Secondees invited to work “pro bono” at the Department for Education

The Department for Education, where secondees are being invited to apply to work "pro bono"

Teachers: do you fancy working at the Department for Education, beavering away on secondment on one of the department’s main priorities?

Are you “exceptional and highly motivated”? Do you want to take advantage of this “excellent opportunity to experience working in Central Government [not just central government, but Central Government], including working with Senior Officials and Ministers”?

You do? Great. There’s just one thing, though: your school will have to pay.

This is the implication of a job advert which currently features on the government’s “civil service jobs” website. It is seeking applicants to work on “STEM” (science, technology, engineering and maths) policy at the DfE.

The posts are being offered on a secondment basis – individuals working at the DfE instead of at their usual workplace, and returning afterwards - for a period of three to six months.

But the catch, for teachers applying from schools, may be that these are “pro-bono” posts. This is a rather fancy way of saying that the secondee is not paid.

This would appear to leave the secondee’s original employer to continue paying their salary, while, presumably, also covering the cost of a temporary replacement.

The job specification also highlights “meaningful learning and development. We will be supporting all four secondees to learn and follow some of Government’s internal processes, including parliamentary processes, Ministerial business and how relationships between different Departments are managed”.

The posts also represented “an opportunity to build your networks across Government – including in the Department for Education,” it said.

“One of the major reasons we were keen to offer these roles on secondment is to broaden the Department’s perspective on STEM and to bring outside expertise in to enhance the knowledge and experience of the existing Civil Service team,” it added.

To be fair, the job is not being seen solely as a possibility for school teachers. A DfE spokesperson indicated that they were targeted at “a large number of private sector organisations, businesses, learned societies and other STEM sector stakeholders who often fund researchers and staff in these areas, as well as schools.”

Secondments elsewhere in government have been known to work with the organisation who “loses” someone temporarily also continuing to pay their salary, but I understand these arrangements are often subject to negotiation between the two parties.

The advert prompts questions as to how stretched the DfE’s budget is.

A source who read of the advert with bemusement said: “Pro bono secondments? Really? This may seem like a great opportunity for someone in a school, but, given the funding pressures they are under, how could they afford it?”

It could be, of course, that the individual might be able to fund the placement themselves. But, as our source pointed out, would it not then be biased towards wealthier applicants?

“It’s a little like unpaid internships, where only those who can afford to do so can access such opportunities. Equality, anyone?”

The DfE spokesperson added: “These STEM secondments are intended to be an opportunity for candidates to build up their skills and gain valuable experience as well as a way of bringing external expertise into the department. The secondments are offered on a short-term basis and are flexible so organisations do not face any undue pressure.”