Legacy Policy Worker

This vacancy is only available to existing Civil Servant employees and employees of accredited non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs). Please review the "Eligibility" section before you apply. General Information Salary The national salary range is £42,914 - £46,182 London salary range is £49,325- £53,081 Your salary will be dependent on your base location Working Pattern Full Time, Part Time, Part Time/Job Share, Flexible Working Vacancy Approach Cross Government Location Belfast, London Region London, Northern Ireland Closing Date 27-Jan-2026 Post Type Permanent Civil Service Grade SEO Number of jobs available 1 Reserve List 12 Months Job ID 13547 Descriptions & requirements Job description BACKGROUND The Northern Ireland Office supports the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland in promoting the best interests of Northern Ireland. We make sure that Northern Ireland interests are represented within the UK Government and that UK government responsibilities are fully and effectively represented in Northern Ireland. We are the centre of expertise on Northern Ireland issues across Government. The Northern Ireland Office employs around 170 staff, with offices in Belfast and London. As a small Department, we adopt a flexible project-based approach to ensure that we have the right people, with the right skills, in the right place to support the delivery of our key objectives. Due to our structure and size, we are able to offer extensive exposure to Ministers and the opportunity to work on a far wider portfolio of policy and responsibilities than might be the case in a larger department. This creates an interesting and stimulating work environment. Our key priorities are set out in our Operational Delivery plan and include: Supporting greater inclusion, tolerance and openness in Northern Ireland Contributing to a safer Northern Ireland, w terrorist and paramilitary groups are less able to cause harm to communities Ensuring that governance in Northern Ireland is responsive, transparent and able to deliver effective public service. Addressing the legacy of the past in Northern Ireland For more information about what we do: Visit: ABOUT THE ROLE: Dealing with the legacy of the Troubles is widely seen as one of the most significant outstanding issues from the Northern Ireland peace process and both individual cases and broader issues continue to have a very high profile in Northern Ireland and in the work of the NIO. The post holder will have the opportunity to gain experience leading work in a high profile area, developing wider skills around policy development as well as casework and experience in legal matters, often with national security implications. You will be expected to work ly with your peers in leading work across a range of legacy priorities. This is likely to involve handling high-profile litigation, developing innovative policy, progressing legislation, engaging with non-legislative policy/correspondence work and engaging with a diverse range of stakeholders including inquiries and operational partners. You will be expected to provide complex and sensitive written and oral advice to the Secretary of State and other Ministers, and to work ly with OGDs and the centre to divergent Ministerial interests. A collaborative approach is essential to the role, but you must also be capable of working independently and with initiative. The Legacy Team culture is one of empowerment, bringing with it great opportunities for development and growth. DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES: The main responsibilities of the role include: Working ly with lawyers to develop innovative policy and handling solutions in relation to the UKGs approach to dealing with the past - this could be in terms of developing government amendments, new policy approaches or working with inquiries and litigation; Leading on clauses within the Troubles Bill - justifying their aims to Parliament, working on supporting products and reacting to amendments; Working with key delivery partners on the non-legislative approach to the troubles; Supporting briefings on legacy policy and/or casework matters for senior officials and Ministers; Working ly with other government departments to deliver work on cross-cutting issues with the confidence of Whitehall and; Working ly and effectively with the wider team to proactively identify opportunities to contribute to team and business area objectives and priorities. ESSENTIAL CRITERIA: The post holder will need to demonstrate the following in their application and at interview: Sound judgement and analytical skills, the ability to make evidence based recommendations and decisions; Excellent communication and influencing skills to influence a wide variety of stakeholders at different levels; the ability to present and communicate complex information and recommendations to senior decision makers in a clearly and impactfully manner; Strong partnering and collaborating skills, and the ability to build strong relationships with a diverse range of stakeholders to support effective delivery of strategic outcomes; The ability to deal with uncertainty, self-organise, prioritise and pay attention to detail; and Resilience to deal with scrutiny and set backs. DESIRABLE CRITERIA: Prior knowledge or experience of Northern Ireland politics or the Troubles. Experience working on litigation or legislation. BEHAVIOURS: We will assess you against the following Success Profiles behaviours at the SEO level during the application sift and interview process: Communicating and Influencing Making Effective Decisions Delivering at Pace EXPERIENCE: Please provide a work history and statement of suitability no longer than 500 words outlining how you meet the essential and desirable criteria. Both will be used in order to assess any demonstrable experience, career history and achievements that are relevant to the role. Your statement of suitability needs to set out evidence of how your experience meets the requirements set out above. Your layout is entirely your preference; you may choose narrative, bullets, etc. One narrative example may cover the requirements needed. You dont have to explain the whole process, just what you have done and the skills and experience you have used. Share with us what makes you suited to this role and why. What you can do, the skills you have that are transferable and the life experience or passion you have that are linked to this role. If you dont have work-based examples then give examples from school/college, clubs, volunteering or other activities you have been involved in. More information on behaviours and success profiles can be found . Please note that in the event of a large number of applications being received we may run the initial sift on the lead Behaviour Communicating and Influencing. INTERVIEW: You will be assessed against the same behaviours at the interview stage and will be asked to provide examples of how you have demonstrated the behaviours. It may help to use one or more examples of a piece of work you have completed or a situation you have been in and use the WHO or STAR model to explain: WHO- What it was? How you approached the work/situation? What the Outcomes were, what did you achieve? or STAR- What was the Situation? What were the Tasks? What Action did you take? What were the Results of your actions? Strengths It is difficult to prepare for strength type questions. However, you can think through your answers, focus on your achievements and aspects you enjoy and decide how these can be applied in the organisation and role. While strengths questions are shorter and we do not expect a full STAR response, the panel is interested in your first reaction to the question and information or reasoning to support this. If you do not have work-based examples then please give examples from school/college, clubs, volunteering or other activities you have been involved in. All applications for employment are considered strictly on the basis of merit. OFFER Once all interviews have been completed, you will be notified of the outcome by email. Offers will be made in strict merit order to the highest scoring candidate first. The successful candidate will be notified of a start date following successful security checks. Additional information received after the closing date will not be considered. Failure to provide sufficient information in support of an application prior to the closing date will not be considered as grounds for an appeal if an applicant is not shortlisted for interview. SECURITY CLEARANCE: This role requires National Security Vetting given the access to sensitive information afforded by the job role. You can find more information by reviewing the information held in the following links: United Kingdom Security Vetting: Applicant - GOV.UK ( The vetting charter - GOV.UK ( In addition, t is a minimum UK residency requirement set by the Cabinet Office which is dependent on the security level required for the role. This role requires CTC. Neither Detached Duty terms nor relocation costs will apply to this post. Further Information: Further information about the post may be obtained from Daniel Thrower via email to All applications for employment are considered strictly on the basis of merit. This job description should not be taken as constituting conditions of employment. Please note that due to the high interest in NIO opportunities, feedback cannot be given if you are unsuccessful at the sift stage. Feedback is available on request if unsuccessful following the interview. COMPLAINTS: The Civil Service Code sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants. Appointment to the Civil Service is governed by the Civil Service Commissions Recruitment Principles. You have the right to complain if you feel a department has breached the requirement of the Recruitment Principles. Please contact SSCL () in the first instance. If you are not satisfied with the response, you may bring...