Job summary
There are smaller businesses in the UK, accounting for of the UK private sector business population and employing people. The Business Finance team�s mission is to transform the UK economy and protect taxpayers by helping good businesses thrive � while also supporting big Government priorities such as net zero and levelling up.
We do this by advising Ministers on access to finance policy to make it easier for smaller businesses to secure the funding they need. We also work closely with the British Business Bank (BBB), a DBT Partner Organisation, to develop and deliver the Government�s access to finance programmes. The BBB supports around �41 billion of finance to million companies, working alongside over 180 delivery partners. It supports a range of finance including debt and equity, and has programmes which specialise in regional growth, backing start-ups, and investing in the UK�s high-growth businesses, as well as managing multi-billion Covid support schemes on behalf of the Government.
This role involves:
1. Working with the BBB to provide the department with assurance that the BBB is an accountable, high-performing organisation, delivering value for money and supporting DBT to achieve its objectives. To deliver this, you will need to work effectively with departmental colleagues, BBB, HM Treasury and UK Government Investments to secure Ministerial agreement for BBBs purpose, objectives and KPIs, and ensure that BBB has the necessary approvals and funding to enable this.�
2. You will be required to lead and/or support policy development as required in response to HMG's ambitions for BBB and small business access to finance. You will develop recommendations for Ministers on complex issues; advising them on how to minimise financial risk and fraud loss whilst managing interrelated legal, regulatory and reputational risks.��
3. DBT policy leads for variants of the ENABLE programme, that aims to increase the availability of development finance for SME�s. You will be responsible for working with the Ministry of BBB, HMT, MHCLG, and other stakeholders to refine policy, consider the scope, or potential growth of the scheme and ensure it continues to respond to the needs of the markets; recommending policy changes and transactions for Ministers.�
4. Deliver a high-quality Secretariat function for senior-level and Ministerial cross-government meetings; Ministerial/parliamentary briefings and correspondence; evidence for committees; and other enquiries such as FOI requests relevant to the team�s policy area.
Job description
5. Becoming the expert in your policy areas; to lead and develop your policies so that they can respond and adapt to changing economic conditions to deliver the new government�s ambitions.
6. Provide high-quality briefings, submissions and performance reporting for Ministers, senior officials and OGDs; to support decision-making on your policy area.
7. Leading on scrutiny and challenge of your policy areas; including creating multi-disciplinary virtual teams, that can challenge and develop policy through analysis, legal and commercial as required.
8. Manage and lead through our partners to make sure our policy and governance processes are effective and support delivering HMG�s objectives.
9. You will develop a detailed understanding of access to finance for businesses starting up and growing, the role played by lenders and its interaction with HMG so that you can navigate and deliver government objectives. You will be dealing with the senior executives in the private sector, along with SCS in Whitehall, and ensuring they are briefed to have the right conversations.�
Person specification
Skills and Experience
Essential criteria:
10. The ability to get up to speed quickly with a complex policy area and produce high quality advice at pace.
11. Ability to influence others across organisations and forge successful relationships across public and private stakeholders and diverse teams.
12. A collaborative approach, able to lead through others and influence wider teams across Government and delivery partners.
13. Strong analytical skills, with the ability to identify potential risks and issues.
Desirable criteria. Stronger candidates will also be able to evidence one of the following:
14. Well-developed judgement to navigate ambiguity, resolve problems and develop forward looking plans.
15. Experience of leading policy work across Whitehall / External stakeholders / Commercial Partners.
16. Experience of providing high quality policy advice to Ministers / SCS / Private Sector.
Personal skills and attributes. The ideal candidate would be:
17. A self-starter that can get up to speed on a topic and comfortable engaging and leading on their policy area.
18. Willing to learn about new policy areas and how that can be implemented effectively. Inquisitive and open to considering different approaches and angles.
19. Someone who likes to consider the bigger picture, wider factors and long term implications of decisions.
20. Someone who motivates themselves and others to deliver results and achieve targets / milestones.
21. Someone who can respond to challenge and find a solution by using their network to bring in knowledge and expertise to help them.
Behaviours
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
22. Seeing the Big Picture
23. Making Effective Decisions
24. Delivering at Pace
25. Communicating and Influencing
Benefits
Alongside your salary of �39,384, Department for Business and Trade contributes �11,409 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme.
26. Learning and development tailored to your role
27. An environment with flexible working options
28. A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
29. A with an employer contribution of
We recognise the challenges that people with (multiple) protected characteristics may experience on the job market and in their career progression. We are fully committed to being an inclusive employer and ensuring equal opportunities. We are keen to make our workforce as diverse as possible, and we hope to attract applications from underrepresented groups, including ethnic minorities, people with a disability, and people with gender diverse identities.
Please refer to the attached candidate pack for further information on our benefits.