Operational Delivery / Policy Officer (Ref: 20795)

Job summary

Job description

Background

The 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 150 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 Ireland
• Contributing to a safer Northern Ireland, where terrorist and paramilitary groups are less able to cause harm to communities
• Ensuring that governance in Northern Ireland is responsive, transparent and able to deliver effective public service.
• Addressing the legacy of the past in Northern Ireland

For more information about what we do:

Visit:https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/northern-ireland-officehttps://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice.

About the Role:

Keeping people safe is one of the UK Government’s core strategic aims. Within the Northern Ireland Office (NIO), the Security & Protection Group (SPG) delivers on this vital mission through dedicated teams specialising in Policy, Strategy, Operational Delivery, Litigation and Disclosure, and Protection.

We pride ourselves on delivering high-quality, high-impact work at pace and under challenging circumstances. While every SPG colleague is anchored within a core team to build specialist expertise, we champion an agile and flexible culture. Regardless of your grade, you will have the opportunity to work across the Group and wider department, maximising your development and ensuring we remain responsive to departmental priorities.

We offer diverse, rewarding work at the very heart of public service, set within a supportive environment where individuals are encouraged to innovate, stretch their capabilities, and learn.

We are actively recruiting for an Operational Delivery / Policy Officer based in Belfast. In this role, you will focus on some of the UK Government’s highest priorities: national security, civil contingencies and resilience.

You will gain a broad range of operational delivery and policy experience, and will hone your briefing skills within a supportive and focused team.

Owing to the NIO's unique, close-knit size, you will gain significantly more exposure to Government Ministers than in larger departments. You will work on a diverse portfolio that includes but is not limited to

• The Department’s incident response and crisis management arrangements.
• Civil contingencies and policies relating to Northern Ireland’s resilience and protective security.
• National security related policy work including Critical National Infrastructure (CNI) in Northern Ireland and the National Security Risk Assessment

To thrive in this role, you will need to be a proactive, analytical, and highly organised professional. We are looking for candidates who possess:

• Exceptional Communication: Articulate, discreet, and thoughtful, with a strong "political antenna" and the ability to inspire confidence when briefing verbally or in writing.
• Relationship Management: A proven track ability to build productive, collaborative partnerships, even in challenging or complex contexts.
• Pace and Resilience: An eye for detail and the ability to prioritise competing tasks seamlessly while working under pressure.
• Agility: A fast learner who is quick to grasp complex new subjects and comfortable navigating ambiguity.

Note on Working Pattern: Due to the nature of national security and incident response, applicants must be prepared to participate in an on-call rota. Occasional out-of-hours work will be required, sometimes at short notice, for which a standard allowance will be paid.

Duties and Responsibilities:

Specific responsibilities of an Operational Delivery/Policy Officer may include:

• National Security & Resilience: Develop and deliver counter-terrorism, protective security, and civil contingencies policies.
• Crisis Management: Formulate robust incident response and crisis management processes.
• Incident Response: Manage information flows in the event of national security and civil contingency incidents alongside devolved partners, security partners and other government departments.
• Briefing & Advice: Provide high-quality briefings and strategic advice to Ministers and senior officials.
• On-Call Support: Participate in an out-of-hours on-call duty rota.
• Stakeholder Engagement: Represent the Department at key Whitehall and Northern Ireland security and civil contingencies forums.
• Cross-Government Collaboration: Build critical relationships with the Devolved Administration and wider Whitehall partners to safeguard strategic objectives.
• Leadership: Line-manage and develop Band C/HEO staff.

Essential Criteria:

The post holder will need to demonstrate the following in their application and at interview:

• Excellent written and oral communication skills, alongside a proven track record of briefing senior leaders on complex issues.
• The ability to self-organise, prioritise, and maintain close attention to detail in fast-moving environments.
• The ability to work effectively and collaboratively while under pressure.
• The ability to develop and maintain responsive, effective relationships with colleagues and external stakeholders, using strong interpersonal skills to achieve results.
• A strong, foundational understanding of the political and security environment in Northern Ireland (a deep, proven understanding is highly desirable).
• SC clearance is essential and must be achieved before commencing the full duties of the post, therefore applicants will need to be prepared to go through this process.

Desirable Criteria

• Prior experience working on national security or law enforcement policy within Whitehall or Northern Ireland.
• Direct experience briefing Ministers both orally and in writing.
• Operational Delivery experience.
• Existing SC clearance.

Behaviours:

We will assess you against the following Success Profiles behaviours for SEO level during the application sift and interview:

• Communicating and Influencing (Lead competence)
• Delivering at Pace
• Working Together
• Making Effective Decisions

Please note that in the event of a large number of applications being received we may run t