Senior Policy Advisor
| Posting date: | 01 May 2026 |
|---|---|
| Salary: | £44,241 per year |
| Additional salary information: | National salary: £44,241 London salary: £48,581 |
| Hours: | Full time |
| Closing date: | 17 May 2026 |
| Location: | Birmingham |
| Company: | Government Recruitment Service |
| Job type: | Permanent |
| Job reference: | 459651/1 |
Summary
Do you thrive on shaping policy, tackling emerging challenges, and representing UK interests in a technical and international environment?
If so, we would be delighted to hear from you.
The Dangerous Goods Unit in DfT leads on the safe and secure transport of dangerous goods by road and rail, with oversight of sea and air. These goods are essential to the economy and daily life. We develop and implement legislation, engage with industry, and represent the UK internationally, ensuring proportionate regulation that protects people, property and the environment while supporting trade and economic growth.
The role is a key position in the Dangerous Goods Unit and will be responsible for maintaining and assessing our relationships with key partners and stakeholders where strong communication and organisation skills are necessary. The post holder will also take the lead on enforcement and security issues linked to the carriage of dangerous goods, and represent the UK internationally at the UN on a regular basis.
Joining our department comes with many benefits, including:
- Employer pension contribution of 28.97% of your salary. Read more about Civil Service Pensions here
- 25 days annual leave, increasing by 1 day each year of service (up to a maximum of 30 days annual leave), plus 8 bank holidays a privilege day for the King’s birthday
- Flexible working options where we encourage a great work-life balance.
Read more in the Benefits section below!
Find out more about what it's like working at DfTc Policy: Policy opportunities at the Department for Transport - Department for Transport Careers
This post in the Dangerous Goods Unit is key to shaping the strategy of our work. Comprising of two teams, the Frameworks and Engagement Team and the Evidence and Assurance Team, this post uniquely straddles the work of both teams as it is responsible for the contracts and agreements we have in place with our key partners who help in delivering the requirements of the dangerous goods frameworks in the UK. To effectively deliver our responsibilities as the competent authority we have a number of Memorandums of Understanding and Service Level Agreements with key partners such as enforcement bodies, to formalise our working arrangements.
The post holder will be largely responsible for the review of existing contracts and agreements, management of the team’s relationship with relevant stakeholders, and assessing compliance with the agreed deliverables. The role also offers policy responsibility as the post holder will be the lead for the enforcement and security policy for the transport of dangerous goods and so will work closely with the police, the DVSA and other enforcement bodies to deal with emerging issues. Finally, the role involves international work as the post holder will be required to attend international meetings at the UN, most likely twice a year.
You will be responsible for:
- Conducting a strategic periodic review of the framework agreements DGU has with key agencies and partners, and making amendments to such agreements.
- Collaborating with the Vehicle Certification Agency to ensure that transitional arrangements are in place to maintain delivery of the Service Level Agreement when there are changes to key personnel and managing the financial arrangement for funding the Vehicle Certification Agency.
- Policy lead on enforcement and security issues linked to the carriage of dangerous goods, includes regular engagement with enforcement bodies (e.g. Police, HSE, DVSA) and the Department’s security teams as well as being a key point of contact for any emergency response work arising.
- Support the G7 at the UN to ensure that the UK’s aims and objectives for transporting dangerous goods are safeguarded at the international level, promoting our interests and working to secure them including presenting papers and negotiating in the margins to build support for UK positions.
- Contribute to the DGU preparations of dangerous goods international meetings by providing briefings on subjects where you are the policy lead, and attending national stakeholder briefings.
- Maintaining and improving stakeholder engagement, including presenting to stakeholders at dangerous goods events/meetings.
- Recording, monitoring and approving financial spend for deliverables contained in contracts/agreements and co-ordinating financial returns.
The role will require the post holder to develop an understanding of the transport of dangerous goods which is a challenging technical policy area. Support will be provided through dangerous goods training with a view to undertaking exams for and achieving the Dangerous Goods Safety Adviser qualification. Other training will be tailored to the individual.
For further information on the role, please read the role profile. Please note that the role profile is for information purposes only - whilst all elements are relevant to the role, they may not all be assessed during the recruitment process. This job advert will detail exactly what will be assessed during the recruitment process.
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