Senior Policy Adviser - Constitution TLNT1_NI in Belfast

The Northern Ireland Office supports the Secretary of State in promoting the best interests of Northern Ireland: ensuring that Northern Ireland interests are represented within the UK Government and that UK government responsibilities are fully and effectively represented in Northern Ireland. We are the centre of expertise on Northern Ireland issues across Government. The Northern Ireland Office employs around 170 staff, with offices in Belfast and London. As a small department, we adopt a flexible project-based approach to ensure that we have the right people, with the right skills, in the right place to support the delivery of our key objectives.

Our key priorities include:

• Supporting greater inclusion, tolerance and openness in Northern Ireland;
• Contributing to a safer Northern Ireland, where terrorist and paramilitary groups are less able to cause harm to communities;
• Ensuring that governance in Northern Ireland is responsive, transparent and able to deliver effective public service;
• Addressing the legacy of the past in Northern Ireland.

The Transformation, Constitution, and Rights Group handles some of the Northern Ireland Office's most high-profile, complex, and fascinating policy areas. We oversee constitutional legislation, elections, human rights, cultural identity, and devolution. More than just a policy team, we are a friendly, inclusive, and highly collaborative group that genuinely prioritises team culture and individual wellbeing.

As part of the Constitution Team, you will sit at the intersection of history, law, and politics in Northern Ireland. You will monitor constitutional developments across the UK, engaging with the work of external experts and top scholars to ensure the NIO stays ahead of the curve. If successful, you will become a true subject-matter expert on the Good Friday Agreement and the Northern Ireland Act 1998. You won't just study these texts; you will ensure their intent and spirit are accurately reflected in UK Government policy, becoming a trusted advisor to Ministers and senior officials. You will work closely with other Government departments, advising teams on how to develop policy that works for Northern Ireland, recognising any unique sensitivities, opportunities or challenges.

We are looking for strategic thinkers and team players, who have an eye for detail but never lose sight of the big picture.

Duties And Responsibilities:

The main responsibilities of the role include but are not limited to:

• Owning your portfolio: shape and drive forward the Government's constitutional strategy for Northern Ireland, taking direct ownership of a distinct and critical range of policy issues;
• Advising at the highest levels: navigate politically sensitive, high-profile environments to deliver sharp, nuanced briefings to senior leaders and Ministers;
• Representing our ministers: lead on drafting high-quality, precise responses to Parliamentary Questions and Ministerial correspondence, and provide direct support to Ministers during Parliamentary sessions;
• Building strong networks: cultivate strong, collaborative relationships across Whitehall, the NIO, and external stakeholder groups to align agendas and drive priorities forward.

Essential Criteria:

The post holder will need to demonstrate the following in their application and at interview:

• Policy development skills and the capacity to produce high-quality written briefings for senior leaders and Ministers across Government;
• Experience (or show the clear potential) to verbally brief Ministers and senior leaders on complex topics, helping them to easily understand detailed policy;
• Good organisational and prioritising skills with the ability to work across a range of tasks, policies and under pressure;
• A proactive, solutions-focused mindset, with the ability to identify problems, design improvements, and implement them.

Desirable Criteria:

Experience of working on constitution or devolution issues would be advantageous but is not essential. We will teach you what you need to know if you have the right core skills!

Behaviours:

We will assess you against the following Success Profiles behaviours at SEO level during the application sift:

• Communicating and Influencing
• Making Effective Decisions

We will then assess you against the following Success Profiles behaviours at SEO level during the interview process:

• Communicating and Influencing
• Delivering at Pace
• Making Effective Decisions
• Seeing the Big Picture

Experience:

Please provide a work history and separate statement of suitability no longer than 500 words outlining how you meet the essential and desirable criteria. Both will be used to assess any demonstrable experience, career history and achievements that are relevant to the role. Your statement of suitability needs to set out evidence of how your experience meets the requirements set out above. Your layout is entirely your preference; you may choose narrative, bullets, etc. One narrative example may cover the requirements needed. You don't have to explain the whole process, just what you have done and the skills and experience you have used. Share with us what makes you suited to this role and why. What you can do, the skills you have that are transferable and the life experience or passion you have that are linked to this role. If you don't have work-based examples then give examples from school/college, clubs, volunteering or other activities you have been involved in. You will also be asked to complete a work history, to include previous skills and full employment history. This will not be formally assessed so please put the main evidence of your skills into your personal statement. Your work history will be used to add context to your personal statement.

Interview:

You will be assessed against the same behaviours at the interview stage and will be asked to provide examples of how you have demonstrated the behaviours. It may help to use one or more examples of a piece of work you have completed or a situation you have been in and use the WHO or STAR model to explain:

• WHO - What it was? How you approached the work/situation? What the Outcomes were, what did you achieve?
• STAR - What was the Situation? What were the Tasks? What Action did you take? What were the Results of your actions?

Offer:

Once all interviews have been completed, you will be notified of the outcome by email. Offers will be made in strict merit order to the highest scoring candidate first. The successful candidate will be notified of a start date following successful security checks.

Security Clearance:

This role requires National Security Vetting given the access to sensitive information afforded by the job role. You can find more information by reviewing the information held in the following links: United Kingdom Security Vetting: Applicant - GOV.UK (The vetting charter - GOV.UK). In addition, there is a minimum UK residency requirement set by the Cabinet Office which is dependent on the security level required for the role. This role requires CTC and to be eligible to apply for this role you should have been present in the UK continuously for the past 3 years.

Further Information:

Further information about the post may be obtained from Caitrona Sheil via email. All applications for employment are considered strictly on the basis of merit. This job description should not be taken as constituting conditions of employment. Please note that due to the high interest in NIO opportunities, feedback cannot be given if you are unsuccessful at the sift stage. Feedback is available on request if unsuccessful following the interview.

Complaints:

The Civil Service Code sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants. Appointment to the Civil Service is governed by the Civil Service Commission's Recruitment Principles. You have the right to complain if you feel a department has breached the requirement of the Recruitment Principles.

Reserve Lists:

In the event that the advertised post following interview identifies more appointable applicants than available posts, we may hold applicant details on a merit/reserve list for a period of 12 months from which further future appointments can be made. Candidates placed on a reserve list will be informed of this. Those candidates who do not wish to remain on the reserve list should contact to be removed from the reserve list.

Interview dates:

Estimated week of 23 August.

Contact information:

If you require any assistance please call (Monday to Friday 8am - 6pm) or email.