Private Secretary

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

- 377230**Salary**:

- £32,858 - £38,272- National: £32,858 - £34,586
London: £36,583-£38,272- A Civil Service Pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%**Job grade**:

- Higher Executive Officer**Contract type**:

- Permanent**Business area**:

- DBT - BG - Sustainability and Infrastructure**Type of role**:

- International Trade
Policy**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
- Belfast, Birmingham, Cardiff, Darlington, Edinburgh, London, SalfordAbout the job

**Job summary**:
This role sits at the heart of the Department for Business and Trade’s (DBT) Construction, Infrastructure and Energy Directorate (CIE), which is responsible for delivering economic growth across four areas: Energy, Infrastructure Partnerships, Infrastructure & Construction and Ukraine Reconstruction.

The Directorate was recently involved in the UK’s largest trade mission to Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion, launched guidance on the National Digital Twin Programme and delivered an agreement with the Government Peru to deliver a programme of infrastructure partnerships.

Sitting within the Directorate’s Central Office, the private secretary role offers a chance to engage and drive forward strategic priorities. Providing an exciting opportunity to work alongside an experienced and highly respected director, to learn from their leadership and to gain a broad knowledge of multiple high-profile sectors and both domestic policy and international trade delivery.

**Job description**:
As the Private Secretary to the Director for Construction, Infrastructure and Energy, you will play a pivotal role in the running of the Directorate and in ensuring the director makes effective decisions by:

- Understanding, articulating and helping to drive forward the Director’s priorities; by providing high quality advice backed up by accurate and perceptive insights.
- Having portfolio responsibility for some of the directorate’s teams; this will involve being the team’s first point of contact for advice on behalf of the Director.
- Forward planning to ensure all briefing and papers are closely managed, identifying and commissioning information/briefings as required.
- Managing the Director’s diary, travel and logistics, helping to make sure the director’s time is maximised effectively and that appropriate travel arrangements are made.
- Chairing the Directorate All Staff weekly call to ensure that the directorate is kept informed of key issues.
- Undertake specific projects and research and analysis on behalf of the Director, including presenting findings in papers, reports and PowerPoint presentations.

**Person specification**:
**Personal Attributes and Skills**:
We are looking for a self-motivated person, with a “can-do” attitude who has enthusiasm and appetite for gaining exposure to senior relationships and governance across a busy and exciting directorate.

The role holder will:

- have strong organisational and effective decision-making skills,
- be able to manage upwards, to be able to work with people of all grades, delegating work, and commissioning briefings,
- be prepared to challenge the status quo and push through new ideas and thinking,
- have strong interpersonal and communication skills,
- take a strategic approach, understand the big picture and how to shape this,
- display high levels of judgment on a broad range of issues, often dealing with varied and sensitive matters,
- be able to work equally effectively as part of a team and on their own initiative,
- be able to work flexibly at pace, managing several competing deadlines and rapidly changing priorities at short notice and to very short timescales.

**Essential Criteria**:

- Ability to show sound judgement and make effective decisions whilst working at pace.
- Proven organisational skills and the ability to prioritise.
- Strong written and verbal communication.
- Effective engagement skills with a proven ability to work well with senior leaders and stakeholders.

**Desirable criteria**:

- An interest in Construction, Infrastructure or Energy sectors.

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

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

**Benefits**:

- Alongside your salary of £32,858, Department for Business and Trade contributes £9,518 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.- 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 employer contribution of 28.97%

Things you need to know

**Selection process details**:

- This vacan