Assistant Private Secretary

Job summary

This is a fast moving, exciting and hugely influential Private Office role, where you will provide the highest level of support to one or two of the SFO’s SCS2s: the Chief Operating Officer (COO), Director of Legal Service (DLS), and the Director of Operations (DirOps). Together with the SCS3 Director of the SFO, they make up the SFO Executive Team.

This is an excellent opportunity to be part of a supportive team with great exposure across a dynamic law enforcement organisation. You will engage enabling divisions as well as operational colleagues investigating and prosecuting the most complex financial crime cases in the country and the Executive Team who oversee the delivery of the SFO’s mission to fight complex financial crime, deliver justice for victims and protect the UK’s reputation as a safe place to do business.

You will have the personal presence, effectiveness and credibility to deal confidently with staff of all grades in a highly pressurised environment. You will have the ability to work proactively and independently, taking ownership of tasks and driving progress without the need for close supervision at all times.

You will have excellent judgement, discretion and highly developed written and analytical skills that can be deployed flexibly across the Private Office team. You will have strong communication skills, resilience and the ability to work at pace in a complex multi-stakeholder environment, driving progress on competing priorities to deliver successful outcomes for the Executive Team.

There may be occasional requirements to provide out‑of‑hours support, including at external speaking events or other Executive Team engagements.

Job description

As an Assistant Private Secretary you will be responsible for:

• Providing high-level APS support to one or two of the SFO’s SCS2s;
• Ensuring that the SCS2 is well prepared and briefed for all meetings, speaking engagements and all other events;
• Ensuring the SCS2 have all the information required to make decisions, proactively checking the progress of actions the SCS2 has issued, and liaising closely with internal and external stakeholders with professionalism and good judgement;
• Facilitating interaction between the SCS2 and teams throughout the SFO by working closely with the SCS1s to identify and resolve issues which can impact the business;
• Organising, planning and managing the SCS2 diary and inbox, proactively managing issues on their behalf to ensure that their time is used as effectively as possible;
• Drafting internal and external communications, including papers, emails, and broader organisational messaging for the SCS2. Provide secretariat support for SCS2 led meetings, including agenda preparation, minute‑taking and action tracking;
• Coordinating other support duties to ensure the smooth running of the Private Office, working closely with the Governance team and other key internal stakeholders, and actively contributing to the wider Private Office team and organisation corporately;
• Coordinating and maintaining key departmental data, ensuring it remains up to date and ready for use in SCS reporting and discussions; and
• Supporting basic budget management and monitoring, ensuring accurate forecasting, tracking of expenditure, and flagging issues proactively.

For more information about the role and for a full list of key responsibilities, please see attached Job Description.

Person specification

See above and attached Job Description.

Behaviours

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

• Delivering at Pace
• Communicating and Influencing
• Managing a Quality Service
• Seeing the Big Picture

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £35,556, Serious Fraud Office contributes £10,300 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

Option to join the Civil Service pension scheme. For further details, click here http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/pensions

Generous annual leave provision of 25 days which increases to 30 days after five years’ service plus an additional day in recognition of the King’s Birthday and the option to buy or sell up to five days’ leave per year. Different terms may apply if you are already a Civil Servant.

Discretionary performance-related bonus scheme.

Interest-free season travel ticket, bicycle loan and cycle to work scheme.

Access to the Rental Deposit Salary Advance Scheme which assists employees in meeting the costs of deposits for privately rented homes.

Opportunities for learning and development.

Flexible working arrangements and family-friendly policies.

Voucher for eye care and discounted spectacles.

Access to a range of discounts through membership of the Civil Service Sports and Social Club, CSSC Sports and Leisure. http://www.cssc.co.uk/

Maternity and paternity leave provision over and above the statutory entitlements.

Access to My CPS Rewards Gateway. My CPS Rewards offers staff a range of rewards and savings including:

• Discounts with high street retailers
• Savings on grocery shopping at a range of supermarkets
• Special salary sacrifice and recognition schemes
• Reloadable gift cards and e-cards
• Instant vouchers

Any move to the Serious Fraud Office from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax-Free Childcare. Determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours and Experience.

Application stage

You will first need to successfully complete the Civil Service Verbal Test. Following this, as part of the application process you will be required to provide:

• A personal statement of no more than 750 words that explains how your skills and experience meet each of the essential experience criteria as listed in the job pack.

“Experience of organising, planning and managing executive level diaries and inboxes” is a lead criteria; this criteria will be assessed first and candidates who do not meet the required standard will not have the remainder of their application considered.

• A supporting CV outlining your job history and qualifications.

It will not be possible to provide feedback to applicants who are unsuccessful at the application stage.

Interview stage

Behaviours and experience criteria as outlined in the job pack will be tested at interview.

Candidates invited to interview will also be required to complete an assessment.

Full details of the interview process will be made available to shortlisted candidates in the invite to interview.

Sift to take place from 11th March

Interviews are expected to take place from 20th March

All dates are indicative and subject to change.

Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. To be eligible you must meet the following residency requirements dependent of the level of security vetting required:

• SC: 5 years residency in the United Kingdom preceding this application

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

Security

Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check (opens in a new window).

See our vetting charter (opens in a new window).People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) 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) (opens in a new window)
• 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 (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) 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 (opens in a new window).The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.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.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see theCivil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

Apply and further information

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

• Name : People and Culture
• Email : people@sfo.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : people@sfo.gov.uk

Further information

For external competitions there is no appeal against the selection decision. However, individuals have a right to appeal if they feel that the principle of appointment on merit through fair and open competition and the Civil Service Commissioners’ recruitment principles have not been met. Individuals who want to appeal should do this by setting out their grounds for appeal in an email for the attention of Head of People to people@sfo.gov.uk. If, after an internal appeal, you still believe that the Civil Service Commissioners’ Principles have not been met, then you can contact the Commission directly: Complaints should be sent in writing to: Civil Service Commission, Room G08 ,1 Horse Guards Road, London SW1A 2HQ. Email info@csc.gov.uk

Attachments

Assistant Private Secretary - Job Description Opens in new window (pdf, 289kB)