Blueprints Analyst

at  Cabinet Office

JOB SUMMARY

One of the highest priorities for the Civil Service is improving commercial capability across Government, a priority being driven by the Government Commercial Function (GCF). Annual central government commercial spend on goods and services is c.£50bn, increasing to c.£300bn when wider public sector is included. This means even the smallest capability improvements can unlock huge value across the system.
As part of the GCF’s work, the Blueprints team works with Commercial functions across Government to support the creation of Commercial Blueprints for each Department. The Commercial Blueprint is an essential product in the capability suite of products enabling the right sizing of commercial teams. It follows a robust methodology and benchmarking, allowing Government departments the business case vehicle for people investment. Since its launch it has successfully enabled funding from HMT of a further £18m of FTE into the GCF.
The rigorous review and sign off process they go through means they are often used in discussions with Commercial Directors, Permanent Secretaries, the Government Chief Commercial Officer (GCCO) and other senior stakeholders to support decision-making.
The Blueprints team sits within Contract Management and Capability Services, part of the Commercial & Grants Function Business Unit. It is a small team of 4 FTE led by a Grade 6 Head of Blueprints, reporting directly to the Director of Commercial and Contract Management Capability.
The team works closely with other data owners across the Cabinet Office (workforce planning, DDaT teams, Grants function and others) as well as regularly engaging each central Government department throughout the data gathering process. Further ambition is in place to engage teams in wider Government bodies to roll out Blueprints beyond its current central Government footprint.

JOB DESCRIPTION

The team are seeking a permanent HEO to report to the Grade 6 Head of Blueprints to support the Blueprinting process. This will require:

• Detailed scoping with other Cabinet Office and cross-Government teams to identify the exact questions and data points required in this round.
• Discussions with GCCO and other senior leadership to seek buy-in and alignment on proposed Blueprint approach.
• Engagement with Commercial Director and Commercial teams of all central Government departments.
• Supporting teams to complete the data request.
• Analysing data received to provide additional insights, challenge, and benchmarks to drive further development between departments.
• Supporting Departmental Commercial teams through senior stakeholder sign off.
• Analysis and preparation of an updated Insights Report, pulling together key insights, benchmarks, and proposed next steps as a result of cross-Government blueprint analysis.

This role will work as part of a small, highly-driven Blueprints team to progress these activities. The Blueprints Analyst may be required to operate independently to take ownership for supporting specific Departments through the process, whilst maintaining a link back to the wider Blueprints team to inform cross-Government insights and benchmarking.

NATIONALITY REQUIREMENTS

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

RESPONSIBILITIES AND DUTIES

The successful candidate will be expected to perform the following duties:

• Work with Blueprints colleagues and customers to scope and prioritise requirements for future Blueprints rounds.
• Present findings to leadership to seek agreement on scope and nature of the round.
• Use requirements to shape data request templates.
• Support colleagues across Government to complete data requests and provide supporting commentary.
• Provide appropriate constructive challenge to ensure Departments are clear in their messaging.
• Communicate clearly and persuasively to build strong relationships with stakeholders, often at senior levels.
• Conduct data analysis and bench-marking, maintaining a curious mindset to bring the strongest insights to discussions.