Civil Service

The civil service refers to a group of government officials who are employed in civil occupations that are neither political nor judicial. Civil servants work for central, state, and local governments and they are accountable to the government, not political parties or politicians.

The civil service plays a key role in driving the sustainability agenda in the following ways:

Policy Development and Implementation: Civil servants are responsible for developing and implementing policies that align with sustainability goals. This includes coordinating activities with the private sector and civil society, making sense of thousands of indicators, and tying the global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in with the needs of citizens at a local level.
Education and Advocacy: The Civil Service Environment Network (CSEN) was created as a space for all civil servants to share and build knowledge and capabilities in environmental policy. The aim is to educate, develop, and inspire civil servants across four cross-cutting themes: Climate Change; Natural Resources; Biodiversity and Ecosystems; and Sustainable Development.
Infrastructure Management: The UK government manages the biggest property portfolio in the country. Buildings account for a significant proportion of total emissions, so driving sustainability and reductions in energy consumption in the public estate is a priority. The Government Property Strategy makes a clear commitment to create a smaller, better, and greener public estate.
Setting Targets: The civil service helps set specific targets and provides a delivery framework for departments and other governmental organisations to improve their sustainability. For example, the UK government has a target to reduce direct emissions from public sector buildings by at least 50% by 2032.

Civil service plays a critical role in fostering advocacy and mediation in policy development, identifying crucial development priorities, proposing practical solutions and policy opportunities, and evaluating policies.

Based on the survey, what are the key skill sets most important to succeeding in this role?

Critical thinking for policy evaluation and development.
Teamwork that increases legitimacy for recommendations.
Topical expertise paired with an innate desire to learn.
Data analysis to understand policy impacts.

One respondent working in the UK civil service shared that: “Diversity of skills is more emphasised. It is useful to have different viewpoints and opinions.”

Career Case Study

Fisheries Management in the UK Civil Service

What does your day-to-day look like?

The day-to-day life of someone working in the civil service varies. The role can include data collection and analysis, or desk-based research such as evidence reviews. A lot of work goes into engaging with stakeholders around specific policy concerns. This means that some civil servants may also spend time coordinating stakeholder engagement and outreach. Other civil servants may use this research to make presentations for briefings and meetings.

What kind of skills are most important in your line of work, and what are your top tips for how to develop them?

Technical capabilities - this includes a strong background in mathematics, statistics, and programming. This can help you thrive even if it has nothing to do with Fisheries. In my line of work in particular, there is a lot of emphasis on population dynamics models. There are books by Beverton and Holt as well as Walters and Holborn which are fundamental to fishery science. But really, fisheries are a multi-faceted area where a diversity of backgrounds are required due to the nature of the importance of fisheries to society, the economy and the environment.

Advice for young people looking to enter this field:

Enthusiasm and passion for the topic and role is the most important. Knowledge of key issues in fisheries as well as some prospective solutions is useful but not essential because it is normally very rare to have a scientific background in fisheries.

The most important tip is the ability to look to transfer your pre-existing skills and knowledge into the work environment.