Government Recruitment Service • London
About this role
The Priority Projects Unit (PPU) provides high-calibre professional support for the Cabinet Office’s most critical and complex initiatives. Through flexible three-month placements, team members work individually or in small groups to address evolving national priorities, such as national security, civil service reform, and new policy. This model allows the unit to meet urgent departmental needs while offering staff diverse opportunities for professional development.Successful candidates must demonstrate the ability to manage competing priorities under tight deadlines, analyse evidence to form sound judgments, and communicate effectively with senior stakeholders. While government experience is valued, the PPU provides the necessary support for talented individuals from the private sector to adapt their skills to a central government context.
The unit fosters a vibrant, inclusive culture by requiring all team members to dedicate 10% of their time to corporate team-building initiatives. To support a healthy work-life balance, the PPU welcomes flexible working and job-share arrangements, provided staff can work from a physical office at least three days per week.
The primary accountability of this role is the successful delivery of time-bound, 3-6 month priority projects across the Cabinet Office. Post-holders are expected to move between diverse policy and delivery areas to address urgent departmental gaps.
As a Senior Policy Advisor within the PPU, you will be required to integrate seamlessly into existing teams or stand up new ones at pace. You will be expected to rapidly onboard and master the intricacies of new policy areas, quickly identifying core objectives to ensure immediate impact upon deployment. You will take full ownership of high-priority workstreams, working independently and with minimal supervision to drive delivery at pace. This requires a high degree of comfort with ambiguity and the proactive initiative to shape work at its most nascent stages, providing structure and direction where objectives may initially be ill-defined.
You will need to demonstrate a range of skills including well-honed policy expertise and strong strategic thinking, alongside the sound, evidence-based judgement required to advise senior leaders and Ministers. You will also be expected to demonstrate excellent interpersonal skills, with the ability to build rapport and collaborative relationships across government at pace, with further detail set out in the person specification.
Beyond individual delivery, you will provide essential leadership and stability for junior colleagues, offering support, development guidance and reassurance to your line managees to deliver in the same context. You will proactively lead strands of the corporate work of the PPU, team with 10% of your time dedicated to this.
You will act as an ambassador for the PPU across the Cabinet Office, leading by example and demonstrating professionalism and calm in demanding circumstances. You will help ensure the department retains the high-calibre surge capacity and strategic expertise necessary to meet its most urgent commitments.
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About Disability Confident
A Disability Confident employer will generally offer an interview to any applicant that declares they have a disability and meets the minimum criteria for the job as defined by the employer. It is important to note that in certain recruitment situations such as high-volume, seasonal and high-peak times, the employer may wish to limit the overall numbers of interviews offered to both disabled people and non-disabled people. For more details please go to Disability Confident.