Grade 7 Heathrow Rail Access Project Delivery Posts

Do you enjoy working in a high profile, fast paced and exciting environment? Would the opportunity to work with a diverse range of internal and external stakeholders, including Ministers and industry motivate you? If so, there are three posts in the Department of Transport (DfT) which could be right for you.

Introduction

Heathrow Airport is the UK's largest international hub airport, and the busiest two runway international airport in the world. We are looking for talented people to work in a dynamic, multidisciplinary programme environment to help deliver the rail improvements to provide a step-change in rail accessibility to Heathrow, opening up new markets across the South and South West and relieving congestion to London Paddington and Waterloo.

The Heathrow Expansion Programme (HEP) is one of the DfT's and the UK Government's most high-profile programmes, responsible for enabling the delivery of increased airport capacity in the South East of England. In June 2018, the Secretary of State designated the Airports National Policy Statement (NPS), which sets the policy framework for the future expansion of Heathrow Airport. The programme is now moving on to an exciting new phase to enable the delivery of expansion in line with the requirements of the Airports NPS - working with Heathrow Airport Limited (HAL), the wider aviation industry, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and other partners to deliver expansion.

The multi-billion pound Heathrow Rail Access (HRA) Programme is a Secretary of State priority; closely linked, but not dependent on, airport expansion. It brings together the proposed Western and Southern rail links to Heathrow into a single, holistic programme:

• The Western Rail Link to Heathrow will substantially reduce journey times for passengers from the South West, allowing direct access to Heathrow Airport via a simple change of train at Reading and eliminating the need to change at London Paddington. The proposal being delivered by Network Rail includes a new rail tunnel, leaving the Great Western Main Line between Langley and Iver and connecting to the existing railway infrastructure at Heathrow Terminal 5.

• The Southern Rail Link to Heathrow is less mature in its development. Network Rail published their Feasibility Study in December 2015 which looked at several potential routes. The Secretary of State has expressed his desire to take forward this scheme in a holistic manner, in the quickest possible timeframe, in order to provide the best outcome for passengers and taxpayers.

Planned alongside other nationally significant infrastructure projects, such as HS2 and Crossrail, these will provide an attractive alternative to the road network.

As part of this, we are recruiting three Grade 7s to help deliver these rail improvements. It is a constantly evolving, challenging and exciting environment to work in and, to help us lead these complex programmes, we're committed to attracting and developing the best talent.

The Roles

The roles will be based either in the HEP team or the Rail Group's Network Services Directorate, which is responsible for planning how services and infrastructure will be enhanced to meet future challenges, sponsoring and overseeing a vast investment programme. This will be determined by the skills and preferences of the successful candidates and the needs of the programme.

Heathrow Expansion Programme - Rail Delivery Grade 7

The post-holder will work on agreeing the financial contribution towards the Western Rail Link to Heathrow, support the development of the wider HRA programme and help to manage the relationship with key stakeholders in relation to airport expansion. The post-holder will need to be able to balance the commercial interests of different stakeholders including regulators, risks to the programme and achieving Government's policy objectives.

This role will also lead on the oversight of all related rail schemes which could support airport expansion (e.g. HS2, Crossrail, Western Rail, and Southern Rail), managing the interfaces with High Speed Rail and Rail Group, and ensuring that the Programme's interests are reflected in wider rail scheme development.

Heathrow Rail Access Programme - Project Clients Grade 7 (two posts)
The post-holders will lead on the development of the rail schemes. As the schemes are at different stages of development the nature of this work will vary but in both cases provide an exciting opportunity to oversee a mix of: feasibility and optioning work; design development and business case development. As a result the role presents an interesting blend of project management and policy development, requiring, among other things, excellent stakeholder management, strategic and commercial skills.

You will need to work across organisational boundaries and will have regular interaction with Network Rail, HAL, Transport for London, third party promoters and Local Councils and Local Enterprise Partnerships.

More detail about the roles and the responsibilities involved for both roles are set out in the attached job profile.

About You

For all three posts, the post-holders will need to develop good working relationships with colleagues across DfT and with HAL, Network Rail, the CAA and other organisations across the public and private sectors.

Having excellent interpersonal skills is therefore essential and you will need to be able to communicate effectively on behalf of senior officials and Ministers and negotiate and influence others to hit challenging deadlines.

You should also be open minded to exploring innovative new ideas and will help in shaping the priorities and work programme of the HEP and Rail Group.

Competencies

We'll assess you against these competencies during the selection process:

• Seeing the big picture
• Achieving commercial outcomes
• Making effective decisions
• Leading and communicating
• Delivering at pace

Civil Service Competency Framework

Benefits

Pensions
Civil Service pension schemes may be available for successful candidates.

Benefits
Besides the rewarding nature of the job itself, the benefits that come with it are excellent. The package includes generous leave entitlement, attractive pension options, flexible working and other policies to enable a good work/life balance, including beneficial childcare arrangements. You'll also benefit from our commitment to nurturing and developing talent.

Things you need to know

Security

Successful candidates must pass basic security checks .

Nationality statement
Candidates will be subject to UK immigration requirements as well as Civil Service nationality rules .

If you're applying for a role requiring security clearance please be aware that foreign or dual nationality is not an automatic bar. However certain posts may have restrictions which could affect those who do not have sole British nationality or who have personal connections with certain countries outside the UK.

Selection process details

This vacancy is using the Civil Service Competency Framework . Guidance on writing competency examples is available: A brief guide to competencies

Selection Process

To apply, you need to submit a CV with a written personal statement of up to 1,200 words maximum, describing your experience and skills which make you highly suitable for one of these posts.

Personal Statement

When considering your experience, please tailor your Personal Statement to:

• Provide evidence of your motivation for applying for these roles and what you would like to get out of them; and
• Demonstrate how your skills and experience meet the competences below.

Your CV and written statement will be used to determine whether you go forward to the interview stage.

Interview Stage

If you are invited to an interview you may be asked to give a five minute presentation as well as the interview itself.

During the interview you may be asked questions about your strengths and how you would deal with situations which might arise in the job as well questions in relation to the listed competencies. You will be given more information about this stage if you are invited to interview.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Nationality requirements
Open to UK, Commonwealth and European Economic Area (EEA) and certain non EEA nationals. Further information on whether you are able to apply is available here .

Eligibility

Candidates in their probationary period are eligible to apply for vacancies within this department.

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code 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 .

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equality of opportunity. There is a guaranteed interview scheme (GIS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.