The competencies are part of the Council’s core competency framework and identify core skills, knowledge, abilities, values, and attitudes seen as critical for achieving successful results in these roles. Please refer to the enclosed Behavioural competency dictionary for full information on the behavioural competencies.

You should draw on your past experience inside and outside the work situation to demonstrate evidence of each competency and record what you have achieved . But what you have achieved is not all we want to know. We also want to know about the skills, knowledge, abilities and approach you used and that you might be able to apply in a different situation in the future.

For each competency give an actual example, from the last two to three years if possible. You can draw on relevant experience you have gained in the workplace or outside the formal workplace. Confine your answer to a maximum of 200 words and organise your evidence against each competency following the STAR structure:

			Situation a brief sentence or two to set the scene and give the context
			Target (or Task) the specific aspects you focussed on and why
			Action what you actually did, how and when you did it, and the rationale for your choice.
			Result what the outcome was and the difference it made

Evidence in excess of 200 words will not be taken into account

Describe what you did and what was achieved. Write a short summary of between one and two sentences describing the facts surrounding the situation, how it affected the organisation, the project, the customers, etc. and any problems and difficulties that you encountered. Convey the significance of what was done and how it affected the outcome, together with some brief details of what was involved. For example.‘We had to develop and implement a new process for promoting local education opportunities but were constrained by budget cuts throughout the department. As a result of working with local authorities we achieved our objectives within budget and within the 3 month timescale'.

This is really the most important part, as it concerns explaining what you actually did. Give a brief summary of the critical actions you personally took that relate to the competency in question. The best way to approach this is to ask yourself:

What were the one or two key things I did that had the greatest impact upon the final result?

Try to focus on the actions that relate to the specific competency in question, as often a set of critical actions may provide evidence of several competencies. For example, ‘I built relationships with the local authorities by chairing meetings, conducting presentations and developed a network of contacts to actively lobby in order to gain agreement to my proposed course of action’. This may represent evidence of the competency 'relationship building for influence'.

Proportion of the achievement for which you personally claim credit
Try to be specific about the situation, the tangible results achieved and the part you played in achieving that result. This is particularly important if you were acting as part of a team. Highlight the role you actually played in achieving the outcome rather than focusing too much on the team activities. Note the proportion of the achievement for which you claim credit.

Before completing your application you may want to review past experiences and talk them through with colleagues who were involved. Alternatively you may want to talk through some of your experiences with your line manger or project team leader. You may want to show your application to a colleague or colleagues and ask for their comments before sending it to us.

Remember it is important to try to give specific and separate evidence of each competency. Please avoid using an achievement more than once and give examples that are recent, preferably within the last 2-3 years

The information you provide will be used in the shortlisting process and will form part of the interview. We will also take it into account when making final decisions.

Allow sufficient time to write your application before the deadline. We recommend spending at least a day writing your application and providing evidence and examples

Please do not attach a CV or any other document unless it has been requested as part of the recruitment process; it will not be used to make selection decisions. This is to ensure consistency in assessing all candidates.