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The Person

Are you the person we are looking for?

We normally require our graduates to have a 2:1 degree in a business or business related degree subject. This is because a good understanding of the business environment is important when dealing with customers in your department and elsewhere in government, as well as suppliers and service providers in the marketplace when procuring goods and services for the public sector.

In addition to this, we also require skills and capabilities in the following seven areas:

  • Analytical Thinking (the ability to gather and analyse complex information quickly and accurately)
  • Business Focused Decision Making (the ability to evaluate options, weigh up the associated risks and benefits, and make business focused decisions)
  • Personal Impact and Credibility (the ability to present information clearly and succinctly, and with confidence, professionalism and impact)
  • Working in Partnership (the ability to work collaboratively with others and develop effective working relationships)
  • Working flexibly (the ability to adapt to change and respond flexibly to differing situations and circumstances)
  • Planning and Organising (the ability to plan, prioritise and organise workloads effectively)
  • Energy and Drive (an enthusiastic and energetic outlook coupled with the ability to overcome obstacles and achieve results)

Just as traditional approaches are no longer adequate for the procurement challenges facing the public sector, neither is a conventional person specification. That's why we've developed a couple of questionnaires for you to complete to find out more about us and whether you are right for our Scheme. 

The Self Selection Questionnaire gauges your response to situations and scenarios you'd typically find yourself in if you worked with us. Click on the link at the top of the page to complete it and you'll learn a lot about the role, about us, about yourself and whether you and the public sector could have a future together.

The 'Sample Test' assesses your analytical thinking skills. Score well in this and you'll probably have the analytical skills needed to handle large volumes of complex data and make good procurement decisions. This test is an example of the kind of assessment you can expect to face during the recruitment process.

Both questionnaires are entirely optional and your results will not be seen by anyone other than you. It does not form part of the selection process, so please feel free to complete them as many times as you want and to be very honest and open with your responses. This will enable you to get a more accurate indication of your suitability for the Scheme.