Assistant Private Secretary to the Director/Deputy Director of Communications Directorate

Contents

• Location
• About the job
• Benefits
• Things you need to know
• Apply and further information

Westminster, London

About the job

Job summary

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is the UK government’s biggest operational department with over 80,000 colleagues delivering services to over 20 million people.

It is implementing the biggest changes to welfare for a generation and our people are radically transforming the way they offer those services to the public.

The role of the Director’s Office is to support the Director of Communications as a member of the Government Communications Service (GCS) and as the Head of Profession for DWP. The Office also supports colleagues within the Communications Directorate, including recruitment, learning and development while ensuring steps are in place to keep them informed of changes and comply with relevant DWP and GCS governance.

Job description

• The Assistant Private Secretaries to both the Director and the Deputy Directors of Communications, are accountable for the proactive management of their inboxes and diaries. This requires discretion and includes making decisions on the prioritisation of work, meeting deadlines and coordinating meetings with the Director/Deputy Directors and other Private Offices.
• These roles work closely with the Government Communications Service, plus senior stakeholders within both DWP and across Government.
• These roles ensure the Director/Deputy Directors understand the part they play in protecting the data of DWP customers and staff. Working with stakeholders within DWP and across Government to ensure accountabilities are in place and are communicated, enabling effective risk ownership and mitigation to support the delivery of DWP objectives and the management of security risks.
• These roles work closely with the Director/Deputy Directors, ensuring they have the tools/resources in place to deliver business requirements.

As a leader within the DWP Communications Directorate you will:

• Apply professional expertise to deliver business benefits for the Department, champion value for money and compliance for all financial and governance related activity across the Directorate.
• Operate in a culture of openness and honesty demonstrating a commitment to change through involvement and empowerment and by delivering results.
• Engage in a professional manner with colleagues across government.
• The post holders will be required to work in a flexible way and undertake any other duties requested by line management which are commensurate with the grade and level of responsibility for this post. Both post holders will be required to cover each other as and when needed.

Person specification

Essential Criteria for the Role:

• Recent experience of working with senior colleagues in a fast-paced Government or a Communications environment with the ability to juggle multiple priorities at once.
• Strong attention to detail and critical thinking with the ability to understand complex issues.
• Recent experience of managing a senior leaders busy diary and email inbox, including making decisions on the prioritisation of work and delegation to relevant stakeholders e.g. Impacts meetings which must be attended, delegating actions to the right people.
• Outstanding written and oral communication skills.
• Recent experience of working with senior stakeholders, understanding the full implication of any correspondence, and having to alter, rectify, improve or completely re-write.
• Recent experience of communicating with colleagues across a large organisation, using your networks, judgement and understanding of the wider context to support a senior leader in their work, adding value to the process and decision making.
• Recent experience of engaging confidently with stakeholders at all levels to convey clear messages on behalf of senior leaders.

Behaviours

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

• Making Effective Decisions
• Seeing the Big Picture
• Communicating and Influencing
• Delivering at Pace

Benefits

• 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 average employer contribution of 28.97%
• 170hrs (23 days) annual leave allowance in year one. This may vary for existing civil servants based on their number of years’ service

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 : Mark Nunn
• Email : [email protected]

Recruitment team

• Email : [email protected]

Further information

Appointment to the Civil Service is governed by the Civil Service Commission’s 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 DWP by email: [email protected].

If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Department, you can contact the Civil Service Commission. Click here to visit the Civil Service Commission.

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