Senior Policy Advisor - Museums

at  Department for Culture Media and Sport

JOB DESCRIPTION

This is a key role with the team and will lead on a number of proactive policy making and delivery areas that will help enable the museum sector to flourish (see slide 7 for list of team policy areas).
This is a stretching policy and strategy role, with plenty of opportunities for growth. You will gain experience of directly working on policy development and delivery, and be empowered to develop ideas for how to support museums and deliver on HMG priority areas.
We are seeking someone with a passion for actively exploring and pursuing opportunities across a range of policy domains to deliver outcomes.
The role will include a fast-paced and varied set of responsibilities, including new and improvements to existing policy areas for the museum sector that will help the Government deliver on their key priorities and missions.
The role-holder will need to work closely with other Government departments, play a significant role in stakeholder engagement for the team (in close collaboration with the other Grade 7 in the team), and work in an agile way across policy issues relating to the museum sector.
We are seeking an individual who is enthusiastic about taking a leadership role in the team - collaborating in the management of the team’s work and shaping a positive team culture. The role will include line management responsibilities.
Specific duties may include: Programme and policy design for policy programmes or funding programmes; Managing programme delivery, oversight, or governance for DCMS museum support programmes; Making the case for the museums sector at and around fiscal events; and advocating for DCMS and the museum sector interests in cross-government discussions.

ESSENTIAL REQUIREMENTS:

• Ability to communicate and influence effectively, particularly with senior leaders, key stakeholders, and multiple public sector departments. Proven experience in leading briefings and policy advice, with confidence in handling sensitive or complex information and delivering clear, concise, and impactful communication.
• Ability to see the big picture and ensure policy alignment with the broader Government agenda, including Government Missions and overarching ambitions related to policy area.
• Ability to make effective decisions based on robust evidence, such as when providing advice to Ministers, developing funding and business cases, and engaging across Whitehall. Proven capability to address issues without established precedent or guidelines.
• Ability to deliver at pace, including meeting tight deadlines, managing multiple competing priorities, and responding quickly and confidently to external pressures, such as Ministerial demands.
• Demonstrable skills and experience in policy development and policy delivery in Government.

DESIRABLE SKILLS:

• Experience working with the museum sector, or organisation that support museums.
• Previous experience working on grants programmes, especially capital investments.
• Experience working on policies with a high profile in the press and parliament.

We are running an information session where prospective applicants can find out more about the role. This will be hosted by Tom Robbins (Head of Museums, DCMS), and will take place on:

• Friday 7th February 2025 (2:00pm - 2.30pm)

The session will be an opportunity to hear more about the role, the team and wider directorate and the department. It will also be an opportunity for you to ask any questions.
Please register your interest by filling out this Registration form by 6th February 2025, 5:00PM and you will be sent an invitation.
Please note that the session will not focus on the DCMS recruitment process - please direct any queries that you have on this topic (timelines, reasonable adjustments, onboarding etc) to recruitment.team@dcms.gov.uk

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)

Please refer the Job description for details