Private Secretary – Prime Minister’s AI Unit

Job summary

This is a senior, high-trust role at the centre of Government, supporting one of the Prime Minister’s most critical national priorities: the United Kingdom’s approach to artificial intelligence.

The Private Secretary will have responsibility for supporting the Prime Minister’s AI advisor execute her responsibilities. The Prime Minister’s AI advisor is tasked with advancing the UK’s leadership in AI capability, adoption across the Civil Service, and the growth of the UK AI economy, while safeguarding national interests.

The Private Secretary plays a critical enabling role in ensuring that this work progresses at pace, with clarity, and with effective senior engagement.

The role includes the end-to-end strategic management of the Prime Minister’s AI Adviser’s diary, ensuring that time, access, and attention are deployed in a way that maximises national impact. The role goes beyond traditional diary coordination: it requires judgement, foresight, and confidence to balance competing priorities across government, industry, academia, and international partners.

This post is suited to an experienced operator who thrives in ambiguity, understands the rhythms of senior decision-making, and can operate with discretion and authority in a fast-moving, high-profile environment.

Job description

The Private Secretary will provide strategic diary leadership and private office support to the Prime Minister’s AI Adviser. You will act as the gatekeeper to the Adviser’s time, shaping agendas and sequencing engagement to ensure focus on the highest-impact priorities.

You will work closely with senior officials, ministers’ offices, external stakeholders, and delivery teams to anticipate pressures, resolve conflicts, and ensure that meetings and engagements are purposeful, well-briefed, and aligned to wider government objectives, with clear actions that are followed up on.

The role requires excellent judgement, strong interpersonal skills, and the ability to manage sensitive information with absolute discretion. You will be expected to operate with minimal supervision, taking ownership of problems, and resolving them proactively.

Diary Manager responsibilities

• Strategic ownership of the Prime Minister’s AI Adviser’s diary, ensuring alignment with national AI priorities, delivery of milestones, and ministerial objectives.
• Exercising judgement to prioritise competing demands on time, including ministerial, cross-government, industry, academic, and international engagements.
• Proactive forward planning, identifying upcoming pressure points, and mitigating risks before they materialise.

Private Secretary responsibilities

• Preparing for meetings with briefings, including getting context from relevant teams, then taking notes in meetings, recording actions and circulating read-outs.
• Reviewing key documents ahead of meetings and summarising key points for the PM’s AI advisor.
• Acting as a trusted interface between the AI Adviser and senior stakeholders across No.10, Cabinet Office, departments, and external organisations.
• Coordinating closely with Private Office colleagues to ensure consistency with No.10 ways of working and rapid response to emerging issues.

AI Unit responsibilities

• Supporting the smooth operation of the AI Unit, including limited diary management support for the broader team.
• Contributing to wider Private Office and corporate activity where required, including cover for senior colleagues during periods of leave.

The successful candidate will be expected to be in the office 4 days a week at a minimum.

Person specification

• Significant experience in diary management or private office support at senior level, preferably in a complex, high-pressure environment.
• Demonstrated ability to exercise sound judgement when balancing competing priorities and sensitive demands.
• Strong organisational skills, with the ability to manage complex, fast-changing schedules with precision.
• Proven ability to build effective working relationships with senior leaders and a wide range of stakeholders.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with confidence operating at senior level.
• High levels of discretion, integrity, and professionalism when handling sensitive information.
• Proactive, resilient, and comfortable working with ambiguity and pace.
• Strong digital capability, including confident use of Outlook, Microsoft Office 365, Teams, and related tools.

Desirable

• Experience working in or closely with No.10, a ministerial private office, or a central government priority programme.
• Understanding AI and/or AI policy

Behaviours

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

• Managing a Quality Service
• Making Effective Decisions
• Delivering at Pace

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £44,195, Department for Science, Innovation & Technology contributes £12,803 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology offers a competitive mix of benefits including:

• A culture of flexible working, such as job sharing, homeworking and compressed hours.
• Automatic enrolment into the Civil Service Pension Scheme, with an employer contribution of 28.97%.
• A minimum of 25 days of paid annual leave, increasing by 1 day per year up to a maximum of 30.
• An extensive range of learning & professional development opportunities, which all staff are actively encouraged to pursue.
• Access to a range of retail, travel and lifestyle employee discounts.

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.

As part of the application process you will be asked to complete a CV and personal statement. Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.

Please use your personal statement (in no more than 500 words) to explain how your skills and experience make you a suitable candidate for the role

In the event of a large number of applicants, applications will be sifted on CV alone.

Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift, or progressed straight to assessment/interview.

Interview 1: Experience Interview

Interview 2: Civil service behaviours and task based interview. The task details will be sent when invited to interview 2.

Interview 3: Interview with senior leadership

Sift and interview dates

Sift and interview dates to be confirmed.

Further Information

Reasonable Adjustment

We are proud to be a disability confident leader and we welcome applications from disabled candidates and candidates with long-term conditions.

Information about the Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) and some examples of adjustments that we offer to disabled candidates and candidates with long-term health conditions during our recruitment process can be found in our DSIT Candidate Guidance. A DSIT Plain Text Version of the guidance is also available.

We encourage candidates to discuss their adjustment needs by emailing the job contact which can be found under the contact point for applicants section.

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

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

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

A location based reserve list of successful candidates will be kept for 12 months. Should another role become available within that period you may be offered this position.

Candidates who meet the minimum benchmark may be placed on a Reserve List for consideration for similar roles, including those at a lower grade. Candidates who narrowly miss the benchmark and are not placed on the Reserve List may still be considered for an offer in a similar role at a lower grade.

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

Any move to the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology 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.

DSIT does not normally offer full home working (i.e. working at home); but we do offer a variety of flexible working options (including occasionally working from home).

DSIT cannot offer Visa sponsorship to candidates through this campaign. DSIT holds a Visa sponsorship licence but this can only be used for certain roles and this campaign does not qualify.

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.

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.

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

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.

Existing Civil Servants and applicants from accredited NDPBs are eligible to apply, but will only be considered on loan basis (Civil Servants) or secondment (accredited NDPBs). Prior agreement to be released on a loan basis must be obtained before commencing the application process. In the case of Civil Servants, the terms of the loan will be agreed between the home and host department and the Civil Servant. This includes grade on return.

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.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 : Sam Williams
• Email : SWilliams@no10.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : dsitrecruitment.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 you should contact in the first instance DSITrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk . If you are not satisfied with the response that you receive, then you can contact the Civil Service Commission. 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

DSIT T&Cs v1.2 Opens in new window (docx, 179kB)