Civil Service Success Profiles are being scrapped: what it means for your application

Updated · By the Tick the Spec team

In July 2026 the Civil Service announced, as part of the Cabinet Secretary's Future Civil Service programme, that it will start by scrapping Success Profiles and move to a new model that "emphasises skills and expertise". At the time of writing (November 2026) we could not find a published replacement framework or a date on GOV.UK, and the Success Profiles guidance is still online. For anyone applying now, the practical answer is simple: follow the advert. Each Civil Service advert says what will be assessed, and that is what you will be scored on.

What was announced

  • On 17 July 2026, Civil Service World reported that the Future Civil Service programme, led by Cabinet Secretary Dame Antonia Romeo, would "start by scrapping success profiles" and introduce a "new model that emphasises skills and expertise", with further changes over the coming months.
  • The stated aim was to make recruitment "simpler". PoliticsHome reported that the change is expected to bring Civil Service recruitment closer to private-sector practice.
  • The same announcement included a rapid review of the Fast Stream and a review of performance management.

We have not seen an official description of how the new model will assess candidates, so treat any article that claims to know the details with caution.

What Success Profiles are

Success Profiles have been the Civil Service recruitment framework since 2018–19. They describe five elements that an advert can assess:

  • Behaviours: nine behaviours such as Delivering at Pace and Making Effective Decisions, each described at levels matched to grades.
  • Strengths: things you do regularly, do well and that motivate you, usually assessed at interview.
  • Ability: aptitude, often tested online.
  • Experience: your knowledge and experience of the area, often assessed through a CV or personal statement.
  • Technical: specific professional skills or qualifications.

Not every advert assesses every element. Many adverts at AO to Grade 7 have asked for a CV, a personal statement and a small number of behaviour statements of up to 250 words each.

What to do if you are applying now

  1. Read the advert's "Things you need to know" and assessment sections. They list exactly what is assessed at application and interview: for example "CV, personal statement (750 words), behaviour statements: Seeing the Big Picture, Working Together".
  2. Answer what is asked, in the format asked. If the advert asks for behaviour examples, write STAR examples for those behaviours. If it asks only for a CV and personal statement, put your effort there.
  3. Lead with skills and expertise anyway. Whatever replaces Success Profiles, the announcement signals more weight on proven skills. Concrete evidence of what you can do, with results, will serve you under either system.
  4. Keep a bank of examples. Good examples of delivering results, making decisions, working with others and improving services will be reusable whatever the framework is called.
  5. Check the date on any guidance you read, including this page.

Worked example (fictional): evidence that works under both systems

Invented applicant and figures, for an HEO policy role asking for a personal statement against "Experience of analysing data to inform recommendations".

In my current role as a senior analyst at a regional transport authority, I analysed two years of bus punctuality data to advise on where to invest £1.2 million of bus priority funding. I cleaned and combined three datasets, mapped delays by route and time of day, and identified six junctions that caused 40% of peak delays. I tested the findings with operators, set out three investment options with costs and risks, and recommended targeting four junctions first. The board approved the recommendation, and punctuality on the affected routes improved by eight percentage points in the following year.

This evidences experience and technical skill directly. The same story could also be told as a Making Effective Decisions behaviour example. Specific, honest, skills-based evidence like this is unlikely to go out of date.

Common mistakes

  • Ignoring the advert because you have read that Success Profiles are gone. The advert is the rule for that vacancy.
  • Dropping STAR structure where behaviours are still asked for.
  • Relying on old guides that describe the 2012 competency framework or quote out-of-date word limits.
  • Writing about potential instead of evidence. Both old and new approaches reward what you have actually done.

We will update this guide when a replacement framework is published. Meanwhile, our guides to the Civil Service personal statement and to what each grade expects reflect current adverts. Tick the Spec can also read a Civil Service advert, list what it assesses, and show which criteria your CV already covers, free.

Sources

All guides