Governance Secretariat and Diary Secretary for SCS (Maternity Cover)

Job summary

The successful candidate will be working at the heart of the Government Grants Management Function, engaging confidently with senior officials across the Function, Cabinet Office and across government.

This is a key, visible role working in the Director’s office, providing the secretariat to a number of internal and external governance boards and engagement forums, managing the inbox and diary of the Head of Function (Director) and one of the Deputy Directors in the team, plus undertaking essential administrative duties This is a stretching EO role and would be good preparation for someone looking to progress towards the next grade.

The role is based at our core locations in Glasgow, London or York. The Cabinet Office currently operates a hybrid working policy, with an average of 60% of working time to be spent in your office location. On occasion you may be required to attend our other offices in London and Glasgow, for example, to attend in-person team meetings and or to support at governance boards.

About you

We are looking for someone:

• With good organisational skills, who is able to work discreetly whilst managing multiple strands of work, and who can keep to tight deadlines;
• With the ability to communicate clearly, both verbally and in writing;
• With the ability to work flexibly and adapt to emerging issues, priorities and team demands;
• With experience engaging with a wide range of stakeholders, including senior;
• That understands the value of a friendly and supporting culture in teams;
• Who has a proactive approach and a focus on continuous improvement of self and service, with an appetite to work with others to simplify processes and improve efficiency.

Job description

This EO role sits within the Business Services, a team responsible for supporting the Director and the Function through the delivery of effective, high quality operational services (such as communications, recruitment and HR), governance, and communications and engagement for the Function. The post holder will report into the Grade 7 Head of Business Services.

The successful candidate will be managing the diary of the Director and Deputy Director to ensure the best use of their time. This will involve managing and clarifying the expectations of senior stakeholders across the team, Cabinet Office, and government. They will also be managing the Director’s/ Deputy Director’s inbox, flagging important emails requiring action and directing other emails to team members as required.

They will be organising internal and external meetings for the Director/ Deputy Director and providing secretariat support to meetings.

They will work closely with both the Director and Deputy Directors and their teams to make sure that they are well briefed and that good quality papers and slides are prepared prior to meetings.

Additionally they will be:

• Co-ordinating and collating responses to requests for information.
• Providing IT support to the Director and Deputy Directors and supporting them to work in a digital way.
• Supporting the team to set up and run larger-scale stakeholder meetings.
• Maintaining a forward look for the team and making sure that team members are aware of deadlines. Supporting the team to ensure the deadlines are met.
• Providing assistance with room booking, filing and storage of documents where required.
• Providing support to operations activities as required.

In times of absence, the post holder will be required to undertake some of the duties of other diary managers/ programme secretariats across the wider team.

Person specification

This role will suit candidates who are flexible, resilient and pragmatic. Ability to work as part of a team and individually, displaying strong organisational and IT skills with good attention to detail.

This is a multi-task role in a fast-paced environment that requires the following skills and experience:

Essential:

• Strong organisational skills and the ability to manage important and urgent tasks at once.
• Effective prioritisation skills and ability to work independently.
• Strong stakeholder management and communication skills, demonstrating an ability to engage with senior officials and able to build positive relationships with colleagues across teams.
• Good written and verbal communication.
• A team player and willingness to work collaboratively.
• Ability to remain professional in a pressurised environment.
• Strong IT skills.

Desirable:

• Previous experience in a similar role, preferably in government.
• Confident at handling sensitive information with discretion.
• Proficiency across the Google suite.

Additional information:

Cabinet Office policy is that a minimum 60% of your working time should be spent at your principal workplace. For some roles, due to their nature and the business need, this may be up to 100%. 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:

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

• 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, Strengths and Experience.

Application process

At application stage, candidates will be assessed on their CV, a 500-word statement of suitability, and 4 behaviours: Delivering at Pace; Managing a Quality Service; Communicating and Influencing; and Working Together.

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 in line with the Success Profile element(s) being assessed (e.g. Behaviours, Experience etc). Using the job advert information, particularly the job description and person specification. Information is available on the application process (including what Civil Service Success Profiles is) and how to write your personal statement.

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

Selection process

At interview stage, candidates will be assessed on strengths and the following behaviours: Delivering at Pace; Managing a Quality Service; Communicating and Influencing; and Working Together.

Expected timeline (subject to change)

Expected sift date – week commencing 16th March

Expected interview date/s – week commencing 23rd March

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.

Further Information

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

If successful and transferring from another Government Department a criminal record check may be carried out.

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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 : Alison Long
• Email : alison.long1@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 (2) Opens in new window (pdf, 302kB)Cabinet Office Terms and Conditions - External 2025-02-20 (2) Opens in new window (docx, 94kB)