British Business Bank Sponsorship & Policy Adviser

There are 5.6m smaller businesses in the UK, accounting for 99.9% of the UK private sector business population and employing 16.3m people. The Business Finance team s mission is to transform the UK economy and protect taxpayers by helping good businesses thrive while also supporting big Government priorities such as net zero and levelling up.

We do this by advising Ministers on access to finance policy to make it easier for smaller businesses to secure the funding they need. We also work closely with the British Business Bank (BBB), a DBT Partner Organisation, to develop and deliver the Government s access to finance programmes. The BBB supports around £41 billion of finance to 1.5 million companies, working alongside over 180 delivery partners. It supports a range of finance including debt and equity, and has programmes which specialise in regional growth, backing start-ups, and investing in the UK s high-growth businesses, as well as managing multi-billion Covid support schemes on behalf of the Government.

This role involves:

• Working with the BBB to provide the department with assurance that the BBB is an accountable, high-performing organisation, delivering value for money and supporting DBT to achieve its objectives. To deliver this, you will need to work effectively with departmental colleagues, BBB, HM Treasury and UK Government Investments to secure Ministerial agreement for BBBs purpose, objectives and KPIs, and ensure that BBB has the necessary approvals and funding to enable this.

• You will be required to lead and/or support policy development as required in response to HMG’s ambitions for BBB and small business access to finance. You will develop recommendations for Ministers on complex issues; advising them on how to minimise financial risk and fraud loss whilst managing interrelated legal, regulatory and reputational risks.

• DBT policy leads for variants of the ENABLE programme, that aims to increase the availability of development finance for SME s. You will be responsible for working with the Ministry of BBB, HMT, MHCLG, and other stakeholders to refine policy, consider the scope, or potential growth of the scheme and ensure it continues to respond to the needs of the markets; recommending policy changes and transactions for Ministers.

• Deliver a high-quality Secretariat function for senior-level and Ministerial cross-government meetings; Ministerial/parliamentary briefings and correspondence; evidence for committees; and other enquiries such as FOI requests relevant to the team s policy area., + Becoming the expert in your policy areas; to lead and develop your policies so that they can respond and adapt to changing economic conditions to deliver the new government s ambitions.

• Provide high-quality briefings, submissions and performance reporting for Ministers, senior officials and OGDs; to support decision-making on your policy area.

• Leading on scrutiny and challenge of your policy areas; including creating multi-disciplinary virtual teams, that can challenge and develop policy through analysis, legal and commercial as required.

• Manage and lead through our partners to make sure our policy and governance processes are effective and support delivering HMG s objectives.

• You will develop a detailed understanding of access to finance for businesses starting up and growing, the role played by lenders and its interaction with HMG so that you can navigate and deliver government objectives. You will be dealing with the senior executives in the private sector, along with SCS in Whitehall, and ensuring they are briefed to have the right conversations., We’ll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Seeing the Big Picture

• Making Effective Decisions

• Delivering at Pace

• Communicating and Influencing, Interviews for this vacancy will be conducted virtually. We will, however, consider in-person interviews by exception.

Please ensure that you check your emails regularly as all updates from us will be sent to you this way.

To apply for this post, you will be asked to complete the following as part of the online application:

• A CV setting out your career history, with key responsibilities and achievements. Provide employment history that relates to the essential criteria, and that any gaps in employment history within the last 2 years are explained. The CV should not exceed more than 2 x A4 pages.

• A Personal Statement of up to 750 words, explaining how you consider your personal skills, qualities and experience provide evidence of your suitability for the role about the essential criteria.

It is likely that the sift will take place 1-2 weeks after the closing date and interviews 3-5 weeks after the closing date though this is subject to change.

In the event of a large number of applicants, an initial short sift will be conducted on the CV. Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift or progressed straight to assessment/interview.

As part of your interview, you will be asked to deliver a short oral presentation, details will be provided before your interview.

This role is full time only. Applicants who wish to work an alternative pattern are welcome to apply however your preferred working pattern may not be available and you should discuss this with the vacancy holder before applying.

Reasonable Adjustments

We are committed to supporting candidates so they can perform at their best throughout the recruitment process. This includes making reasonable adjustments to our process. In order to request an adjustment:

Complete the Assistance required section on the Additional requirements page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process.

Alternatively contact the Government Recruitment Service at DBTrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.

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

Candidate Support

You may want to join a virtual Candidate Support Session. These sessions include helpful tips and advice on the recruitment process, from application to interview.

Please see attached Candidate Pack for further information on: Diversity and Inclusion; Benefits; Learning and Development; Working Patterns and what we deliver as a department.

Further Information:

• A reserve list may be held for a period of 12 months from which further appointments can be made. Reserve Lists will be for each location and appointments made in merit order based on location preferences.

• Any move to the Department for Business and Trade from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments.

• The Department will not consider sponsoring a visa or issuing a Certificate of Sponsorship. We are unable to offer advice on any Visa and Immigration cases.

• New entrants are expected to join on the minimum of the pay band.

• Applicants who are successful at interview will be, as part of pre-employment screening, subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database (IFD). This check will provide information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences. This check also applies to employees who resign or otherwise leave before being dismissed for fraud or dishonesty. Any applicant who has details held on the IFD will be refused employment.

• A candidate is not eligible to apply for a role within the Civil Service if the application is made within a 5 year period following a dismissal for carrying out internal fraud against government.

• Terms and Conditions are attached. Please take time to read the document to determine how these may affect you.

• Please note the successful candidate will be expected to remain in post for a minimum of 18 months before being released for another role.

• This role may be considered as a secondment opportunity. Please reach out to the hiring manager listed at the bottom of this advert to discuss., + UK nationals

• nationals of the Republic of Ireland

• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK

• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)

• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)

• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020

• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission’s recruitment principles (opens in a new window).

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

Apply and further information

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.

The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window).

Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

• The ability to get up to speed quickly with a complex policy area and produce high quality advice at pace.

• Ability to influence others across organisations and forge successful relationships across public and private stakeholders and diverse teams.

• A collaborative approach, able to lead through others and influence wider teams across Government and delivery partners.

• Strong analytical skills, with the ability to identify potential risks and issues.

Desirable criteria. Stronger candidates will also be able to evidence one of the following:

• Well-developed judgement to navigate ambiguity, resolve problems and develop forward looking plans.

• Experience of leading policy work across Whitehall / External stakeholders / Commercial Partners.

• Experience of providing high quality policy advice to Ministers / SCS / Private Sector.

Personal skills and attributes. The ideal candidate would be:

• A self-starter that can get up to speed on a topic and comfortable engaging and leading on their policy area.

• Willing to learn about new policy areas and how that can be implemented effectively. Inquisitive and open to considering different approaches and angles.

• Someone who likes to consider the bigger picture, wider factors and long term implications of decisions.

• Someone who motivates themselves and others to deliver results and achieve targets / milestones.

• Someone who can respond to challenge and find a solution by using their network to bring in knowledge and expertise to help them., Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.

People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Alongside your salary of £39,384, Department for Business and Trade contributes £11,409 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

• 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%

We recognise the challenges that people with (multiple) protected characteristics may experience on the job market and in their career progression. We are fully committed to being an inclusive employer and ensuring equal opportunities. We are keen to make our workforce as diverse as possible, and we hope to attract applications from underrepresented groups, including ethnic minorities, people with a disability, and people with gender diverse identities.

Please refer to the attached candidate pack for further information on our benefits.

In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to Disclosure and Barring Service /Disclosure Scotland/Access NI 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.

For further information on the Disclosure Scotland confidential checking service telephone: the Disclosure Scotland Helpline on 0870 609 6006 and ask to speak to the operations manager in confidence, or email Info@disclosurescotland.co.uk

For further information on the Access NI confidential checking service telephone: the Access NI Helpline on 0300 200 7888 and ask to speak to the operations manager in confidence, or email accessni@ani.x.gsi.gov.uk

Feedback

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment., + Name : Mike King

• Email : mike.king3@businessandtrade.gov.uk

• Telephone : 07704663696

Recruitment team

• Email : dbtrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk, If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with these principles and you wish to make a complaint, you should in the first instance contact DBT by email: Resourcing@businessandtrade.gov.uk.