Diary and Office Manager to the Secretary of State

Job summary

We are seeking a motivated and ambitious individual to join Private Office Group as a Diary and Office Manager to the Secretary of State for Business and Trade. This role offers unparalleled exposure to the top-level workings of the department, and an excellent opportunity to develop and hone the skills required to progress further in the Civil Service.

You will work at the heart of DBT Private Office and be responsible for effectively managing the Secretary of State diary. Working closely with the Secretary of State, Special Advisors, Private Secretaries, and other officials, you will ensure ministerial priorities are carefully planned and contribute to their successful delivery. You will be the face of the Secretary of State’s office to external stakeholders and ensure their time is appropriately balanced between departmental, constituency and parliamentary commitments.

The successful candidate will be an assertive and confident individual who is eager to learn and looking for exposure to a policy making environment at the highest level. You will have excellent communication and organisation skills and be able to function effectively as part of a team, while remaining calm and reliable under pressure.

Job description

In this role you will be responsible for:

• Optimising the Secretary of State’s time by planning and coordinating their schedules, resolving conflicts, anticipating any difficulties, negotiating and allocating time to priorities and making sure they are in the right place at the right time, with the right information and briefing.
• The role also requires upwards management of senior members of Private Office to ensure the Secretary of State’s time and requests are managed effectively.
• Ensuring meetings run smoothly by coordinating with the relevant Private Secretary, Junior Ministers’ offices, lead officials and external stakeholders.
• Actively monitoring and helping to manage the Secretary of State’s calendar and inbox. Being able to identify and then deal swiftly with urgent enquiries.
• Liaising with the Parliamentary Whips and the Secretary of State’s Parliamentary Office to ensure there is strong join up between the Secretary of State’s departmental and parliamentary duties.
• Managing the Secretary of State’s travel and accommodation, considering their travel requirements and preferences.
• Act as the first point of contact for office related issues, including gifts, hospitality, transparency and wider.

We offer successful candidates:

• The opportunity to work closely with the Secretary of State, Ministers, Special Advisers and senior officials;
• An exciting, fast-paced and challenging work environment that involves dealing with complex issues;
• The chance to be part of a supportive team with plenty of opportunities to learn and develop new skills; and
• The opportunity to broaden understanding of DBT policy, parliamentary business and cross-government functions.

Due to nature of the role, candidates will be required to work full time hours only.

The jobholder would be required to be office based (Old Admiralty Building, London).

At times, it may be necessary to work long hours, especially when Parliament is sitting, for which a private office allowance is offered.

Person specification

Personal Attributes and Skills

The below is a list of characteristics which may be helpful in this role. These will not be assessed throughout the recruitment process, but are laid out to help candidates understand more about the role.

We are looking for a proactive, organised, and dynamic person with excellent communication skills to work effectively with the Secretary of State, Ministers, Special Advisers and senior officials. You will need to manage a heavy workload and be able prioritise effectively and enjoy working in a fast-moving environment.

Essential Criteria

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

• A strong attention to detail and ability to complete tasks quickly to short deadlines; evidencing effectiveness through delivery. (Lead Criteria)
• Excellent judgement and approach to situations, tasks and problems, and a self-starter who can work independently; always thinking two or three steps ahead.
• Outstanding interpersonal, relationship building and communication skills (both verbal and written); demonstrating confidence to engage with senior leaders, including Ministers, and Director Generals, and building trust quickly through delivery.
• Strong leadership, including leading and influencing those outside of your hierarchy and those more senior.
• A strong track record in managing a high-quality service, and the ability to manage competing priorities and deal pragmatically with sometimes conflicting priorities.
• A flexible outlook and approach, coupled with a real enthusiasm. Taking responsibility for high-quality work, demonstrating personal resilience and strong attention to detail.
• Excellent IT skills, especially Outlook.

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 with Ministers or senior leaders is desirable but not essential.

Behaviours

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

• Delivering at Pace
• Managing a Quality Service
• Communicating and Influencing

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £39,377, Department for Business and Trade contributes £11,407 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%

We recognise the challenges that people with (multiple) protected characteristics may experience on the job market and in their career progression. We are fully committed to being an inclusive employer and ensuring equal opportunities. We are keen to make our workforce as diverse as possible, and we hope to attract applications from underrepresented groups, including ethnic minorities, people with a disability, and people with gender diverse identities.

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, Strengths 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 500 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.

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 CV only. Candidates who pass the initial sift of the CV will either progressed to a full sift where the Personal statement 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 and Strengths.

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.

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.

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.

This role is full time only. Applicants who wish to work an alternative pattern are welcome to apply however your preferred working pattern may not be available and you should discuss this with the vacancy holder before applying.

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.
• 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 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.

SC -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

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 (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.The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window).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 : Kieran Brocken
• Email : kieran.brocken@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.
For further information on bringing a complaint to the Civil Service Commission please visit their web pages: Click here to visit Civil Service Commission/Complaints.

Attachments

DBT candidate pack July 2024 (1) Opens in new window (pdf, 943kB)DBT T&Cs 2025-08-18 Opens in new window (doc, 46kB)