Executive Support Officers

Job summary

The Cabinet Office and HM Treasury operate at the heart of the UK government. These iconic departments are responsible for ensuring the effective running of government, maintaining control over public spending and working to achieve strong and sustainable growth for the UK.

The Cabinet Office & HM Treasury (COHMT) Commercial team has a vision to be a top performing commercial function in government, setting best practices for others to follow. It offers a unique challenge to commercial professionals who want to work on some of the UK’s most important policy issues. The team works in partnership with all areas of the business, providing a commercial service that covers planning, commercial strategy, sourcing and contract management on circa £1bn of third party spend.

The COHMT Commercial team operates with our core values in mind which are:

We are Curious, Collaborative and Kind, we act with Integrity and are Focused on value for money.

We are looking for two executive support officers to join our team, who will be responsible for the effective management of the Commercial Senior Leadership team’s time and you will support the Head of Operations run an internal secretariat function, manage the team's finances and lead workforce planning.

The COHMT commercial team is organised into spend category teams which are supplemented by business partners and embedded commercial teams in specialist areas and programmes. The directorate is supported by a central team responsible for the overall strategy and enabling functions.

You will report to the Head of Operations and alongside providing diary and inbox management support to the Commercial Leadership Team, you will support the Head of Operations in the running of the team’s secretariat function as well as finance, communications and information management to improve the efficiency of the directorate and deliver day-to-day business operations effectively.

You will be a strong and effective communicator, who is confident working within a fast-paced environment. You will be extremely proficient in using Google/Microsoft programs and will actively seek opportunities for process improvement.

Job description

Support to the Commercial Leadership Team

• Provide a high level of management over day to day diary and tasks, including effective management of email inboxes;
• Ensure the senior leaders are fully prepared for meetings, with key information and documents made available when required;
• Manage expenses for senior leaders and book travel when required;
• Establish and maintain relationships with key stakeholders and their assistants to facilitate smooth communication.

Meeting Secretariat

• Act as secretariat to internal boards which set the team’s strategic direction for commercial delivery, commercial function and people matters: prepare agendas, take minutes and action points as appropriate and follow through to ensure these are actioned;
• Organise and coordinate regular team meetings and away days for the wider directorate.

Business Operations Support

• Assist with the administration of the recruitment process for the directorate, organising onboarding for new starters and being actively involved in workforce planning & maintaining organisation charts;
• Act as the Information Manager for the directorate, developing a system for the effective and secure storage and management of documents;
• Support the directorate communications plan including all staff meetings and involvement in the updating of the intranet.
• Support the Head of Operations in managing the directorate budget, producing operational finance reports and supporting with forecasting where necessary.

Person specification

Essential criteria

• Experience in an administrative or secretarial role;
• Demonstrable experience of managing the delivery of multiple activities concurrently within a fast-paced environment;
• Well organised, able to plan activities in advance and able to respond to change when required;
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills with experience of producing clear, well-structured minutes and actions from meetings;
• Discrete with the ability to handle, manage and keep confidential information;
• Strong stakeholder management skills – able to build good relationships with people over the phone and face to face.

Desirable criteria

• Experience of working with senior staff helping to manage their diary and supporting them in their role.

This role can be based in Glasgow, Manchester or York. Locations for existing Cabinet Office employees will be honoured.

Additional information:

A minimum 60% of your working time should be spent at your principal workplace. Although requirements to attend other locations for official business will also count towards this level of attendance.

Behaviours

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

• Changing and Improving
• Communicating and Influencing
• Delivering at Pace
• Making Effective Decisions
• Working Together

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £29,727, Cabinet Office contributes £8,611 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).

• Learning and development tailored to your role.
• An environment with flexible working options.
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity.
• A Civil Service Pension which provides an attractive pension, benefits for dependants and employer contributions of 28.97%.
• A minimum of 25 days of paid annual leave, increasing by one day per year up to a maximum of 30.

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 process

As part of the application process you will be asked to complete a CV and a personal statement.

Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.

Please provide a personal statement of no more than 500 words. It should explain how your knowledge, skills and experience (using examples) meet the requirements for this role using the job advert information, particularly the job description and person specification.

Should a large number of applications be received, an initial sift may be undertaken using the personal statement. Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift, or progressed straight to assessment/interview

Selection process

Applicants should submit a CV and write their personal statement by giving examples of how their experience to date meets the criteria set out in the person specification. Civil Service Behaviours will be tested at interview.

Expected timeline (subject to change)

Expected sift date – w/c 13 July

Expected interview date/s – w/c 27 July

Interview location - Your interview will either be conducted face to face or by video. You will be notified of the location if you are selected for interview.

Reasonable Adjustment

If a person with disabilities is put at a substantial disadvantage compared to a non-disabled person, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes.

If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should:

Contact Government Recruitment Service via cabinetofficerecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.

Complete the ‘Assistance required’ section in the ‘Additional requirements’ page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional.

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

Further information

Please note terms and conditions are attached. Please take time to read the document to determine how these may affect you.

In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to Disclosure and Barring Service/Disclosure Scotland 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

New entrants are expected to join on the minimum of the pay band.

A reserve list may be held for a period of 12 months from which further appointments can be made.

Any move to Cabinet 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; for further information visit the Childcare Choices website.

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 had their employment continued. Any applicant’s 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.

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.

Feedback

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

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.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 : COHMT Commercial
• Email : cohmtcommercial@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

Recruitment team

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

Further information

Appointment to the Civil Service is governed by the Civil Service Commission’s Recruitment Principles. If you feel that your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles, and wish to make a complaint, then in the first instance you should contact Government Recruitment Service by email at : cabinetofficerecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk
If you are not satisfied with the response you receive, then you can contact the Civil Service Commission at info@csc.gov.uk. For further information on the Recruitment Principles and bringing a complaint to the Civil Service Commission, please visit their website at: https://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk/.

Attachments

Cabinet Office Employee Offer Opens in new window (pdf, 302kB)Cabinet Office Terms and Conditions - External 2025-02-20 Opens in new window (docx, 83kB)