• Details

Reference number

398009

Salary

£55,836 - £66,338

National: £55,836 - £62,823; London: £59,450 - £66,338

A Civil Service Pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

GBP

Job grade

Grade 7

Contract type

Permanent

Business area

DBT - CS - Project Delivery and Change - Chief Operating Officer’s Private Office

Type of role

Administration / Corporate Support
Policy

Working pattern

Flexible working, Full-time, Job share, Part-time

Number of jobs available

1

Contents

• Location
• About the job
• Benefits
• Things you need to know
• Apply and further information

Location

Belfast, Birmingham, Cardiff, Darlington, Edinburgh, London, Salford

About the job

Job summary

The Department for Business and Trade is the department for economic growth. We support businesses to invest, grow and export, creating jobs and opportunities across the country.

We:

• Advise, support, and promote British businesses to grow and export.
• Shape our rules to ensure businesses thrive, markets are competitive, and consumers are protected.
• Open up new markets for businesses by removing barriers and striking trade deals.
• Secure global investment from businesses and investors.
• Champion free trade, economic security, and resilient supply chains.

This role presents an opportunity to work at the corporate centre of the Department for Business and Trade, leading on a wide range of high-profile issues and working closely with senior leaders within the Chief Operating Officer’s corporate functions (covering People and Place; Finance, Security and Business Services; Grants Delivery; Commercial; Project Delivery & Change; Digital, Data and Technology; and Communications & Marketing) as well as throughout the wider department.

We are looking for a well organised and enthusiastic Senior Private Secretary to support the Director General Chief Operating Officer (DG COO). This post holder will be responsible for a large portfolio of work within the DG Private Office, as well as working as part of a wider central DG COO team. You will work across the breadth and depth of Corporate Services, building strong relationships and partnering with senior managers, corporate and operational teams.

The successful candidate will work closely with senior civil servants and their offices across the Department, managing relationships with the COO’s key stakeholders and helping to ensure the different functions are providing an effective level of support in line with the COO’s priorities. You will have a large portfolio including taking the lead in the office for complex areas such as Digital, Data and Technology, and the Finance, Security and Business Services portfolios. You will report to the Chief of Staff, and work closely with the other members of the team to maintain a high-quality service for the DG COO.

The successful individual will:

• Lead the day to day running of the Private Office, ensuring that the office delivers a high quality, effective and efficient service.
• Provide high quality advice and recommendations to the DG COO and wider leadership team, including on sensitive and complex issues.
• Provide proactive support to the DG on high profile, complex and sensitive issues across a broad portfolio.
• Build relationships with and energise colleagues from a range of teams through understanding individual team needs and objectives.
• Using sound judgement to resolve complex issues and to tailor communications to relevant audiences to ensure they are impactful.
• Ensure high quality of briefings and papers at pace.

Person specification

Essential criteria

The below criteria are essential and will be assessed at application stage;

• Excellent judgement, with the ability to handle complex and sensitive issues with integrity, professionalism and discretion.
• The ability to swiftly identify connections between disparate sources of information and to appreciate which of these are sensitive.
• A high degree of resilience and ability to remain calm, and balance competing priorities, in a very fast paced environment.
• Able to build and maintain strong relationships and use those to enable business outcomes to be more effectively achieved, including with senior stakeholders.
• The ability to understand complex issues, strategic and operational performance and transformation issues.
• Able to review complex and detailed information, taking multiple inputs to clear and assure persuasive written material and face to face briefings and advice at pace.

Desirable criteria

The below criteria are desirable only. These will not be assessed throughout the recruitment process, but will be used in the event of tied scores between candidates;

• Experience of working in a private office, either permanently or as a locum.

Behaviours

We’ll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Seeing the Big Picture
• Communicating and Influencing
• Making Effective Decisions
• Working Together

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £55,836, Department for Business and Trade contributes £16,175 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

• Learning and development tailored to your role
• An environment with flexible working options
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
• A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

Please refer to the attached candidate pack for further information on our benefits.

Things you need to know

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles , and will assess your Behaviours and Experience.

Interviews for this vacancy will be conducted virtually. We will, however, consider in-person interviews by exception.

Please ensure that you check your emails regularly as all updates from us will be sent to you this way.

To apply for this post, you will be asked to complete the following as part of the online application:

• A CV setting out your career history, with key responsibilities and achievements. Provide employment history that relates to the essential criteria, and that any gaps in employment history within the last 2 years are explained. The CV should not exceed more than 2 x A4 pages.
• A Personal Statement of up to 750 words, explaining how you consider your personal skills, qualities and experience provide evidence of your suitability for the role in reference to the essential criteria.

Your application will be sifted against the Experience criteria of the Civil Service Success Profiles.

It is likely that the sift will take place 1-2 weeks after the closing date and interviews 3-5 weeks after the closing date, though this is subject to change.

We aim to sift both the CV and the Personal Statement but, in the event of a large number of applicants, an initial short sift may be conducted on the Personal Statement only. Candidates who pass the initial sift of the Personal Statement will either progressed to a full sift where the CV is then assessed, or progressed straight to further assessment/interview.

Candidates who pass the sift will be invited to interview, where we will assess you on the Success Profiles elements of Behaviours.

Reasonable Adjustments

We are committed to supporting candidates so they can perform at their best throughout the recruitment process. This includes making reasonable adjustments to our process. In order to request an adjustment:

Complete the ‘Assistance required’ section on the ‘Additional requirements’ page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process.

Alternatively contact the Government Recruitment Service at DBTrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.

If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the ‘Contact point for applicants’ section.

Candidate Support

You may want to join a virtual Candidate Support Session. These sessions include helpful tips and advice on the recruitment process, from application to interview.

Please see attached Candidate Pack for further information on: Diversity and Inclusion; Benefits; Learning and Development; Working Patterns and what we deliver as a department.

Further Information:

• A reserve list may be held for a period of 12 months from which further appointments can be made. Reserve Lists will be for each location and appointments made in merit order based on location preferences.
• Any move to the Department for Business and Trade from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments.
• The Department will not consider sponsoring a visa or issuing a Certificate of Sponsorship. We are unable to offer advice on any Visa and Immigration cases.
• New entrants are expected to join on the minimum of the pay band.
• Applicants who are successful at interview will be, as part of pre-employment screening, subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database (IFD). This check will provide information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences. This check also applies to employees who resign or otherwise leave before being dismissed for fraud or dishonesty. Any applicant who has details held on the IFD will be refused employment.
• A candidate is not eligible to apply for a role within the Civil Service if the application is made within a 5 year period following a dismissal for carrying out internal fraud against government.
• Terms and Conditions are attached. Please take time to read the document to determine how these may affect you.
• Please note – the successful candidate will be expected to remain in post for a minimum of 18 months before being released for another role.
• This role may be considered as a secondment opportunity. Please reach out to the hiring manager listed at the bottom of this advert to discuss.
• Candidates that do not quite meet the standard for this role may be offered a position at a lower grade.

In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to Disclosure and Barring Service /Disclosure Scotland/Access NI on your behalf.

However, we recognise in exceptional circumstances some candidates will want to send their completed forms direct. If you will be doing this, please advise Government Recruitment Service of your intention by emailing Pre-EmploymentChecks.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk stating the job reference number in the subject heading.

For further information on the Disclosure Scotland confidential checking service telephone: the Disclosure Scotland Helpline on 0870 609 6006 and ask to speak to the operations manager in confidence, or email Info@disclosurescotland.co.uk

For further information on the Access NI confidential checking service telephone: the Access NI Helpline on 0300 200 7888 and ask to speak to the operations manager in confidence, or email accessni@ani.x.gsi.gov.uk

Vetting

The requirement for SC clearance is to have been present in the UK for at least 3 of the last 5 years. Failure to meet the residency requirements will result in your security clearance application being rejected.

For further information on National Security Vetting please visit the Demystifying Vetting website.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.

Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check .

See our vetting charter .

People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard checks.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission’s recruitment principles .

The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

Apply and further information

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans initiative.

The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment .

Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

• Name : Maria Bettles-Hill
• Email : maria.bettleshill@businessandtrade.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : dbtrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

Further information

Our recruitment process is underpinned by the principle of appointment on the basis of fair and open competition and appointment on merit, as outlined in the Civil Service Commissioners’ Recruitment Principles.
If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with these principles and you wish to make a complaint, you should in the first instance contact DBT by email: Resourcing@businessandtrade.gov.uk.
If you are not satisfied with the response you receive, you can contact the Civil Service Commission, which regulates all Civil Service recruitment.