Selection Process
Jane Burgess, a Civil Service Commissioner, will chair the process. The Civil Service Commission has two primary functions:
- Providing assurance that selection for appointment to the Civil Service is on merit on the basis of fair and open competition as outlined in the Civil Service Commission’s Recruitment Principles. For the most senior posts in the Civil Service, the Commission discharges its responsibilities directly by overseeing the recruitment process and by a Commissioner chairing the selection panel.
Hearing and determining appeals made by civil servants under the Civil Service Code which sets out the Civil Service values – Impartiality, Objectivity, Integrity and Honesty – and forms part of the relationship between civil servants and their employer.
More detailed information can be found on the Civil Service Commission website.
Green Park have been appointed to administer the campaign on behalf of UKHSA, which includes an executive search.
Longlist & Shortlist
The panel will select a longlist of candidates whose applications best demonstrate suitability for the role, by considering the evidence provided against the Essential Criteria set out in the Person Specification. Failure to address any or all of these may affect your application.
Longlisted candidates will be invited to undertake a ‘longlist interview’ which will assess each candidate’s suitability against the Technical Requirements listed in the Person Specification together with questions aligned to the CIPD framework.
This interview will be conducted by an Andrea Trainer. Following the completion of the longlist interviews, the panel will meet to review all results, and select a shortlist of candidates to be progressed to the Assessment and Interview stages.
Assessment
If you are shortlisted, you will be asked to take part in a series of assessments which will include psychometric tests. There will also be a staff engagement exercise. These assessments will not result in a pass or fail decision. Rather, they are designed to support the panel’s decision making and highlight areas for the panel to explore further at interview.
You may also have the opportunity to speak to Jenny Harries prior to the final interview to learn more about the role and the organisation. Please note this is not part of the formal assessment process.
You may also have the opportunity to meet with the Chair, Ian Peters who will share his insights with the panel ahead of the interview.
You will be asked to attend a panel interview in order to have a more in-depth discussion of your previous experience and professional competence in relation to the criteria set out in the Person Specification. The interview will commence with a short presentation.
In the Civil Service we are challenging ourselves to become a more diverse and inclusive organisation. We recognise that recruitment and inclusion of individuals with diverse skills, perspectives and backgrounds will bring real strength to the organisation, the wider Civil Service and to society. To help support this aspiration all selection panels will have both female and ethnic minority and/or disabled membership.
The panel will be:
Jane Burgess, Civil Service Commissioner
Jenny Harries, Chief Executive UKHSA
Jenny Richardson, HR Director DHSC
Hamza Yusuf, Finance Director Test & Trace
Full details of the assessment process will be made available to shortlisted candidates.
Offer
Regardless of the outcome, we will notify all candidates as soon as possible after the final interview.
