AIBU/Crazy to turn down this promotion for a more interesting job?

[Lilifer]

I find myself in an unexpected dilemma and would love some outside perspectives.

I am 56, back in work after a long career break to raise my family, and have been working in the civil service for the past 3 years. I was recently off on sick leave due to work related stress, which I am now well recovered from.

I had applied for and been offered an EOI (temporary posting) at my current HO grade as a Policy Adviser. I was really excited about this, it is a move into policy which is where I want to take my career, and I have already accepted it.

This week, completely out of the blue, I received a second EOI offer at SO level (one grade above) as a Manager on a large project. I did not even have to interview for it, I got it purely on my written application. The salary would be around £45,500 compared to £37,500 in the policy role.

My dilemma is that the policy role is the one I really want to do. It suits my skills, my background and where I want my career to go. The project manager role, while I could do it, sounds more process driven and technical and frankly a bit arid compared to policy.

But the SO promotion represents something huge to me personally. I genuinely never thought I would get back into work after sixteen years out raising my family, let alone be offered a promotion without interview at 56. Turning it down feels almost ungrateful.

The extra money would be genuinely helpful, though not life changing.

A trusted colleague who knows me well thinks I am looking for permission to take the lower grade role. Am I mad? What would you do? I would hope that if I take the policy role and thrive in it that I would still have the opportunity to move up in that role in due course.

I kind of agree. I would always go for an SO job tbh. Especially one that had basically landed in my lap. CS Interviews are such a nightmare. Are you already in OpDel?

@friskybivalvesthanks that is very true - I have failed on many HEO interviews so stunned to have landed an SO one from EOI written application alone. I have no office opdeliv experience but a lot of transferable stills from working in legal services

Although arguably if I can do it once, hopefully I could do it again, if I really set mind to it

I work as SEO in policy there isn't a lot between the HEO & SEO roles in terms of opportunity.

I've seen HEOs prove themselves exceptionally capable and move up to G7 within a couple of years.

If you have a good manager, they will support you in pushing yourself.

Its super varied and you should enjoy yourself and seeing how things work if you choose policy 😀

”I work as SEO in policy there isn't a lot between the HEO & SEO roles in terms of opportunity.”

thanks @PolicyFienddo you mean by the above that there are as many roles being advertised in the SO level as at the HEO level, so that I might be able to apply for one fairly soon into the job?

Go with what makes you happy. As long as the 37,000 is enough to live on.

So jobs come up as and when and can be a bit feast or famine but if you haven't done policy as HEO, you'll struggle to get an SEO because a lot of experienced policy HEOs will be applying with very relevant experience.

When you work within a G7 policy team, you can pretty much take on the level of responsibility that suits you depending on your skill and ambition.

We have some HEOs that are happy to be quite directed e.g. will have responsibility for organising BAU annual events, setting up and attending meetings to rep for the Dept and collaborate externally on projects etc.

Whereas we have other HEOs that very much want to be seen to lead and will take real ownership of a policy issue at a more SEO level, which sets them up well for promotion when the chance is there: bringing people together to drive issues forward, building those relationships, coming up with ideas and momentum, and seeking out those visible opportunities to expose themselves. Pushing for speaking roles in higher pressure situations, like at Ministerial briefings, MP events and HoC debates.

You'll have seen that the Behaviours for Heo/Seo are quite similar, it's more how you use your time in the role that will set up your speed and route for progression, which is why most Policy SEOs have been Policy HEO, and almost all Policy G7s have been HEO/SEO (because you can really push to progress quickly, if the roles come up and you've been challenging yourself, but at those levels you need to know how processes work and be capable of coping under pressure to lead it).

Going beyond, I can't actually think of any Policy G7s that have come in without policy experience as the role is so niche in terms of knowing the many different workings of Government) so you'll find it challenging to progress up in Policy without policy experience iyswim.

This is a long winded way of saying that if you want to progress in policy, take the policy job. I've had amazing opportunities to write briefings, visit amazing places, write speeches which are read out in Parliament, design and implement new laws, come up with new research ideas that have been taken forward and I've also been in crazy stressful situations when things don't go as expected. There's nothing like it. I've chosen to stick at SEO due to working hours and kids but there is plenty of opportunity to build skills once you're in.

Wow @PolicyFiendthank you! That is all really helpful info especially as it’s coming from someone who’s actually in that field, thank you for taking the time to set it all out, it really helps me to clarify it all and make an informed choice

Im a CS that has done SEO and G7 policy roles in the past (although im now a G6 in a more specialised role). A few things stand out to me:

1. what is the agreement for when the temp roles end? Will you be given a role back in your old team or do you have to apply for something new?
2. you dont need to name your dept, but if you are in one making lots of cuts or "efficiencies", is it riskier to only be accepting a 9month EOI (is it a mat leave cover?)
3. are the roles in your current dept? If the policy role is only 9months and in a different dept, are you prepared for a very steep onboarding?
4. ive worked in the CS for 15yrs and in my opinion there are very few jobs being advertised compared to previously (unless they are all just being advertised at stage 1 within depts only - I remember back around 2015 when there was not a single SEO vacancy advertised in our dept for 2years because noone was moving around 🤯). How will you feel if you have to go back to your old job and stay there for a while / no policy SEO roles come up? None of those are showstoppers to whatever you decide, but worth thinking about how you would feel.

thanks @SecretCSthats really helpful. The policy role is 9 months and the project manager one is 12 months and at the end I presume I would go back to my original role. It’s in a different department but same organisation so yes probably a steep learning curve in either one but I would be ok with that as I do like a challenge (as long as it’s not hideously stressful like my current role was/is. I have been leaning more towards the policy role but wonder if this is short sighted of me, going for what I think will be more interesting works at the expense of a possible permanent promotion

I’d also take the more senior job. Not because of the money, but because it will expose you to layers of management and opportunities that you won’t experience otherwise. I’ve worked my way up and around a very large Arm’s Reach Body over the last 25 years. Every job will teach you new stuff, upwards moves are harder to come by than sideways moves, and the experience you gain likely to be more impactful.

That’s very true @IbizaToTheNorfolkBroadsi hadn’t thought of that. But I wonder if I would do better long term in something that I’m more suited to than work in a role that doesn’t really fit my strengths or personality?