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Job Title
Senior Strategy Adviser (Private Office)
Pay Grade
Grade 7
Salary
£50,427 (National) – £54,274 (London)
Location
London or Cardiff
Contract
2 years with possibility of extension
Clearance
SC Clearance Required
About the Office of the Secretary of State for Wales (OSSW):
The Office of the Secretary of State for Wales is the face of the UK Government in Wales and the voice of Wales in Westminster. We support the Secretary of State (SoS) for Wales and the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Wales (PUSS) in representing Wales at the heart of Government. The department plays a central role in shaping key Government priorities such as levelling up, the Union and net zero. We work in partnership with other UK Government departments and stakeholders to deliver a stronger Wales within a strong United Kingdom.
Our departmental values are Commitment, Collaboration and Quality. These shape how we operate in a challenging, demanding and fast paced environment which requires flexibility, transparency and professionalism.
Job Description:
Based in the Private Office, working closely with Special Advisers (SpAds) and Ministers, you will be the eyes and ears of the Department in Whitehall and Wales. With responsibility for horizon scanning, you will spot Ministerial engagement opportunities and risks at an early stage.
Adept at working across policy and communications disciplines, you will advise the Secretary of State and Ministers on strategies to mitigate against risks and have the vision to turn opportunities into exciting communications propositions that resonate with people in Wales.
You will work closely with the Department's business intelligence, policy, comms and digital teams, in addition to the wider government and stakeholder landscape. You will galvanise teams and harness enthusiasm to demonstrate real-life impact of the Government's priority policies in Wales, including the Levelling Up agenda and net zero strategy.
Key responsibilities:
This is an exciting new role which you will help to shape and will require you to make a strong impact on our strategic engagement priorities. Having the ability to motivate colleagues and build robust partner networks and advocates will be key, and you will be comfortable delivering at pace under pressure and to tight deadlines.
You will need to demonstrate strategic communication and engagement skills with good policy instincts and political know how and be able to work effectively with the Secretary of State, Ministers, colleagues and stakeholders at all levels and across all disciplines.
The Role will involve:
- Working in collaboration with the wider Department, advise the Secretary of State, Ministers and the Senior Leadership Team on strategic engagement strategies that demonstrate how the UK Government is delivering for Wales.
- Build close working relationships with colleagues across the Department as well as a diverse network of Private Offices, Devolution Teams and external partners to gather intelligence and insight; encourage advocacy; pre-empt challenge and mitigate accordingly and increase awareness of policies and priorities.
- Liaise with policy and comms to proactively identify and promote positive announcements and case studies from across Government.
- Design and develop a robust approach to horizon scanning within the Department, utilising skills, knowledge and resources from across the teams.
- Map the stakeholder landscape, identifying risks and opportunities.
- Use data and insight to shape engagement strategies, underpinned by robust evaluation.
- Contribute to corporate activities outside your immediate sphere of responsibility.
- This role will involve regular travel between London and Cardiff offices and across Wales.
Person Specification:
Please evidence in your Statement of Suitability, how closely you match the following abilities, technical, and desirable experience elements:
Essential:
- A strong background in strategic communication and/or strategic engagement, including practical experience of identifying key announcements and campaigns and promoting them to different audiences.
- Sound knowledge of policy development and government decision making, including the principles of devolution.
- Evidence of using sound political judgement to inform strategies.
- Experience of leading and empowering high performing teams, evaluating work to find opportunities for continuous improvement.
- Ability to distil and explain complex information to a large audience, getting to the crux of the matter by identifying what’s important and what isn’t.
- Experience of building impactful networks and the confidence to work closely with, and influence Ministers and senior leaders.
- Clear evidence of your ability to prioritise and manage competing demands and high-profile projects.
- Demonstrable experience of stakeholder mapping and horizon scanning tools and techniques.
- Evidence of strong communications and presentation skills.
Desirable:
- Demonstrable knowledge of the political and policy landscape in Wales, including devolved and reserved powers.
- Welsh Language skills.
Additional Information
The Office of the Secretary of State for Wales is not an employer in its own right. Staff recruited to work at the OSSW will be employees of the Ministry of Justice who provide employment services on our behalf.
This role requires SC – level clearance. Applicants for National Security Clearance (SC) must be resident in the UK for 5 years immediately prior to their application for Security Clearance.
Recruitment Process
This campaign will be undertaken using the Civil Service Success Profile framework. You will need to provide evidence in your application to cover the following behaviours:
- Communicating and Influencing (Lead Behaviour) (Application & Interview)
- Seeing the Bigger Picture (Application & Interview)
- Delivering at Pace (Application & Interview)
- Leadership (Application & Interview)
- Making Effective Decisions (Application & Interview)
As part of your interview, you will need to prepare a 5-minute presentation (with no visual aids) where you will talk through how you would approach this role and what you would expect to achieve in the first six months.
This could include developing internal and external relationships; building a robust approach to horizon scanning; and establishing trusted relationships with the Secretary of State, Ministers and Special Advisers.
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