Ministerial Assistant Private Secretary in the Private Office and Parliament Directorate

Job summary

Please refer to Job Description

Job description

Ministerial Assistant Private Secretary at the Ministry of Justice

HEO

Private Office and Parliament Directorate

The Private Office and Parliament (POP) Directorate is recruiting permanently for an HEO Assistant Private Secretary. This is an external campaign open to existing civil servants and those outside of the civil service.

Please note, this is an advance recruitment round ahead of expected vacancies, and so we may not be able to appoint successful candidates immediately.

Location:

Successful candidates will be based at 102 Petty France, London.

Ways of Working

This role is available on a full-time basis.

Due to the nature of this role the successful candidate will be expected to primarily work from the office in 102 Petty France.

Please note that this role may require working extended hours for which a Private Secretary allowance is payable.

This is an advance recruitment round ahead of expected vacancies, and so we may not be able to appoint successful candidates immediately.

All appointable applicants will be placed on a reserve list for 12 months, and future vacancies requiring the same skills and experience could be offered to candidates on the reserve list without a new competition.

Salary

New entrants to the Civil Service will be expected to join on the minimum of the pay range.�

If you are already a civil servant and are successful in an external recruitment�competition for a role with us, your starting pay will be the better of:

promotion terms or transfer terms, as appropriate; or

pay on appointment arrangements (minimum of pay range)

Security Clearance

This role requires National Security Vetting given the access to sensitive information afforded by the job role.� You can find more information by reviewing the information held in the following links:

In addition, there is a minimum UK residency requirement set by the Cabinet Office which is dependent on the security level required for the role.

This role requires SC and to be eligible to apply for this role you should have been present in the UK continuously for the past 5 years.

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ)

MOJ is one of the largest government departments, employing over 90,000 people (including those in the Probation Service), with a budget of approximately �10 billion. Each year, millions of people use our services across the UK - including at 500 courts and tribunals, and 133 prisons in England and Wales.

Further information can be found at�

The Work of Private Office and Parliament Directorate

The Ministry of Justice�s Private Office and Parliament Directorate is a supportive and collaborative group. It is also a busy and interesting place to work � it is the interface between Ministers, the rest of the Department and Whitehall.

The Department is at the forefront of the Government�s programme to tackle serious crime and support victims. You will play a key role in helping to deliver the reforms that the Secretary of State has set out, working in a fast-paced and exciting environment where strong team working is required.� You will gain invaluable experience working at the heart of the decision-making process, working directly with the ministers, Special Advisers and senior officials across the Department and with external stakeholders, on a range of stimulating issues.

Ministerial Assistant Private Secretary - the role

Working within a busy, dynamic and friendly team, the successful candidate will be a credible source of advice to ministers. We are looking for someone who can build effective relationships, enjoys problem solving and is confident supporting an experienced minister.

On a day-to-day basis, you will lead on a portfolio, ensuring that correspondence and advice are boxed in a timely manner, and providing expert support to the minister on a range of issues across their portfolio. You will collaborate with policy, Parliamentary and other Private Office colleagues, making sure that the minister is looped in on emerging issues in the right way, at the right time. You will make sure that they are fully briefed ahead of meetings, providing accurate readouts so that actions can be appropriately followed up.

You will be one of the go-betweens for the minister and the rest of the department, and you will work closely with officials at all grades. You will need to have strong inter-personal skills, be highly organised and have the ability to make effective decisions at pace. This is a public-facing role, in which you will represent the department in front of external stakeholders and to other government departments.

This is an exciting time to join the POP directorate and we are keen for someone who is willing to learn in this busy atmosphere. We are a friendly, collegiate directorate. We have a range of corporate workstreams that make POP a fun and exciting place to work. We provide support to all private secretaries so that they can thrive and succeed in what can be demanding and fast-paced roles.

Skills and Experience

We are looking for someone who has experience of:

Essential:

Providing high quality advice and effective decision making. You should know how to analyse and use information to support ministerial decision making, knowing how to involve others and invite challenge when appropriate.

You will be an effective communicator, knowing how to communicate in a straightforward and engaging manner, sharing information with colleagues as appropriate and taking into account different opinions and views.

Experience of building effective professional relationships with others to identify risks and resolve issues efficiently. You will know how to involve a diverse range of colleagues, stakeholders and delivery partners in developing suggestions for improvements and provide an effective channel of communication for the Minister with other private offices, the Department, the rest of Whitehall, Parliament and the public.

Someone that uses their relationships, judgement and understanding of the wider context to support the Minister in their work and to add value to the process and substance of decision making, ensuring financial and ethical probity. You should be engaging, trustworthy and unafraid to challenge peers and senior colleagues.

You will be a collaborative, empathetic and inspiring team player, knowing how to effectively work within a team, escalate issues where appropriate and work together with others to deliver work to a high standard, often delivering at pace.

Desirable:

Experience of working with Ministers or in a Private Office environment is desirable but not essential.

Candidates applying from HMPPS should note that the Ministry of Justice does not have the same conditions of employment as HMPPS. It is the candidate�s responsibility to ensure they are aware of the terms and conditions they will adopt should they be successful.

The MoJ is proud to be Level 3 Disability Confident. Disability Confident is the approach through which we offer guaranteed interviews for all people with disabilities meeting the minimum criteria for the advertised role as set out in the job description.

Application process

You will be assessed against the�.

Experience

During the application process you will be asked to provide a CV in order to assess any demonstrable experience, career history and achievements that are relevant to the role.

You will also be asked to upload a Statement of Suitability of no more than 750 words stating what you would bring to the role, with reference to the Skills and Experience listed above.

Candidates Invited to Interview

Please note that interviews will be virtual via Microsoft Teams.

During the panel interview, you will be asked:

To provide a short presentation, assessing Communicating and Influencing, the topic of which will be provided should you be invited to interview.

Behaviour-based questions to explore in detail what you are capable of. The Behaviours that will be covered by the panel are as follows:

Delivering at Pace

Seeing the Big Picture

Working Together

Please also refer to the CS Behaviours framework for more details at this grade:

Strength based questions to also explore what you enjoy, and your motivations relevant to the job role. There is no expectation or requirement for you to prepare for the strengths-based questions in advance of the interview, though you may find it helpful to spend some time reflecting on what you enjoy doing and what you do well.

You can refer to the CS Strengths dictionary for more details:��

Interviews are expected to take place in July 2024

Contact information �

Please do get in touch if you would like to know more about the role or what it is like working in our team.

George Milligan at�

Annex A - The STAR method

Using the STAR method can help you give examples of relevant experience that you have. It allows you to set the scene, show what you did, and how you did it, and explain the overall outcome.

Situation�- Describe the situation you found yourself in. You must describe a specific event or situation. Be sure to give enough detail for the job holder to understand.

Where are you?

Who was there with you?

What had happened?

Task�- The job holder will want to understand what you tried to achieve from the situation you found yourself in.

What was the task that you had to complete and why?

What did you have to achieve?

Actions�- What did you do? The job holder will be looking for information on what you did, how you did it and why. Keep the focus on you. What specific steps did you take and what was your contribution? Remember to include how you did it, and the behaviours you used. Try to use �I� rather than �we� to explain your actions that lead to the result. Be careful not to take credit for something that you did not do.

Results�- Don�t be shy about taking credit for your behaviour. Quote specific facts and figures. Explain how the outcome benefitted the organisation or your area. Make the outcomes easily understandable.

What results did the actions produce?

What did you achieve through your actions and did you meet your goals?

Was it a successful outcome? If not, what did you learn from the experience?

Keep the situation and task parts brief. Concentrate on the action and the result. If the result was not entirely successful describe what you learned from this and what you would do differently next time. Make sure you focus on your strengths.

Person specification

Please refer to Job Description

Behaviours

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

Seeing the Big PictureDelivering at PaceWorking Together

Benefits

Alongside your salary of �37,174, Ministry of Justice contributes �10,074 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Access to learning and developmentA working environment that supports a range of flexible working options to enhance your work life balanceA working culture which encourages inclusion and diversityA with an average employer contribution of 27%Annual LeavePublic HolidaysSeason Ticket Advance

For more information about the recruitment process, benefits and allowances and answers to general queries, please click the below link which will direct you to our Candidate Information Page.

Link:

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