Professional Skills for Government
The Professional Skills for Government (PSfG) competency framework is a structured way of thinking about jobs and careers.
It is designed to ensure that no matter where you work, that you have the right mix of skills and expertise to enable your department or agency to deliver effective services.
By using the framework, you can find out:
- the mix of skills and experience you should have in your current job, or
- what skills you might need to gain to change role seek promotion
PSfG is now an integral part of the SCS Performance Management process and SCS members will be required to demonstrate skills and expertise in four areas at the appropriate level in relation to their job and chosen career path. The four areas are:
In order to ensure that SCS members can identify their skill levels and skill gaps against the Cabinet Office leadership model, it has been decided that we should adopt the PSfG skills framework in place of the current SCS Leadership competences.
- Leadership - setting out the behaviours we expect from those leading the organisation.
- Core Skills - that every Senior Civil Servant needs. These are
- people management
- financial management
- programme and project management
- analysis and use of evidence
- strategic thinking
- communications and marketing
- Professional expertise - Job-specific professional skills are related to the work you do. Everyone in the Civil Service requires some professional skills to do their job, whether they work in policy development, operational delivery or corporate services, or provide expert advice (for example, scientists, economists and communicators). This area of the PSG competency framework is supported by Heads of Profession, who set standards for all professions in the Civil Service.
- Broader Experience - of working in more than one career grouping.
You can seek opportunities to develop your skills at any time, but it makes sense to think about the framework in line with your appraisal cycle. Mid-year reviews, end-of-year appraisals and discussions of your objectives are all great times to look at what skills you have and what skills you need. Further details on Professional Skills for Government can be found from this link Professional Skills for Government.
Performance Management
As the HR Connect Performance Management Service has now launched, SCS members should now complete their Personal Performance Agreements/Personal Development Plans for the 2009/2010 reporting year using the new HR Connect on-line system.
Advice on the SCS Performance Management policy and associated documentation can be found from the links below.
Please note that some of the documents below are in PDF format and you may need Adobe Reader to view them.
- Performance Management Guidance
- Timetable - SCS Performance and Pay Arrangements (Word, 33kb opens new window)
- Link to Career Development Profile on HR Connect.
- Performance Management Form for 2008/2009 reporting year(Word, 38KB opens new window)
- Derek Baker's letter of 17 April 2008 on objective setting
- HR Connect Performance Management Launch letter to SCS members
Links to Performance Management Lessons on HR Connect
As completing your performance management activities online will be different from what you are used to, the links below will help guide you through the process.
- (SCS) Reporting Officer Reviews Member of Staff's PPA/PDP
- (SCS) Reporting Officer Requests Change to PPA/PDP after Meeting
- (SCS) Member of Staff Amends PPA/PDP and Returns to Reporting Officer
- (SCS) Reporting Officer Reviews Amended PPA/PDP and Returns to Member of Staff
- (SCS) Member of Staff Agrees PPA/PDP and Returns to Reporting Officer
- (SCS) Reporting Officer Agrees PPA/PDP and Updates Review Status
- (SCS) Member of Staff Views Agreed PPA/PDP
- (SCS) Reporting Officer Completes In Year Review
- (SCS) Member of Staff Reviews In Year Review
- (SCS) Reporting Officer Agrees In Year Review and Updates Status
- (SCS) Reporting Officer Completes Performance Review
- (SCS) Countersigning Officer adds Comments and returns to Reporting Officer
- (SCS) Reporting Officer Reviews Countersigning Officer's Comments and Forwards to Member of Staff
- (SCS) Member of Staff Agrees Performance Review and Returns to Reporting Officer
- (SCS) Reporting Officer Agrees Performance Review and Updates Status
- (SCS) Reporting Officer Extends Performance Review
Other useful links
- SCS Payband 1 Core Skills (PDF, 23KB opens new window)
- SCS Payband 3 Core Skills (PDF, 24KB opens new window)
- Centre for Applied Learning (opens new window)
Some of these links are to intranet sites and as such are only accessible via a network connection.
For all enquiries about PSfG please email: scsteam.chr@dfpni.gov.uk