Chief of Staff

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

- 259348**Salary**:

- £50,155 - £65,950- National £50,155 to £60,781 Inner London £55,149 to £65,950**Job grade**:

- Grade 7**Contract type**:

- Permanent**Business area**:

- DWP - People, Capability and Place**Type of role**:

- Business Management and Improvement
- Project Delivery**Working pattern**:

- Flexible working, Full-time, Job share, Part-time**Number of jobs available**:

- 1Contents

Location

About the job

**Benefits**:
Things you need to know

Location
- Birmingham, Blackpool, Cardiff, Leeds, London, Manchester, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, SheffieldAbout the job

**Job summary**:
Do you want to be part of an energetic, innovative team and bring your skills to one of the biggest changes to the administration of the Civil Service in decades?

We’re looking for people who are flexible, intuitive and are comfortable taking high levels of volume, speed and complexity in their stride.

A number of exciting new roles have come up in the newly formed Synergy Programme, a cross-departmental group formed in response to Government Business Service’s request for individual departments to group together in ‘clusters’ to drive efficiencies, increase buying power and improve the quality of shared service to our end users - our people.

The Synergy Programme is the largest of five departmental clusters, comprising the Ministry of Justice, Department for Work and Pensions, Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Home Office. The Department of Work and Pensions hosts the Synergy Programme. Your work will impact the procurement arrangements for the next 15 years, impacting over 50% of all Civil Servants - that’s 230,000 people across the four departments and arm’s length bodies.

Success of the Programme is crucial as Civil Servants rely on shared services to provide business critical tools in human resources, finance, payroll and procurement. It affects everything we do, from joining a department as a new starter, the way we claim for expenses, how we buy goods and services such as our laptops and canteen provisions, to the way we receive our pensions when we retire.

**Job description**:
Main Responsibilities
- To ensure that the Senior Responsible Officer (SRO) & Programme Director (PD) work together effectively to take key decisions; establish and maintain effective working relationships with the PD & DGs within the cluster.
- Producing briefings for Senior Managers & Ministers
- Ensuring the governance process is followed and accounted for.
- Providing oversight, leading and supporting a team in delivering a high standard of customer service in a dynamic and often unpredictable environment, balancing external demands with those of the Programme.
- Leading and coordinating vital information and decisions within the Programme - ensuring that all opportunities, issues and risks are fully understood.
- Using communication expertise and analytical skills to translate the relevant information that supports in achieving the programme outcome.
- Lead key engagement activities with a range of senior stakeholders to deliver key messages across departments.
- Overseeing a business management environment, ensuring day to day operations are undertaken efficiently and effectively.
- Line Management of 2 HEOs.

**Person specification**:
**Essential Criteria**
- Ability to provide visible and strong leadership on a full breadth of issues. Experience in thinking strategically to balance conflicting demands and understand impacts on the programme of decisions. (LEAD CRITERIA)
- Experience of working with, persuading and influencing senior officials and stakeholders in a complex environment. Proven record of building strong, productive relationships with a senior leadership team. Ability to support the PD/SRO to meet their corporate responsibilities effectively.
- The ability to communicate complex issues clearly, verbally and in writing, to a wide variety of audiences including briefings for senior leadership and Ministers. The ability to see beyond the written word and data to the ‘so what’ - and use insight, experience and sound judgement to draw business conclusions.
- Proactive with a can-do approach and a proven record of quickly gripping a complex and diverse environment.
- Excellent organisation and prioritisation skills, with the ability to work effectively across a range of tasks, under pressure and at pace. Using business acumen to assess what needs to be brought to the attention of the PD/ SRO.

For vacancies in Wales, ability to speak welsh is desirable.

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

- Leadership
- Making Effective Decisions
- Delivering at Pace
- Communicating and Influencing

**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