No10 Technical Communications Operator

Job summary

The Cabinet Office enables the Prime Minster to deliver the Government’s overall priorities and to communicate the Government’s policies to Parliament, the public and international audiences. From the Press Office, Switch and Custodians to the Events & Visits team and the Private Office support; the diverse Cabinet office team draws on varied expertise from across the Civil Service and beyond. The teams come together to deliver excellent service to the Prime Minister while also making it a great place to work.

Job description

Overview: Are you experienced in a customer-focused call centre or part of an emergency call handling team? If so, this role could be perfect for you. We are seeking new team members to join our 24/7/365 switch comms desk team.

Role: As a key member of the internal comms desk supporting the Prime Minister and the Cabinet office, you will be:

• Serving as the first point of contact for all Cabinet Office staff, including the Private Office.
• Assisting staff in connecting calls to the appropriate person or organisation, setting up conference calls, and performing various other duties.
• Handling external incoming calls using the No10 digital call management system, verifying callers, taking messages, and passing on information to support staff who may be travelling overseas.
• Providing 24-hour cyber monitoring to ensure the security and integrity of communications at all times.
• Participating in a variety of other business support tasks, delivering an efficient, professional, individual, and tailored service.

Shift Patterns:

• You will be working as part of the larger team rota that covers the technical comms desk 24/7/365.
• Shifts include weekends, bank, and public holidays, with day and night shifts.
• Initially while training you will be on the day shift (7:45am-4pm, Monday – Friday) until you are up to speed.
• Once proficient, you will move to a second dayshift pattern (7:45am-4pm and 10:45am-7pm) to gain experience.
• Once you have met the required criteria and have gained the ability to work unaccompanied, you will be placed on the full shift rota, including night duty and weekends, with an extra 25% allowance to your salary.

Training and Development:

• Thorough on-the-job shadowing and training will be provided to assist and promote your development.
• Regular training and development opportunities are available to help improve your skills and knowledge in business, technical and personal areas where needed.

Work Environment:

• You will be working in an inclusive culture where your opinion is valued and listened to.
• Training and development are strongly encouraged to help you grow in your role.
• You will be required to work overtime on occasions to cover sickness and holidays, ensuring minimum staff levels are always maintained on the comms desk.

Our Culture and Values at the Cabinet Office

At the Cabinet Office, we are united by a shared purpose and a strong set of values that guide how we work together and serve the nation:

• Respect: We treat everyone with dignity and fairness, valuing diverse perspectives and experiences.
• Collaborate: We work as one team, supporting each other through challenges and celebrating shared successes.
• Lead: We take initiative, act with integrity, and empower others to grow and succeed.

We foster a culture of inclusion, trust, and continuous improvement. Whether you're supporting a high-level call or helping a colleague through a technical issue, your contribution matters. We look out for one another, adapt to change, and uphold the highest standards of professionalism and discretion.

If you are looking for an interesting role in a unique environment, this position offers a great opportunity to be part of a supportive and dynamic team.

Person specification

Responsibilities

You will carry out many duties in this role, but the following are an important part of your daily work:

• Lead in setting up frontline communications for Cabinet Office, acting as the first point of contact for all staff, including the Prime Minister and his Private Office, ensuring seamless, secure, and professional service 24/7.
• Manage call handling, swiftly managing urgent and sensitive communications with precision, discretion, and full compliance with security protocols.
• Manage national and international conference calls, connecting Cabinet Ministers, senior officials, and global leaders with clarity and confidence.
• Safeguard infrastructure, delivering round-the-clock cyber and telephony monitoring to uphold the integrity and confidentiality of all channels.
• Authenticate and route incoming calls, using the No10 digital call management system to verify identities, manage messages, and support staff on the move.
• Respond to secure line activity, monitoring and logging calls for security purposes and escalating incidents or technical issues to the appropriate teams.
• Keep internal systems sharp, maintaining up-to-date telephone directories and reporting faults to ensure operational excellence.
• Support national resilience, participating in Business Continuity operations and adapting to alternate work sites when required.
• Deliver exceptional caller experience, offering tailored, courteous, and professional assistance to internal and external stakeholders.
• Contribute to broader business operations, taking on varied support tasks that enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the Cabinet Office and No10’s internal communications.

Essential Skills & Experience:

• Outstanding customer service - Calm, confident, and responsive under pressure.
• Team player – Collaborative, supportive, and reliable in a fast-paced environment.
• Self-starter – Able to work independently and make sound decisions.
• Clear communicator – Strong verbal skills and active listening.
• Organised and efficient – Skilled at managing time and priorities.
• Tech-savvy – Confident with ICT systems and telephony tools.

Desirable Skills & Experience:

• Experience in a contact centre or similar high-volume environment.
• Familiarity with Microsoft Teams and other video call systems to set up meetings and calls.
• Multilingual abilities are a plus.

IMPORTANT

This role is a reserved post, open to sole UK nationals only and requires Developed Vetting security clearance, therefore you must be willing to undergo Developed Vetting checks.

This role is office based only, with no current options to work from home.

You can read more here about National security vetting: clearance levels - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Behaviours

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

• Delivering at Pace
• Communicating and Influencing
• Working Together

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £34,279, Cabinet Office contributes £9,930 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

After submission of the first stage of your application you will be invited to complete a Customer Service Skills test. If you successfully pass the test, you will be invited to complete the final stage of the application.

Please complete the online tests as soon as possible (within 24-48 hours is recommended), the closing date for the tests is 23:55 on 16/02/2026. If you fail to complete the online test before the deadline your application will be withdrawn. Guidance for the test will be available when you are invited to take the test. The tests are administered online and accessed via the CS Jobs website.

This must becompleted by the closing date for your application to be considered for this role. Example of a practice test can be found below.

Customer Service Skills Practice Test

Please include a CV and a personal statement using the application portal to show your employment history.

Please use your Personal Statement to explain how your skills and experiences meet our requirement to make you a suitable candidate. Please also include your motivation for applying for this role and what you can bring to the role.

Selection process

CVs and Personal Statements will be sifted against the job description requirements for suitability using the the Success Profiles framework.

The interview process will consist of a short telephony exercise followed by an interview that will focus on Behaviours and Strengths required for the role.

Expected timeline (subject to change)
Expected sift date – February
Expected interview date/s – February/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

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.

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.

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 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 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.

Please note that this role requires DV clearance, which would normally need 10 years’ UK residency in the past 10 years. This is not an absolute requirement, but supplementary checks may be needed where individuals have not lived in the UK for that period. This may mean your security clearance (and therefore your appointment) will take longer or, in some cases, not be possible.

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

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.

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

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 developed vetting (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

Open to UK nationals only.

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 : No10 Recruitment
• Email : No10Recruitment@no10.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, 94kB)