Recruitment Advisor

The Government Recruitment Service (GRS) was launched in September 2017 and is part of the Pensions and Operational Services within OneGov Delivery Agency in the Cabinet Office.

GRS is a vibrant, modern and exciting place to work, attracting a diverse workforce which represents the people we serve. The roles in this campaign are to fill current and emerging vacancies. You will be given full training, coaching and support to help you achieve your best. We aim to modernise and open up Civil Service recruitment to attract a broader, more diverse pool of talent. It’s also our priority to unlock the talent within the Civil Service, giving everyone the opportunity to fulfil their potential while making an important contribution to government.

We deliver Recruitment & Pre Employment checking services across most of the Civil Service and aspire to be the recruitment partner of choice for all Civil Service departments, agencies and approved non-departmental public bodies.

• We are run by civil servants for civil servants, with an in-depth understanding of how government works.
• We have privileged access to the experience and data recruiting departments need.
• We recruit for all roles and grades, including Senior Civil Servants.

Our service ‘menu’ is built around customer needs, with the flexibility to take on as much or as little of their recruitment campaign as they need.

Please note; GRS is entering a period of transition and organisational change. It is expected that the current, GRS led, centralised model of recruitment delivery will likely in the future transition to a cluster-based model. This appointment may be subject to a transfer of functions to another government department or external provider. Any such transition will be managed via standard Civil Service processes, governed by COSOP or TUPE regulations.

GRS offers a single point of contact approach to account management to deliver a department’s recruitment needs. As a Recruitment Advisor within the Department, you will work across GRS using your recruitment knowledge to promote good practice and consistency.

The main responsibilities of this role are to:

• Build and maintain productive working relationships with colleagues and customers, and work collaboratively with others.
• Deal effectively with email and telephone enquiries.
• Progress recruitment campaigns using the in-house applicant tracking system or complete the relevant pre-employment checks for candidates.
• Assist in the collation of data so that accurate figures can be produced and monitored against the agreed KPIs.
• Comply with relevant recruitment policies and procedures, and be able to advise customers of these.
• Drive continuous improvement within the Department, making suggestions and supporting any relevant implementation.

We are looking for energetic individuals to join the team who share our passion and excitement about the work we do on behalf of the Civil Service and who relish the opportunity to be involved in a growing and evolving team, developing themselves as the team develops.

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)

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Strengths, Experience and Technical skills.

Application Process

After submission of the first stage of your application you will be invited to complete a Civil Service Work Strengths Test. If you successfully pass the test, you will be invited to complete the final stage of the application.

Please complete the online tests as soon as possible (within 24-48 hours is recommended), the closing date for the tests is 23:55 on Monday 23rd November 2026. If you fail to complete the online test before the deadline your application will be withdrawn. Guidance for the test will be available when you are invited to take the test. The tests are administered online and accessed via the CS Jobs website.

You will be directed to the Talogy - True Talent – Scheduled Maintenance Window Webpage for online tests during an outage.

“Online tests will not be available between midnight on Saturday 14 November and 6am on Monday 16 November. Your progress will be saved, and you will be able to continue once the tests are available again.”

If you are in the middle of a test when the maintenance begins, your progress will be paused. You will be able to resume your test from where you left off via your application centre once the downtime has ended. Please note that you will not be able to launch any new tests while the system is offline.

Upon passing the online test, you will be invited to complete your application for this role. As part of the application process, you will be required to provide:

• A CV setting out your Career History. Please note: the CV incorporated into the application form is for information purposes only and will not be scored.
• A 250 word statement surrounding the criteria of Customer Service. Further details on the specific question will be available on your application form.
• A 250 word statement surrounding the criteria of Planning and Organising. Further details on the specific question will be available on your application form.

Information is available on the application process (including what Civil Service Success Profiles is) to help you write your application form.

Should a large number of applications be received, an initial sift may be conducted using the 250 word statement on 'Customer Service'. Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift including the 250 word statement on 'Planning and Organising'. Candidates who do not meet the minimum standard of the 250 word statement will not be progressed any further.

Interview Process

Candidates who are successful at sift will then be invited to an interview via our pre-recorded interview platform, VidCruiter. Further details on this, including how to access the platform, will be made available to candidates who are successful at sift.

At interview, you will be assessed against Behaviour and Strength based questions.

For guidance and information on what to expect and how to prepare for an interview, you are encouraged to visit Civil Service Careers.

Expected Timeline (subject to change)

Expected sift date - TBC

Expected interview date/s- Invites to complete the Video Interview will be issued between 7–14 December.

Interview location - Your interview will either be conducted face to face or by video. You will be notified of the location if you are selected for interview.

Reasonable Adjustment

If a person with disabilities is put at a substantial disadvantage compared to a non-disabled person, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes.

If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should:

Contact Government Recruitment Service via menurecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.

Complete the ‘Assistance required’ section in the ‘Additional requirements’ page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional.

Further Information

A reserve list may be held for a period of 9 months from which further appointments can be made.

Any move to Cabinet Office from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax Free Childcare; for further information visit the Childcare Choices website.

If successful and transferring from another Government Department a criminal record check may be carried out.

In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to Disclosure and Barring Service/Disclosure Scotland on your behalf.

However, we recognise in exceptional circumstances some candidates will want to send their completed forms direct. If you will be doing this, please advise Government Recruitment Service of your intention by emailing Pre-EmploymentChecks.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk stating the job reference number in the subject heading.

For further information on the Disclosure Scotland confidential checking service telephone: the Disclosure Scotland Helpline on 0870 609 6006 and ask to speak to the operations manager in confidence, or email Info@disclosurescotland.co.uk

New entrants are expected to join on the minimum of the pay band.

Existing Civil Servants and applicants from accredited NDPBs are eligible to apply, but will only be considered on loan basis (Civil Servants) or secondment (accredited NDPBs). Prior agreement to be released on a loan basis must be obtained before commencing the application process. In the case of Civil Servants, the terms of the loan will be agreed between the home and host department and the Civil Servant. This includes grade on return.

Applicants who are successful at interview will be, as part of pre-employment screening, subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database (IFD). This check will provide information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences. This check also applies to employees who resign or otherwise leave before being dismissed for fraud or dishonesty had their employment continued. Any applicant’s details held on the IFD will be refused employment.

A candidate is not eligible to apply for a role within the Civil Service if the application is made within a 5 year period following a dismissal for carrying out internal fraud against government.

If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section.

Feedback

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.