Public Appointments Senior Campaign Manager

Details
Reference number

438499

Salary

£44,241

A Civil Service Pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

GBP

Job grade

Senior Executive Officer

Contract type

Permanent

Type of role

Governance

Project Delivery

Working pattern

Flexible working, Full-time, Job share, Part-time

Number of jobs available

1

Contents

• Location
• About the job
• Benefits
• Things you need to know
• Apply and further information

Location

Birmingham, Leeds

About the job
Job summary

Join us as a vital member of the dynamic and supportive Public Appointments Team at the Department for Transport (DfT). The team sits within the Shareholding Appointments and Inquiries Directorate (SAI), which is central to the Department's work on creating an inclusive transport network for everyone, as well as a safer, more secure and sustainable transport system. In this high-impact role, you'll help shape the leadership of DfT's public bodies, working closely with the Public Bodies Centre of Excellence, by supporting Ministers to appoint exceptional Chairs and Non-Executive Directors. Our mission is to empower the Department and its public bodies to deliver outstanding performance, meet Ministerial priorities, and provide high-quality public services to the nation. You'll play a key part in creating diverse and brilliant boards - ensuring our leadership reflects the communities we serve and drives innovation across the transport sector. If you're passionate about making a real difference and thrive in a fast-paced, high-profile environment, this is your opportunity to help shape the future of public service.

Joining our department comes with many benefits, including:

• Employer pension contribution of 28.97% of your salary. Read more about Civil Service Pensions here
• 25 days annual leave, increasing by 1 day each year of service (up to a maximum of 30 days annual leave), plus 8 bank holidays a privilege day for the King's birthday
• Flexible working options where we encourage a great work-life balance.

Read more in the Benefits section below

Find out more about what it's like working at the Department for Transport: Department for Transport Central - Department for Transport Careers

Job description

Your responsibilities will include, but aren't limited to:

• Managing Campaigns: Lead a portfolio of high-profile public appointment campaigns for DfT public body chairs and board members from beginning to end, often to tight timescales. This will include drafting candidate packs, essential criteria, and advice to ministers, facilitating and attending sift and interview meetings, stakeholder engagement and updating the Cabinet Office Applicant Tracking System throughout.
• Strategic planning: Oversee future and existing campaigns, succession planning, including forward planning and engagement, risk management, and compliance.
• Candidate Care and Customer Service: Deliver and maintain high levels of candidate care and customer service throughout the campaign lifecycle.
• Candidate Search: Conduct targeted searches to find talented individuals, considering role requirements and diversity.
• Project Management: Manage a variety of additional projects aimed at improving the work of the team.
• Process Improvement: Contribute to our continuous improvement approach, helping to identify opportunities to innovate and transform our service.
• Expert Advice: Provide expert advice on all elements of public appointments, mindful of key policy developments, to a wide range of stakeholders including Ministers, Cabinet Office, No.10, senior officials, policy teams, chairs of public bodies and panel members.
• Stakeholder Engagement: Work closely with shareholder / sponsor teams and Public Bodies throughout public appointment campaigns.
• Line Management: You will manage a HEO Campaign manager and EO Campaign support.

Great line management is important to us as an organisation, and we will equip and support line managers to develop the skills they need. We aim to empower line managers to create teams where people can flourish and deliver excellent outcomes for the public.

For further information on the role, please read the attached role profile. Please note that the role profile is for information purposes only - whilst all elements are relevant to the role, they may not all be assessed during the recruitment process. This job advert will detail exactly what will be assessed during the recruitment process.

Person specification

Required experience:

To be successful in this role you will need to have the following experience:

• Someone who can build strong and productive relationships with senior external stakeholders.
• You will have great communication skills, written and verbal, and show you are able to confidently engage with senior colleagues and/or DfT stakeholders.
• You will be self-motivated, able to work under pressure, and managing priorities, in a busy environment, taking ownership of tasks and producing high quality work.
• Experience in Public Appointments or similar recruitment to senior and/or high-profile roles would be a real advantage or an ability to demonstrate relevant transferrable skills.
• You will also have experience of providing timely and high-quality advice to Ministers and/or senior colleagues.

Working hours, office attendance and travel requirements

Full time roles consist of 37 hours per week.

This role entails interview support which means regular travel to London and other parts of the country will be an essential part of the role with overnight stays sometimes required.

This role is suitable for hybrid working, which is a non-contractual arrangement where a combination of workplace and home-based working can be accommodated subject to business requirements.

The expectation at present is a minimum of 60% of your working time a month will be spent at either your designated workplace (one of the locations cited in the advert) or, when required for business reasons, in another office/work location. There may be occasions where you are required to attend above the minimum expectation.

If you have a question about hybrid working, part time/job share hours, flexible working, travelling for work, or require a reasonable adjustment, please contact the Vacancy Holder during the recruitment process to avoid possible disappointment later in the process should your working arrangements not be compatible with the requirements of the role (see below for contact details).

Behaviours

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

• Delivering at Pace
• Communicating and Influencing
• Seeing the Big Picture
• Working Together
• Managing a Quality Service

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £44,241, Department for Transport contributes £12,816 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

Being part of our brilliant Civil Service means you will have access to a wide range of fantastic benefits:

• Employer pension contribution of 28.97% of your salary. Read more about Civil Service Pensions here
• 25 days annual leave, increasing by 1 day each year of service (up to a maximum of 30 days annual leave).
• 8 Bank Holidays plus an additional Privilege Day to mark the King's birthday.
• Access to the staff discount portal.
• Excellent career development opportunities and the potential to undertake professional qualifications relevant to your role paid for by the department, such as CIPD, Prince2, apprenticeships, etc.
• Joining a diverse and inclusive workforce with a range of staff communities to support all our colleagues.
• 24-hour Employee Assistance Programme providing free confidential help and advice for staff.
• Flexible working options where we encourage a great work-life balance.

Find out more about the benefits of working at DfT and its agencies .

Things you need to know
Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles , and will assess your Behaviours, Strengths and Experience.

How to apply:

Our selection process ensures a comprehensive assessment of each applicant's qualifications, skills, and potential fit within our organisation.

The selection process for this role will be:

Stage 1: Sift of CV and personal statement

Stage 2: Interview

As part of the application process, you will be asked to complete a CV and personal statement. Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.

Stage 1: Sift

At sift, you will be assessed against the following Success Profile elements:

Behaviours – you will be asked to provide a 250-word statement on the following Behaviours:

• Delivering at Pace (lead criteria)
• Communicating and Influencing
• Seeing the big picture
• Working Together
  Managing a Quality Service

Experience – you will be asked to provide a CV (unlimited wordcount) and personal statement (500-word count). Please provide evidence of your Experience of the following

• Someone who can build strong and productive relationships with senior external stakeholders.
• You will have great communication skills, written and verbal, and show you are able to confidently engage with senior colleagues and/or DfT stakeholders.
• You will be self-motivated, able to work under pressure, and managing priorities, in a busy environment, taking ownership of tasks and producing high quality work.
• Experience in Public Appointments or similar recruitment to senior and/or high-profile roles would be a real advantage or an ability to demonstrate relevant transferrable skills.
• You will also have experience of providing timely and high-quality advice to Ministers and/or senior colleagues.

Should a large number of applications be received, an initial sift may be conducted using the lead Success Profile element, Behaviours – Delivering at Pace. Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift or progressed straight to assessment/interview.

The sift will take place week commencing 15/12/2025.

Stage 2: Interview

At interview stage, you will be assessed against the following Success Profile elements:

Behaviours –

• Delivering at Pace (lead criteria)
• Communicating and Influencing
• Seeing the big picture
• Working Together
• Managing a Quality Service

Experience –

• Someone who can build strong and productive relationships with senior external stakeholders.
• You will have great communication skills, written and verbal, and show you are able to confidently engage with senior colleagues and/or DfT stakeholders.
• You will be self-motivated, able to work under pressure, and managing priorities, in a busy environment, taking ownership of tasks and producing high quality work.
• Experience in Public Appointments or similar recruitment to senior and/or high-profile roles would be a real advantage or an ability to demonstrate relevant transferrable skills.
• You will also have experience of providing timely and high-quality advice to Ministers and/or senior colleagues.

Strengths

The interviews will take place week commencing 12/01/2026

This interview will be conducted online via Microsoft Teams. Further details will be provided to you should you be selected for interview.

You can find out more about our hiring process, how to apply, and application and interview guidance on our careers site .

Please note that we will try to meet the dates set out in the advert. There may be occasions when these dates will change.

Further information on the selection process

Feedback on your application can only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

We will also hold a12-month reserve list for this role, which may lead to potential opportunities beyond the role you applied for. You can read more about our reserve lists here.

All staff, including fixed term appointees, who have successfully completed their probation period are eligible to apply.

In alignment with internal Civil Service Wide opportunities, staff will not be eligible to apply if they have a current formal written warning for performance, conduct or attendance. This will include individuals who are in a 'sustained period' following an attendance warning. Staff who receive a formal warning subsequent to their application will also be withdrawn from the process.

AI Tools and Platforms

Artificial intelligence (AI) can be a useful tool to support your application, but all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate, and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism is identified (such as presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Reasonable Adjustments

As a Disability Confident Leader employer, we are committed to ensuring that the recruitment process is fair, accessible and allows all candidates to perform at their best. If a person with a visible or non-visible disability is substantially disadvantaged, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes.

Complete the "Assistance required" section in the "Additional requirements" page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need during the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at an interview, or if you're deaf, a Language Service Professional.

If you need a reasonable adjustment so that you can complete your application, you should contact Government Recruitment Service via as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.

Document Accessibility

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

This job advert contains links to the DfT Careers website. Our website provides useful guidance and information that can support you during the application process. If you cannot access the information on our website for any reason, please email for assistance.

Further Information

For more information about how we hire, and for useful tips on submitting your application for this role, visit the How We Hire page of our DfT Careers website. You can find detailed information about the recruitment process and what to expect when applying for a role.

Pre-employment Checking

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 had their employment continued. Any applicant's 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.

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

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.

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

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• 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)
• 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

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 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 and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy .

Apply and further information

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans 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.

Contact point for applicants
Job contact :

• Name : Jessica Hall
• Email :

Recruitment team

• Email :

Further information

If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles and you wish to make a complaint, in the first instance, you should contact Government Recruitment Services via email:

If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Department, you can contact the Civil Service Commission: Visit the Civil Service Commission website Here

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