Chief of Staff to The Permanent Secretary

3 weeks ago

London, United Kingdom Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Full time

**Details**:
**Reference number**:

- 270780**Salary**:

- £64,114 - £72,439- Additional Private Secretary Allowance of £6,802.**Job grade**:

- Grade 6**Contract type**:

- Permanent**Business area**:

- DEFRA - S&C - Strategy**Type of role**:

- Senior leadership
- Strategy**Working pattern**:

- Full-time**Number of jobs available**:

- 1Contents

Location

About the job

**Benefits**:
Things you need to know

Location
- LondonAbout the job

**Job summary**:
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is responsible for safeguarding our natural environment, supporting our world-leading food and farming industry, and sustaining a thriving rural economy. Our broad remit means we play a major role in people's day-to-day life, from the food we eat, and the air we breathe, to the water we drink.

This is an exciting time to be joining Defra. We are on a journey to build a future Defra designed to deliver, with the skills and capabilities needed to deliver ambitious outcomes and better services for customers in a more effective and streamlined way.

**Job description**:

- Act on behalf of the Permanent Secretary, across the Defra group and with external partners when required, seeking to influence and communicate her views and decisions, driving forward her agenda through informal and formal means.
- Work closely with members of the Executive Committee, Chief Executives, Chairs and Non-Executive Directors, to help build a cohesive and high performing leadership team, spotting risks, managing difficult situations and maintaining strong relationships with Ministerial Private Offices and policy teams.
- Respond quickly and confidently in a crisis, stepping in when the organisation is not responding in the way that Ministers or the Permanent Secretary expect it to. For example, in a flooding situation keeping abreast of the Defra group’s response rate, communications handling and interaction with other Departments, as well as monitoring Departmental spend on the Permanent Secretary’s behalf or negotiating with the Cabinet Office and across Whitehall on sensitive issues that need resolution quickly.
- Act as gatekeeper for the department on propriety and ethics, ensuring the right advice is given to the Defra group and Ministers, working closely with the Cabinet Office as needed and in particular the Cabinet Secretary’s Office
- Working closely with the Principal Private Secretary to support a strong relationship between the Permanent Secretary, Secretary of State, Executive team as well as wider Ministers.
- Support the Permanent Secretary with cross-Whitehall responsibilities.
- Lead the small, tight knit team that comprises the office of the Permanent Secretary and work closely and collaboratively with DG offices.
- Successful delivery of the above will be achieved through your leadership and management of the team, maintaining high professional standards, whilst delegating and retaining oversight of their work. Continual development of your team is key to maintaining resilience.
- As Chief of Staff you will be supported by a Grade 7 Head of Office who will line manage the three APS’s, diary manager and office manager. You will ensure that they are able to act on the Permanent Secretary’s behalf, enabling delivery of her objectives and those of the Secretary of State and Ministerial team.

**Person specification**:
Your own portfolio of work will cover the most sensitive or complex issues. You will be expected to develop strategic knowledge of all policy areas in the department and be required to step in to support your team and senior officials to help manage high risk areas or problems. Supporting the Permanent Secretary in her role as Accounting Officer will be particularly important.

The post provides an unparalleled experience of Departmental business, Ministerial decision-making and high-level politics. It offers direct and senior exposure across the fullest range of issues, from legislation to national crisis management and a level of leadership that cannot be found in normal policy roles.

You must display adaptability, initiative, leadership, intellectual agility, resilience, likability and drive. You will have the personal presence and effectiveness to operate at a very senior level across the Department. You will demonstrate this through showing excellent judgment coupled with an ability to drive progress in the face of uncertainty, competing views and divergent priorities.

You will need strong interpersonal skills and high personal resilience to juggle sometimes competing priorities in order to get the best out of people under pressure. By the nature of the issues and stakeholders involved, you will need to be confident and credible in your dealings with others.

In activity terms, you report to the Permanent Secretary. For line management purposes you will report to the Director for Strategy

**Essential Criteria**

Excellent leadership skills: it is expected that

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