aspirations and capability of
all members of the team
Proactively manage own career and
identify own learning needs with line
manager, plan and carry out workplace learning opportunities
Passively expect others to identify and
manage their learning needs
Continually seek and act on feedback
to evaluate and improve their own
and team’s performance
Make no attempt to learn from or
apply lessons of feedback
Managing a Quality Service
Effective Behaviour People who are
effective are likely to…
Ineffective Behaviour People who are
less effective are likely to…
Level 3 (HEO & SEO or equiv)
Make effective use of project
management skills and techniques
to deliver outcomes, including
identifying risks and mitigating
actions
Has minimal understanding of what
could go wrong or needs to be
resolved as a priority
Develop, implement, maintain and
review systems and service
standards to ensure professional
excellence and expertise and value
for money
Focus on delivering the task to the
exclusion of meeting customer/end
user requirements and needs
Work with team to set priorities,
goals, objectives and timescales
Allocate or delegate work without
clarifying deadlines or priorities
Establish mechanisms to seek out
and respond to feedback from
customers about service provided
Be unable to explain common
customer problems or needs and how
these are evolving
Promote a culture that tackles fraud
and deception and ensures security
of information
Not give sufficient priority and
attention to ensuring that fraud and
deception is being tackled.
Develop proposals to improve the
quality of service with involvement
from a diverse range of staff,
stakeholders or delivery partners
Generate limited proposals to create
service improvements and do so with
little involvement of staff
Leading and Communicating
Level 3 (HEO & SEO or equiv)
Effective Behaviour
People who are effective are likely
to…
Take opportunities to regularly
communicate and interact with
staff, helping to clarify goals and
activities and the links between
these and Departmental strategy
Ineffective Behaviour
People who are less effective are
likely to…
Be rarely available to staff and
others, communicate infrequently
Recognise, respect and reward the
contribution and achievements of
others
Take the credit for others’
achievements
Communicate in a succinct,
engaging manner and stand ground
when needed
Give in readily when challenged
Communicate using appropriate
styles, methods and timing,
including digital channels, to
maximise understanding and impact
Communicate in a set way with little
variation, without tailoring
messages, style and timing to the
needs of the target audience
Promote the work of the
Department and play an active part
in supporting the Civil Service
values and culture
Be ignorant of and/or dismissive of
broader organisational values and
goals, such as equality and diversity
Convey enthusiasm and energy
about their work and encourage
others to do the same
Communicate information without
consideration for the audience or
with limited/low levels of
enthusiasm and effort
Written Competency Example
THIS EXAMPLE IS TO BE USED FOR GUIDANCE ONLY – ADAPTING AND
IMPROVING IS NOT MEASURED IN THIS PROCESS.
Adapting and Improving
As legal counsel for a health insurance plan, I negotiated and helped
administer numerous contracts with medical service providers. These
contracts varied widely despite governing similar issues, negotiations were
time consuming and complicated; contract administration burdensome. I
proposed creating a master contract to replace these contracts, thereby
streamlining negotiations and simplifying contract administration.
First, I collected all existing contracts, identified similarities, and
researched applicable legal provisions. Next, I identified and spoke with
knowledgeable employees to determine additional desired and necessary
provisions. Then I drafted a cohesive, comprehensive, error free master
document and circulated it internally for review and suggestions to its
content and form.
There was some resistance from managers initially, but I was able to
persuade them that this would make contract negotiation and
administration more efficient, thereby freeing up employees to do other
meaningful work. I did this by arranging a meeting to allow these
concerns to be raised so I could address them and demonstrate with a
practical example how the new system would save them time.
In the end, the master contract was adopted making future negotiations
less time consuming and stressful as it served as a primary resource and
baseline. This change also made it easier for all personnel charged with
administering the contracts to know what was required of a vendor, as
they no longer had to memorise the provisions of many different
contracts. The response from managers was very positive after the
system had been in for a few months.