The Commissioners’ Mark of Excellence, which recognises innovation and excellent hiring practices across the civil service, is now open for entries.
Launched in 2022, the first two winners of the award were the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy in 2022 and the Ministry of Justice in 2023.
This year, the award will focus on openness in recruitment, looking for hiring teams who have made efforts to bring new skills and talent into the civil service.
The Civil Service Commission, which runs the award, said examples of this could include:
- Innovative or new approaches to advertising vacancies externally
- Providing support for candidates to enable them to make strong applications or prepare for civil service-style interviews
- Encouraging secondments from outside the civil service
- Encouraging candidates from local government and the wider public sector to apply for roles in the civil service
The judging panel this year will include Baroness Gisela Stuart, the first civil service commissioner; Joanna Abeyie, a civil service commissioner and social impact entrepreneur; and Tony Poulter, a civil service commissioner who was a PwC partner for over 25 years and who now holds a range of non-executive roles in government and the private sector.
Stuart said: “We know from our work as a regulator there is some truly outstanding recruitment practice in departments and agencies.
“The aim of the Commissioners’ Mark of Excellence is to share examples of what can be achieved and to celebrate those hiring teams that go the extra mile to attract talented people who might not have previously considered a career in the civil service. We are looking forward to reviewing your entries.”
Last year’s winner, the MoJ, was praised for its targeting of veterans and former prisoners for jobs, as part of a wider recruitment drive to increase diversity. The inaugural winner, the now-defunct BEIS, was hailed for being the first department to explore innovations in game-based assessments and video interviews scored by algorithms, using artificial intelligence.
Applications, using this form, can be made until 6 November. The winners of the 2024 Mark of Excellence will be announced by the end of the year.
Winners are able to display the logo on all their recruitment advertising for one year.