Highways Agency

Campaign background

A stronger focus on leadership has been identified as necessary to help the Agency deliver the innovation and flexibility that will achieve the excellent customer service that we aspire to in our strategic plan, ‘Customers First’.
 
Leadership qualities are likely to be needed in all pay band 7 and 8 posts, but not all current vacancies are key leadership posts.  Some are more concerned with the specialist/technical aspects of the role, for example, employment/HR policy expert, expertise on roads or technical standards, experience in road maintenance/project management.

In a key leadership role, the primary emphasis is on:

• leadership (not just management)
• motivating and inspiring people 
• providing a clear and compelling vision 
• getting the best from others
• building trust and positive relationships with stakeholders
• focusing on the future and not just the short-term
• seizing opportunities, and 
• taking tough decisions to deliver identified outcomes and results. 

In these posts experience of managing or directing projects may be more relevant than technical expertise, which may not be the main part of the role.

We will be working with our external partners ResponseAbility and CPCR Ltd on this campaign.  ResponseAbility will be providing response handling services, including dealing with queries about the on-line application form.  They will also be in contact with you should you be successful in being invited to assessment centre.  CPCR will work closely with the Agency on the achievement record sift and assessment centre process.

What we are looking for in your application

Before completing your application form please read all of the materials which have been designed to assist you and provide more information about the Highways Agency.

Please complete this application form carefully and answer all the questions. 

Against each essential requirement, please give examples that best illustrate how your experience matches what we are looking for. It is important that you:

• Tell us what makes you suitable for the post(s).
• Be precise about what you did and the part you played in the activities you describe.
• Describe the outcome or result of your actions.
• Limit the number of words you write to a maximum of 250 words per competency/essential requirement and record the word count after each. In assessing your achievement record we will disregard words in excess of 250.

A useful guide might be S.T.A.R:

Specific – give a specific example.
Task - briefly describe the task/objective etc.
Action – tell us what action you took.
Results – describe what results were achieved.

The examples you give can be taken from any aspect of your life, for example: your work, your job seeking experiences, your family or home responsibilities, your leisure activities or voluntary work. Recent work examples tend to be the strongest indicator of your abilities, so we would recommend that you use these if possible.

The following is an unsuitable example:
Working with people: Understands how own objectives fit into team objectives and builds effective working relationships with members of own/other teams.

“I fully understand my own objectives and how these fit into the overall team objectives. I take time to understand the other team member’s workloads and help wherever I can. I have always regarded effective working relationships to be very important to my own work, the teams and ultimately the business. I have the ability to communicate well at all levels and this certainly facilitates team working. Recently I was asked to shadow a manager in another business area. I took time beforehand to plan my visit thoroughly. Whilst carrying out this shadowing exercise, I was able to ask a number of key questions that were important to my team.”

This example is unsuitable for a number of reasons. Firstly although the candidate states that they are effective in understanding their own objectives and those of the team, there is no evidence to support these statements. An attempt has been made to provide an example of building effective working relationships, however there is not enough detail of why and how the candidate gathered information prior to the visit, there is no information about the outcome nor what benefit there was to themselves or their team.

Short-listing process

The short-listing panels and the interview panels will be looking for the following evidence from the Achievement Record and the performance at the Job Specific interview.

• evidence of understanding the principles of the competency / requirement and connecting this understanding with an example
• rather than simply describing the experience/example – analysing why and how the outcome was achieved.
• clarity about what personal skills and contribution the candidate employed to achieve the outcome
• specifics, not generalised comments based on theoretical statements 
• specific examples which set a scene concisely, identify considerations, principles and describe approach and outcome
• what the candidate did to achieve the outcome
• how the outcome was achieved
• evidence of having thought about the post applied for and considered how experience and examples best match or fit the requirements
• good layout/presentation of examples and consideration for assessor in terms of clarity of information – eg. Where appropriate, replicating the essential requirements headings, using font size and spacing which makes reading easier
• clear written communication skills with little use of jargon or acronyms in the  application form
• clarity of style and content/ verbal presentation at interview
• evidence of thinking ones-self into new post and understanding of issues and anticipating new areas of work/abilities to cope etc.
• continuity/match between verbal and visual presentation of the candidate at interview/assessment centres.

Assessment criteria

The assessment criteria have been designed to link the Highways Agency  core competencies framework with the Professional Skills for Government (PSG) required skills. (See below for further information on PSG). The following table lists the competences required, their links to PSG, and the requirements for the Pay Band 7 and Pay Band 8 levels of competence.

Please note that not all of the indicators will be used at each stage of the selection process.

The short-listing panels and the interview panels will be looking for the following evidence from the Achievement Record and the performance at the Job Specific interview:

• evidence of understanding the principles of the competency / requirement and connecting this understanding with an example
• rather than simply describing the experience/example – analysing why and how the outcome was achieved.
• clarity about what personal skills and contribution the candidate employed to achieve the outcome 
• specifics, not generalised comments based on theoretical statements 
• specific examples which set a scene concisely, identify considerations, principles and describe approach and outcome 
• what the candidate did to achieve the outcome
• how the outcome was achieved 
• evidence of having thought about the post applied for and considered how experience and examples best match or fit the requirements 
• good layout/presentation of examples and consideration for assessor in terms of clarity of information – eg. Where appropriate, replicating the essential requirements headings, using font size and spacing which makes reading easier 
• clear written communication skills with little use of jargon or acronyms in the application form 
• clarity of style and content/ verbal presentation at interview 
• evidence of thinking ones-self into new post and understanding of issues and anticipating new areas of work/abilities to cope etc. 
• continuity/match between verbal and visual presentation of the candidate at interview/assessment centres.

Terms and Conditions in the Highways Agency

Hours
You will normally be required to work 37 hours (36 hours in London) a week excluding lunch breaks. All offices operate a flexible working policy.

Nationality
These posts are open to EC nationals, other Commonwealth citizens, British Protected persons, and nationals of states in the European Economic Area including Switzerland and certain members of their families. Commonwealth citizens must be free from any restrictions to reside and take up employment in the UK.

Pension
The Civil Service offers a choice of valuable pension arrangements - a final salary or money purchase pension - giving you the opportunity to choose the pension that suits you best. The final salary scheme, the Premium Scheme provides a pension based on 1/60th of pensionable pay for each year of reckonable service. Contributions will be based on 3.5% of your pensionable pay. The second scheme, the Partnership Scheme, is a money purchase scheme. New starters will have a choice of joining this or the Premium Scheme, subject to eligibility.

For temporary posts, the successful applicant will be eligible to join the Civil Service money purchase pension arrangement which benefits from an employer contribution.

Annual Leave
You will be entitled to 30 days’ paid leave. In addition, you will receive 10½ days’ public and privilege holidays.

No Smoking
The Highways Agency is moving towards having a No Smoking policy in all our buildings. Highways Agency as a green organisation, does not offer car parking facilities as part of the terms and conditions of employment.

The Highways Agency is an organisation that takes great pride in its work and the excellent service that its employees provide to its customers. In return the Highways Agency look to offer its staff an overall reward package that is very competitive. As well as benefits such as the Pension Scheme, generous annual leave and annual salary reviews, our extensive benefits package includes:

• Development and Training Opportunities, through structured courses, project work opportunities to apply for promotion and on the job learning.
• Interest Free Loans - Season Tickets and Bicycle purchases.
• Balance between Work and Home Life
  - Flexible Working Hours, Part-time Working/Job-sharing, career breaks.
  - Maternity Leave/Pay, Paternity Leave, Parental Leave, Time Off for Dependents,
  - Adoption Leave, Special Leave, Holiday Playscheme.
• Health - Welfare, Eyesight Tests (for Display Screen Equipment).
• Pay and Salary Advances - Holiday and Christmas.
• Other Benefits (subscription based) - Civil Service Motoring Association (CSMA), The Civil Service Benevolent Fund (CSBF), The Benenden Healthcare Society.
• Trade Union membership with the recognised unions being the First   Division Civil Servants (FDA), PROSPECT and Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS).

Full written details of these benefits can be obtained from the Highways Agency and will be given to you if you are recommended for appointment.

Professional Skills for Government

The selection process used in this campaign will be underpinned by the Professional Skills for Government (PSG) initiative. PSG has been identified as key to the Government’s Delivery and Reform agenda.  This is a major, long-term change programme designed to ensure that civil servants, wherever they work, have the right mix of skills and expertise to enable their Departments to deliver effective services.

The PSG framework
PSG will require civil servants to demonstrate skills and expertise in four areas at the appropriate level in relation to their job and chosen career path. These will be tested at three key career gateways: entry to Grade 7 (or equivalent), to Deputy Director level, and to Director General level.

The four areas are:
Leadership - a new leadership model for the Senior Civil Service (SCS) announced in March 2006 replaces the earlier leadership vision
Core skills that every civil servant at or aspiring to Grade 7 (or equivalent) and above needs. At Grade 7 (or equivalent) these are:

• people management
• financial management
• programme and project management 
• analysis and use of evidence

In addition, those in or aspiring to the SCS will also need to demonstrate skills in:

• strategic thinking 
• communications and marketing.

Job-related professional skills related to the work you do. This builds on recommendations of the existing heads of profession and work already taken forward by the new centres of excellence across Government. This requirement for expertise will apply just as much to a team leader in a policy development area, in a team delivering corporate services, or a manager of operational delivery activities as to those whose role is to provide professional advice (for example, scientists, lawyers and so on).

Broader experience - For SCS members and those aspiring to the SCS, broader experience of working in more than one career grouping is required.

Further information on PSG


Highways Agency core competency framework
The Agency has a framework of 9 core competencies, and we have drawn upon these competencies to determine those you will need to demonstrate during the selection process. You should therefore familiarise yourself with the competencies and the related indicators before you complete the Achievement Record, undertake any of the exercises at the Assessment Centre, or take part in the Job Specific Interview. (See Selection Process Guidance Notes.)

Further information on our core competencies framework
Information on our Values and Behaviours (40KB PDF)

Highways Agency Recruitment policy

Principles For Recruitment
The Highways Agency is bound by the principles for recruitment set out in the Civil Service Commissioners’ Recruitment Code, 5th Edition, March 2004. The main points of this are:

• Individuals will be selected on merit on the basis of fair and open competition; 
• Prospective applicants will be given equal and reasonable access to adequate information about the job and its requirements, and about the selection process;
• Applicants will be considered equally on merit at each stage of the selection process. That process will be based on consistent criteria relevant to the job and applied consistently to all candidates. Selection methods will be reliable, objective and guard against bias.

Equal Opportunities
The Highways Agency is an equal opportunities employer. We value diversity and we positively welcome applications from all sections of the community. As an Equal Opportunities employer, all applications to the Highways Agency are encouraged regardless of age, gender, race, colour, nationality, ethnic or national origins, disability, sexual orientation, marital status or working patterns. Highways Agency will consider varied working patterns including job sharing.

Guaranteed Interview Scheme for Disabled Applicants
The Highways Agency operates a Guaranteed Interview Scheme for disabled people (as defined by the Disability Discrimination Act 1995). As a ‘positive about disabled people’ employer we guarantee an interview to anyone with a disability who meets the minimum criteria for the recruitment exercise.

Further information on the Guranteed Interview Scheme can be found on the Agency's recruitment policy section

Nationality Requirements
To be eligible for employment in the Highways Agency you must be an EC national, other Commonwealth citizen, British Protected person, a national of states in the European Economic Area (including Switzerland) or a member of their families. Commonwealth citizens must be free from any restriction to reside and take up employment in the UK.

Please consult the Work Eligibility Requirements document (24KB (PDF) for further information

Conflicts of Interest
As part of the recruitment process you are required to declare any relevant business interests, other current employments or services, share holdings, positions of authority, retainers, consultancy arrangements or other connections with commercial, public or voluntary bodies, both for yourself and for your spouse/partner/relatives.

Data Protection
In accordance with the provisions of the Data Protection Act 1998, the Highways Agency (HA) will use the information given for the purposes of recruitment and selection. If you become an employee of HA, the information will be used for the purpose of personnel administration, including pay and pensions, as set out in the HA Staff Handbook. It will only be disclosed outside the HA to parties who are under contract to process data in these areas.