The 9 Civil Service Behaviours, Explained
Updated 13 July 2026
Behaviours are the backbone of Success Profiles — the framework every UK Civil Service application is assessed against. A vacancy typically names three to five behaviours, and your written evidence and interview answers are scored against them. Understanding what each behaviour genuinely asks for, at your target grade, is the single highest-leverage preparation you can do.
The nine behaviours
The framework defines nine behaviours. A vacancy will only assess a subset, listed in the job advert — never all nine at once.
- Seeing the Big Picture — understanding how your work supports wider objectives and the citizen.
- Changing and Improving — seeking out and acting on opportunities to do things better.
- Making Effective Decisions — using evidence and sound judgement, understanding risk.
- Leadership — showing direction and care for people, whatever your grade.
- Communicating and Influencing — communicating purposefully, tailored to the audience.
- Working Together — building genuine partnerships inside and beyond your team.
- Developing Self and Others — investing in capability, your own and other people's.
- Managing a Quality Service — delivering services that meet the needs of the people who use them.
- Delivering at Pace — taking responsibility for delivering timely, quality outcomes.
The same behaviour reads differently by grade
Each behaviour has grade-banded descriptors: what counts as strong Leadership evidence at EO (taking initiative within your team) would read as underpowered at G7 (setting direction across teams and handling ambiguity). Before writing anything, read the descriptor for your target grade — not the generic behaviour name — and check your example actually operates at that level of scope, autonomy and consequence.
This is the most common sift failure we see: genuinely capable applicants evidencing the right behaviour at the wrong level. The panel can only score what is on the page.
How behaviours are scored
At sift and interview, each assessed behaviour is typically scored on a 1–7 scale against the grade descriptor. Most campaigns need roughly a 4 or above on every behaviour to pass, and higher to be competitive — a single weak behaviour can sink an otherwise strong application.
Strong behaviour evidence is specific: one real situation, your personal actions (not your team's), and a measurable result. Structure it with the STAR or STARR method rather than describing your duties.
Frequently asked questions
How many behaviours does one application need to evidence?›
Only the ones listed in the vacancy advert — usually three to five. Read the advert carefully; evidencing behaviours that aren't assessed wastes your word count.
What score do I need on each behaviour to pass the sift?›
Most campaigns score each behaviour from 1 to 7 and set a pass mark around 4 per behaviour, though it varies by campaign and how competitive the field is. A single low-scoring behaviour usually means rejection regardless of the others.
Where are the official behaviour definitions?›
In the Success Profiles: Civil Service Behaviours document on GOV.UK, which includes the grade-banded descriptors. Always check your target grade's descriptor, not just the behaviour summary.
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Official framework reference: Success Profiles on GOV.UK. Grade requirements and processes vary by campaign — always follow the specific vacancy advert.