Level 4 competencies for senior manager or specialist jobs
Core competencies
The core competencies for jobs at this level must be reflected in your written application.
- Making effective decisions
- Brave about making decisions that combine data, experience and intuition - can act or decide when the details are not certain.
- Knows when to refer problems to a more senior level and where to go for advice.
- Balances the need for pace with rigorous, evidence based analysis.
- Effectively combines a range of business information to identify key issues and risks - makes swift and well judged decisions.
- Copes well with complexity or uncertainty - knows how to act when there is not a black or white answer.
- Making things happen
- Focuses on results - establishes challenging and achievable objectives.
- Uses people, performance management effectively - identifies risks and escalates quickly.
- Plans activities with high levels of pragmatism.
- Focuses people on the most critical priorities - promotes collective ownership and holds people accountable.
- Consistently delivers on time and to standard.
- Navigating change
- Acts swiftly - mobilises teams to respond quickly to emergencies.
- Works with others to provide reassurance to overcome people's resistance to change.
- Involves the team in ideas to simplify processes and enhance flexibility and responsiveness.
- Publicly celebrates examples of responsiveness and flexibility within their teams - makes it real for people.
- Demonstrates purposefulness, pace and energy in their approach - sets the tone for others.
- Collaboration
- Swift to enlist support and input of a network of key stakeholders and experts from other areas.
- Is astute and skilled at managing the dynamics within complex teams (including external agencies, external organisations).
- Works with their managers to generate a common focus and genuine team spirit among diverse teams.
- Keeps up to date with progress in other areas - releases resources and support to projects with higher priority.
- Fosters a working environment that promotes equality, fairness and respect - holds staff accountable for unacceptable behaviour.
- Promotes knowledge sharing within the team - creates understanding of lessons learned.
- Leading and influencing
- Translates our strategy into clear and meaningful objectives for self and staff.
- Inspires staff and stakeholders to engage fully with work objectives and projects.
- Communicates with conviction and clarity in the face of tough negotiation or challenge.
- Written and verbal communication is clear, structured and convincing for the relevant audience.
- Promotes our reputation externally and internally.
Role specific competencies
- Developing high performance
- Proactively contributes to development and succession plans for their area.
- Delegates stretching responsibilities to broaden thinking and experience - creates opportunities for learning on the job.
- Manages performance against clear and stretching standards - rewards success - addresses poor performance honestly and promptly.
- Devotes dedicated time to supporting and coaching the team to deliver high performance through others.
- Effectively prioritises continuous learning and self development.
- Thinking with vision
- Monitors external trends and developments (across government, EU and globally) - considers how changes will impact on our activities.
- Acts as an innovative thinker and focal point of expertise across the organisation.
- Applies judgment and makes recommendations with the wider implications of their actions.
- Understands the implications of our strategic direction for their area.
- Prepared to accept when their area is of lower priority in our overall strategic vision.
- Delivering in partnership
- Proactively creates, maintains and promotes relationships with delivery partners.
- Knows when to involve more senior members in creating or managing delivery partnerships.
- Ensures the team use our policy cycle in working with delivery partners.
- Involves delivery partners in designing and suggesting improvements to processes.
- Ensures their team understand how to engage effectively with delivery partners and stakeholders, understanding and anticipating their needs.
- Delivering value for money
- Works with their manager to track spend and demonstrate value for money.
- Constructs robust business cases to justify planned expenditure.
- Achieve return on investment - delivers more for less on specific budgets.
- Prioritises spend effectively to balance funding pressures across projects within the programme.
- Challenges their team to maximise the use of resources and reduce wastage.