Questions may use different wording, but the panel will still assess evidence against the Grade 7 and Grade 6 Changing and Improving criteria. Listen to the exact question and choose the example that answers it most directly.
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Grade 7 Changing and Improving criteria
- “Encourage, recognise and share innovative ideas from a diverse range of colleagues and stakeholders.”
- “Give people space to take initiative and praise them for their creativity.”
- “Create an environment where people feel safe to challenge and know their voice will be heard.”
- “Make changes which add value and clearly articulate how changes will benefit the business.”
- “Understand and identify the role of technology in public service delivery and policy implementation.”
- “Consider the full impact of implementing changes on culture, structure, morale and the impacts on the diverse range of end users, including accessibility needs.”
- “Identify early signs that things are going wrong and respond promptly.”
- “Provide constructive challenge to senior management on change proposals.”
What the panel is testing
Choose a change where you created space for challenge, used technology appropriately, protected accessibility and constructively challenged senior assumptions.
- A clear Grade 7 responsibility.
- Personal decisions and reasoning.
- Appropriate senior, cross-team or external influence.
- Control of risk, resources, inclusion or quality where relevant.
- A credible outcome and enough detail for follow-up questions.
12 Grade 7 Changing and Improving interview questions
How to structure the answer
Give one or two relevant sentences about how you think.
Set the strategic or delivery context briefly.
State your responsibility and authority.
Explain decisions, evidence, influence and risk.
Give the outcome and a practical learning point.
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