About the job

Summary

The Organisation

The Government Legal Department (GLD) is the largest provider of legal services across government, working with all the main Whitehall Departments. From roads to rivers, and health to human rights, our work touches on most aspects of public life.

The department has 14 client-facing advisory teams who provide legal advice on the development, design and implementation of government policies and decisions, draft secondary legislation and work with Parliamentary Counsel on primary legislation. Our cross-cutting expert service groups for Litigation, Employment and Commercial Law provide specialist legal services to a wide range of government departments and public bodies.

We are a non-ministerial government department with more than 2,500 employees, around 1,800 of whom are solicitors or barristers. The department is based primarily in London but has teams in other locations including Bristol, Manchester, and Leeds.

Our vision is to be an outstanding legal organisation, committed to the highest standards of service and professionalism, as well as GLD being a brilliant place to work, where you can thrive and fulfil your potential.

The Division

Finance Operations and Digital Directorate provide a range of services in support of GLD. The teams within our Directorate are wide-ranging and include all aspects of Finance (planning, procurement and financial management), ICT and Operations (Security, business resilience, health & safety, records management & facilities management, future accommodation and data protection). Whilst the work we do is varied we share a common aim, to provide the support necessary to enable GLD to be the best in the business. In the Finance Operations and Digital Directorate we get things done and will always aim to provide a professional and efficient service.

Job description

The Grade 7 Deputy Security Advisor’s principal role will be to ensure that GLD maintains its compliance with all aspects of Cabinet Office minimum security standards as they relate to physical and personnel security. They will be responsible for the continued assurance of GLD high security working zones and associated IT and cryptographic systems. They will act as lead business manager in the relationship with GLD’s vetting provider, ensuring budgeting and forecasting is carried out effectively. The successful applicant is expected to deputise for the Security Advisor (SA) in times of absences.

As part of the Management Team for Operations, they will help to lead the Directorate, and enhance its professional capabilities, in support of the whole organisation.

The role involves:

• Overall management of GLD’s high security areas in 102PF. Acting as liaison with third party agencies to ensure all such areas, users and associated systems maintain their accreditation

• Maintaining an in-depth knowledge of the Cabinet Office physical and personnel minimum security standards to ensure that the department remains fully compliant with those standards

• Managing all National Security Vetting activities for the Department and, as appropriate, third party legal counsel. Acting as intelligent customer in the department’s relationship with its vetting provider, UKSV

• Managing a programme in information security management training, to ensure all staff are aware of their responsibilities relating to security.

Other aspects of the role are likely to include:

• Providing timely input to Cabinet Office returns and papers to GLD committees, as required

• Providing a level of functional management to staff in business teams who provide local administration of high security systems

• Maintaining physical security of the main departmental HQ buildings through liaison with building landlords and other third parties

• Membership of Cross-Government security networks relating to physical and personnel security, to ensure examples of good practice can be assessed for usefulness to GLD.

Responsibilities

Essential Criteria

Behaviour: Seeing the Big Picture

• Ensure plans and activities in your area of work reflect wider strategic priorities and communicate effectively with senior leaders to influence future strategies.

• Adopt a government wide perspective to ensure alignment of activity and policy.

• Bring together views, perspectives and diverse needs of stakeholders to gain a broader understanding of the issues surrounding policies and activities.

Behaviour: Leadership

• Welcome and respond to views and challenges from others, despite any conflicting pressures to ignore or give in to them.

• Seek out shared interests beyond own area of responsibility, understanding the extent of the impact actions have on the organisation.

• Inspire and motivate teams to be fully engaged in their work and dedicated to their role.

Behaviour: Working Together

• Actively build and maintain a network of colleagues and contacts to achieve progress on shared objectives.

• Challenge assumptions while being willing to compromise if beneficial to progress.

• Remain available and approachable to all colleagues and be receptive to new ideas.

Behaviour: Managing a Quality Service

• Demonstrate positive customer service by understanding the complexity and diversity of customer needs and expectations.

• Proactively manage risks and identify solutions.

• Create regular opportunities for colleagues, stakeholders, delivery partners and customers to help improve the quality of service.

Behaviour: Delivering at Pace

• Give honest, motivating and enthusiastic messages about priorities, objectives and expectations to get the best out of people.

• Ensure delivery of timely quality outcomes, through providing the right resources to do the job, reviewing and adjusting performance expectations and rewarding success.

• Ensure everyone clearly understands and owns their roles, responsibilities and business priorities.

Technical:

• Show practitioner level skills in relation to personnel and physical security risk assessment and risk management; applied security capability

• Show working level skills in relation to protective security and threat understanding

Qualifications:

• Membership of a recognised institution or body, and/or

• Relevant Government qualifications or accreditations

Desirable Criteria

Experience

• A proven track record in the government security profession