Visits Officer

BACKGROUNDThe Northern Ireland Office supports the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland in promoting the best interests of Northern Ireland. We make sure 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.Due to our structure and size, we are able to offer extensive exposure to Ministers and the opportunity to work on a far wider portfolio of policy and responsibilities than might be the case in a larger department. This creates an interesting and stimulating work environment.Our key priorities are set out in our Operational Delivery plan and include:Supporting greater inclusion, tolerance and openness in Northern IrelandContributing to a safer Northern Ireland, where terrorist and paramilitary groups are less able to cause harm to communitiesEnsuring that governance in Northern Ireland is responsive, transparent and able to deliver effective public service.Addressing the legacy of the past in Northern IrelandVisitFor more information about what we do:About The RoleThis role involves working closely with the NIO Ministerial Team, Private Offices, policy colleagues, and external stakeholders in planning and delivering Ministerial visits and events in Northern Ireland, linking in with policy teams and communications on briefings and messaging.Duties And ResponsibilitiesThe main responsibilities of the role include but are not limited to:Planning and delivering Ministerial visits and events, which support the NIOs business priorities.Developing and maintaining a network of stakeholders to help deliver Ministerial visits.Supporting the delivery of high profile UKG VIP visits, working in close partnership with PSNI, hosts and other UK Government Departments.Working alongside comms team colleagues to help to deliver positive and engaging content to maximise publicity for the visit.Providing resilience and flexible support for wider demands which may arise within the Visits Team, in the wider Communications, Visits & Ceremonials Team and across the Department.Travel within Northern Ireland will be required.Essential CriteriaThe post holder will need to demonstrate the following in their application and at interview:Experience in planning and delivering major events and/or visits.Experience of working with Ministers and senior officials.Excellent communication skills.Excellent organisational skills.A good understanding of the political environment in Northern Ireland.Driving licence and access to a vehicle.BehavioursWe will assess you against the following Success Profiles behaviours at the SEO level during the application sift and interview process:Working Together (lead behaviour)Communicating and InfluencingSeeing the Big PicturePlease note that in the event of a large number of applications being received we may run the initial sift on the lead BehaviourWorking Together.ExperiencePlease provide a CV with your work history details, and statement of suitability no longer than 750 words outlining how you meet the essential criteria. Both will be used in order 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 dont 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 dont 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 CV with details of your education, professional qualifications, previous skills and full employment history. Your CV will not be formally assessed so please put the main evidence of your skills into your personal statement. Your CV will be used to add context to your personal statement.More information on behaviours and success profiles can be found here.InterviewYou 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 ExplainWHO: What it was? How you approached the work/situation? What the Outcomes were, what did you achieve? orSTAR: What was the Situation? What were the Tasks? What Action did you take? What were the Results of your actions?StrengthsIt is difficult to prepare for strength type questions. However, you can think through your answers, focus on your achievements and aspects you enjoy and decide how these can be applied in the organisation and role. While strengths questions are shorter and we do not expect a full STAR response, the panel is interested in your first reaction to the question and information or reasoning to support this.If you do not have work-based examples then please give examples from school/college, clubs, volunteering or other activities you have been involved in.All applications for employment are considered strictly on the basis of merit.OFFEROnce 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.Additional information received after the closing date will not be considered. Failure to provide sufficient information in support of an application prior to the closing date will not be considered as grounds for an appeal if an applicant is not shortlisted for interview.Security ClearanceThis 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 yearsNeither Detached Duty terms nor relocation costs will apply to this post.ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCEArtificial Intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (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. Further InformationFurther information about the post may be obtained from Kerry Allison via email toAll 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.ComplaintsThe Civil Service Code sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants. Appointment to the Civil Service is governed by the Civil Service Commissions Recruitment Principles. You have the right to complain if you feel a department has breached the requirement of the Recruitment Principles.Reserve ListsPlease contact SSCL () in the first instance. If you are not satisfied with the response, you may bring your complaint to the Commission. For further information on bringing a complaint to the Civil Service Commission please visit their web pages: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 contactto be removed from the reserve list.