Have you ever wondered about working in government, do you have a parent, grandparent, friend or relative working for the Council or the Civil Service? Do you see your local councillors working hard in difficult situations, do you see your local MPs out in the constituency as I do and then back in parliament and wonder: how do they do that? Do you value public service and public services? Do you want to make a difference and gain an apprenticeship while you work?
Well if you do, consider joining the Civil Service Surge Rapid Response Team as an Administrator with a sixteen month apprenticeship in Operational Delivery.
Not your Blue Arrow or Office Angels, Brook Street type agency contract with the Civil Service, these Civil Service roles are contractual, modern, highly regarded and supported to develop a very distinct difference and edge for the service.
As a member of the team based in one of eleven hubs across the UK that you choose when you apply:
The idea is for you to be part of an internal flexible government service to its customers, the departments and their customers while you get an apprenticeship. You need to be able to respond to requests to your hub for workers at short notice on any project throughout the government in the UK on a short or medium term basis. You could be working for HMRC, Serious Fraud, Universal Credit, Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office, Home Office, Cabinet Office ….or elsewhere!
Here’s the job and the link job closes 31st July 2023
Reference number
301560
Salary
£22,845 – £22,845
London £26923
Job grade
Administrative Officer
Contract type
Permanent
Business area
HMRC – Customer Service – SRRT
Type of role
Operational Delivery
Work will be varied and will include face to face engagement with the public and phone work similar to a call centre environment. Computer skills are required but full training is provided.
Working pattern
Hybrid, flexible
Hybrid working/host requirements – HMRC operates a hybrid working policy which includes a minimum of 2 days working from home, should you wish. However, the government departments that SRRT support may have different working arrangements, so hybrid working may not always be available, nor for the service to offer you flexible working patterns.
Role responsibilities can include:
Handling casework, mostly over the phone but sometimes face to face
Using and maintaining multiple government databases
Collaborating with colleagues across government
Assisting high-profile ‘rapid response’ deployments.
Duties can vary and change frequently depending on deployments. Sometimes there is the occasional need to work away from or abroad.
Travel and subsistence allowance – HMRC have travel allowances and subsistence allowances if you are deployed away from your home location.
Number of jobs available
100
Within HMRC based in your hub of choice you are employed on a Civil Service contract and participate in an Operational Delivery Apprenticeship, successful completion of which means you’ll become a member of a 250,000 member professional community, working across 29 departments communicating with people as the human face of government in operational situations where you need to make decisions, work within a team and build a service.
Managing A Quality Service and Delivering at Pace are really important to the service. Have a real think about your success profile (see below):
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/success-profiles
There’s a short application form, Customer Service Skills Test,(although it says the test can be completed up to 11:30 am 31/07/2023 the guidelines say that if you pass the CSST that you will be asked to submit a written application by 11.30 am also (I’d advise you to do the test ask why there are two deadlines for the same time for two serial and consequent activities). The rest of the process is as follows Employment History/ CV, Video Interview.
I think if you feel there’s a lack of clarity in the application process to get that clarity and sequence they’re looking for so email recruitmentqueries.csg@hmrc.gov.uk
Here’s a link to the application process https://www.civilservicejobs.service.gov.uk/csr/index.cgi
Case Study
Brian is an
Operations Lead – Surge and Rapid Response Team (SRRT) Brian’s advice: Don’t tell us what you think we want to hear showcase your self…
We’ve worked with the Home Office in follow up evaluations of the stories of people involved in modern slavery
Case Study
Rachel Winnie and Touhid Rachel explains her enjoyment and job satisfaction in the opportunities she’s had to work on projects across all government depts with colleagues from all areas.
Winnie talks about the range of work: enquiries written or calls people needing help to answer queries enhance their journey through great service.
Touhid happy to make a difference if customers are happy, I’m proud and happy. In the four years that I’ve worked for SURGE I’ve completed 25 diplomas across the departments I’ve worked with inc Department of Health and Social Care, the Office of National Statistics, the Home Office and Cabinet Office, Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office. It’s a great opportunity, SURGE meet all the different levels of stakeholders and civil servants and can find their own interest, level.
Notes
The Civil Service, employs 488,400 people (March 23) has done amazing things and, as Sir Michael Caine might have said, ‘not many people know that’. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tFpP_GSCwo
During massive austerities, Covid, redundancies over the last twenty years it’s worth looking into the way public services and government services have been kept alive and full of vitality: https://www.civilservant.org.uk/misc-misc-rebuilding_trust.html
The Civil Service is the part of government we rely on, speak to, when we need tax, pension, benefit, care, legal, information and support that we can understand, believe and rely on, yet it’s the least visible to people when they’re looking for a job. When we vote we’re also tacitly voting for the maintenance of the public servants who interpret, administer and deliver the policies of the ministers. It’s the bit that holds the country and everything we aspire to do, together. https://www.civilservant.org.uk/index.html#reform
It’s not perfect and like the NHS, the peaks of its leadership are predominantly white men from the usual elite spaces and places but these people are creating the change that we all want to see: in the rest of the Civil Service, if you’re not from that background, you’ll feel quite at home.
The culture is broad and inclusive, the level of learning and team work is often exceptional and people do feel they have a vocation, are part of a vocation to help deliver the best service they can to the public in a consistent and improving way.
I wrote about how HMRC for example, really brought the mechanics of self assessment to everyone during the pandemic:
A half an hour of clear helpful information HMRC Webinar: https://opencitydesign.com/2020/05/18/a-half-an-hour-of-clear-helpful-information-david-and-andrews-webinar-for-hmrc-on-the-governments-self-employed-income-support-scheme-seiss-monday-18th-may-10-45am/
Protect Your Business Save Jobs: https://opencitydesign.com/2020/06/23/protect-your-business-save-jobs-hmrc-self-employed-income-support-scheme-part-2-23rd-june-webinar-laura-and-david-hmrc-also-get-help-extra-support-if-you-have-a-disability-mental-health-issue-0/
Civil Servants come from all neighbourhoods and backgrounds of the UK
Set up in 2015 the Rapid Response Surge Team is a group of approximately 600 civil service employees, (that’s a 2020 figure from the PCS union response to a parliamentary request) specifically employed to be based in one of eleven hubs across the UK (you can state a location preference) Bristol, Croydon, Cardiff, Birmingham, Salford, Leeds, Nottingham, Washington, Longbenton, Glasgow, Edinburgh
There are currently 24 ministerial departments, 20 non-ministerial departments and 422 agencies and other public bodies, for a total of 465 departments
Attorney General legal advice to govt and depts of govt
Cabinet Office supports PM and govt 26 agencies support it
Dept Bus + Trade
DWP
Dept Health+Social Care
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
HM Treasury
Home Office (inc Border Force)
MOD
MOJ
Northern Ireland
Office of Advocate General for Scotland/Secretary of State for Scotland
Office of The Leader of The House of Lords
Office of Welsh Sec of State
UK Export Finance
The Surge Rapid Response Team is a team managed as a separate entity by HMRC within the Civil Service dealing with peak demands and priority incidents.
The Culture
Learn to get paid to help people? Confidence support you to progress into new roles…
Working in the Civil Service: Internships/World Youth Skills Day/Women In Tech Award/Carers/Volunteers/LGBTQI/Accessible CultureAccess in May/User Panel/Health at Work Recognised rewarding, inspiring fulfilling work is Important to people, it’s inspiring, rewarding, fulfilling and recognised.
What does the role involve?
On 11th June 2021 John McDonnell MP Hayes and Harlington had a question to ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether HM Revenue & Customs consulted its recognised trade unions on the contract of employment that applies to apprentices working in the HMRC Surge & Rapid Response Team; and if he will make a statement.
Jesse Norman MP Hereford and South Herefordshire explained that The Surge and Rapid Response Team (SRRT) was established in May 2015, following a request from the Cabinet Office,
to find innovative ways to improve operational resilience across Government.
The PCS union points out that the HMRC Surge and Rapid Response Team shouldn’t compromise the integrity of their workers and they should be able to support strikes if they feel it’s important to do so.
When we look at building careers we need to build the services that support the careers.
Over the last twenty years and further back, we need to bear in mind the waves of redundancies as well as well as the recruitment of new workers: recently the closure of the Self Assessment helpline between June and September does mean people need to go to the online government portal or use twitter for more general questions.
HMRC host and manage the Surge and Rapid Response Team which is a team of around 600 apprentices who can be deployed at short notice across government.
18. In 2021 there were 75 Surge Apprentices on deployment to the Department for Work and Pensions to support the delivery of Universal Credit. The deployment began in April 2020 and under current plans, it could continue.
Recognised Civil Service trade unions FDA and PCS were informed of the SRRT contracts prior to advertising the posts.
All contracts were drafted and reviewed by Civil Service Employee Policyhttps://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-service-employee-policy
and Treasury Solicitors were also consulted.
but if the Surge teams are used to fill a need similar to the NHS Bank staff but with enhanced employment rights as they’re employed as civil servants yet they’re only employed to fill a need that may not enable them to participate in requests for flexible working which came into law on July 20th
Any subsequent changes to contracts and the relationship with broader HMRC contractual changes were also done with union consultation so will be under the same scrutiny.
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