Meet a Net Zero Policy Adviser; Shuet-Ying Cheung

My previous role was in the third sector as a Housing Manager for a social landlord. After a long time in that industry, I felt I had taken my career as far as it could reasonably go, and I felt like it was time for a change.?

Since joining the Civil Service I have found the innocently short job title of ‘Policy Advisor’ covers a width and breadth of subject matter which is astonishing. My role is within a Portfolio team which means we deal with cross cutting policy issues spanning 80 -odd projects and over 20 Deputy Director teams. The mainstay of what we do is to manage information traffic and to remove blockers enabling the movement of our programmes and projects, the work is often cross cutting and high level and never simple. I find my role is challenging and varied, I learn something I didn’t know every week if not every day and this constant learning curve is what keeps me interested and motivated.?

We are paid quite well for what we do, we get decent benefits and a nice working environment with flexible working systems as well as an acknowledgement that the hybrid working pattern is here to stay. There are lots of opportunities for self-development, and learning or volunteering, the Civil Service is a very large organisation- there are lots of roles, teams, and places where you will find your face, your work ethic and your talent does fit. And best of all while you are finding your best fit- you learn an awful lot of transferrable skills along the way. It’s not just a job it’s a career because there are so many places and roles the Civil Service can take you to.

Our Departmental mission is to slow/ reverse the damage of decades of industrialisation done to our world through managing climate change, so we are working to make a better future. Although you sometimes feel like a bit in the wheel of a small cog connected to other cogs in a very large machine- we are all working towards the same goal and there is no confusion about that- many private companies don’t have this kind of focus.?

To find out more about working in our Net Zero and Energy directorates, come along to our recruitment event this Thursday. We are currently hiring a number of Policy Advisers to help us with our crucial work. Click the links to find out more about these roles at SEO and HEO level.