Details Reference number 352562 Salary £36,369 - £41,045 London £36,369 - £41,045 plus a Private Office allowance of £6,500 A Civil Service Pension with an average employer contribution of 27% GBP Job grade Higher Executive Officer Contract type Fixed term Loan Length of employment 2 years Business area DCMS - Private Office Type of role Administration / Corporate Support Working pattern Flexible working, Full-time, Job share Number of jobs available 1 Contents Location About the job Benefits Things you need to know Apply and further information Location London About the job Job summary The Private Office and Ministerial Support and Parliamentary Team is one of the largest and most dynamic teams in DCMS, involved in all aspects of departmental business. We have a Ministerial Team of four, each with a Private Office, who work closely with the Private Offices of the Permanent Secretary, the Special Advisers and the two Directors General. Our team is crucial to the successful running of the Department - we are here to help our Ministers and senior officials deliver their priorities, and to support the Department in working with them. The Secretary of State, Rt Hon Lucy Frazer KC MP, has overall policy responsibility for all DCMS areas. She is supported by a team of three ministers: Minister of State - Julia Lopez MP Parliamentary Under Secretary of State - Stuart Andrew MP Lords Minister - Lord Parkinson PO/MSPT is part of the wider Corporate Strategy Directorate. As Assistant Private Secretary, the successful candidate will sit at the heart of the Department, working directly with the Minister, Special Advisers (SpAds), and senior officials, predominantly supporting the Departments Civil Society and Youth agenda. You will be crucial to delivering on the Ministers priorities in an area that the current Minister takes incredibly seriously, given his previous experience in the charity sector. The successful candidate will have sound judgement and an excellent understanding of the political environment in which ministers are operating. Candidates should be excellent written and verbal communicators, be comfortable working in a fast-paced environment but without losing sight of the detail, and adept at building strong relationships with senior stakeholders. You can expect an exciting, fast-paced and varied job, providing advice and support to the Minister in managing emerging and complex policy issues, and will have the opportunity to see how decisions are made at the heart of government. Person specification The ideal candidate would have the following key skills and experience: Essential requirements: Excellent organisational and prioritisation skills, with the ability to work effectively across a range of tasks and under pressure. Excellent communication skills (written and verbal). Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to interact confidently and professionally with stakeholders of varying seniority. Good judgement to manage situations independently and understand when to escalate and how. Strong work ethic and a proven team player, with ability to work under pressure. Desirable skills: An understanding of how a Private Office operates. An understanding of current affairs and the working of Parliament Keen interest in the work of the Department, particularly the civil society and youth agenda. We are running an information session where prospective applicants can find out more about the role. This will be hosted by Matthew Phillips and will take place on: Wednesday 8th May 2024 at 10am The session will be an opportunity to hear more about the role, the team and wider directorate and the department. It will also be an opportunity for you to ask any questions. Please register your interest by filling out this form and you will be sent an invitation. Please note that the session will not focus on the DCMS recruitment process - please direct any queries that you have on this topic (timelines, reasonable adjustments, onboarding etc) to recruitment.teamdcms.gov.uk Behaviours We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process: Seeing the Big Picture Communicating and Influencing Delivering at Pace Making Effective Decisions Benefits Alongside your salary of £36,369, Department for Culture, Media and Sport contributes £9,819 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides. DCMS values its staff and offers a wide range of benefits to everyone who works here. Were committed to developing talent, and supporting colleagues to have great careers in our department. To support with that, some of the benefits we offer include: Flexible working arrangements and hybrid working - DCMS staff work on a flexible basis with time spent in offices, and time spent working from home 26.5 days annual leave on entry, increasing to 31.5 days after 5 years service A Civil Service pension with an average employer contribution of 27% Access to the Edenred employee benefits system which offers discounts to popular retailers and access to various useful resources such as financial and savings advice 3 days of paid volunteering leave Up to 9 months maternity leave on full pay generous paternity and adoption leave Staff reward and recognition bonuses that operate throughout the year Occupational sick pay Access to the Employee Assistance Programme which offers staff 24/7 confidential support and resources such as counselling, debt guidance and management advice Active and engaged staff networks to join including the LGBT, Ethnic Diversity, Mental Health and Wellbeing and Gender Equality Networks Exceptional learning and development opportunities that you can explore alongside your day to day work Season ticket loan, cycle to work scheme and much more Terms and conditions at SCS grades will vary. Those applying for SCS roles should refer to the candidate information pack for more information on terms and conditions. Things you need to know Selection process details This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Strengths and Experience. To apply for this post, please send us the following documents no later than Sunday 19th May 2024 23:55 pm via the CS Jobs portal: A CV setting out your career history, with key responsibilities and achievements. Please ensure you provide employment history that relates to the essential and desirable criteria, and that any gaps in employment history within the last 2 years are explained. The CV should not exceed more than 3 x A4 pages and you should insert your CV into the "Job History" section on Civil Service Jobs on the Civil Service Jobs application form. A Statement of Suitability (max 750 words) explaining how you consider your personal skills, qualities and experience provide evidence of your suitability for the role in reference to the essential requirements highlighted. You may also choose to reference the desirable skills listed. For the shortlist, we will assess your experience and select applicants demonstrating the best fit for the role by considering the evidence provided in your application. In the event of a large number of applicants, an initial sift will be conducted on the statement of suitability. Those who are successful in the initial sift will then be scored on all elements of the application. For support in writing your application and interviewing, please refer to the Application and Interview Guidance document attached to the job advert. The interview process will assess behaviours and strengths and potentially include a presentation. The behaviours to be tested at interview are: Seeing the Big Picture Communicating and Influencing Delivering at Pace Making Effective Decisions You will not be made aware of the strengths being assessed prior to your interview. As part of your interview, you may be asked to deliver a short oral presentation. Full details of this, including the topic, and whether or not you will need to use visual aids, will be sent to you prior to your interview. Your interview will take place remotely via GoogleMeets. For indicative sift and interview dates please refer to the attached Candidate Information Pack. Further Information If the vacancy is offered as FTA/Loan, existing Civil Servants must join on a Loan basis only., Prior agreement to be released on loan must be obtained before commencing the application process. In the case of Civil Servants, the terms of the loan will be agreed between the home and host department and the Civil Servant. This includes grade on return. This role is full time only. Applicants who wish to work an alternative pattern are welcome to apply however your preferred working pattern may not be available and you should discuss this with the vacancy holder before applying. A reserve list may be held for a period of 6 months from which further appointments can be made. Any move to Department for Culture, Media and Sport from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax Free Childcare. Determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk New entrants are expected to join on the minimum of the pay band. DCMS has a London and a National pay scale. For more information on this, including the circumstances in which each pay scale will apply, please see the Information for Applicants document. If successful and transferring from another Government Department a criminal record check may be carried out. In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to Disclosure and Barring Service on your behalf. However, we recognise in exceptional circumstances some candidates will want to send their completed forms direct. If you will be doing this, please advise Government Recruitment Service of your intention by emailing Pre-EmploymentChecks.grscabinetoffice.gov.uk stating the job reference number in the subject heading. For further information on National Security Vetting please visit the following page https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/demystifying-vetting Applicants who are successful at interview will be, as part of pre-employment screening, subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database (IFD). This check will provide information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences. This check also applies to employees who resign or otherwise leave before being dismissed for fraud or dishonesty had their employment continued. Any applicants details held on the IFD will be refused employment. A candidate is not eligible to apply for a role within the Civil Service if the application is made within a 5-year period following a dismissal for carrying out internal fraud against government. Reasonable Adjustment We are committed to supporting candidates so they can perform at their best throughout the recruitment process. This includes making reasonable adjustments to our process. In order to request an adjustment, please: Complete the Assistance required section on the Additional requirements page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or a verbal test rather than a written one. Alternatively, contact the Government Recruitment Service via dcmsrecruitment.grscabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs. Accessibility If you are experiencing accessibility difficulties with any of the attachments, please contact us. Contact details can be found in the 'contact point for applicants' section of the job advert. Feedback Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment. Security Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check. Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check (opens in a new window).See our vetting charter (opens in a new window). People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks. Nationality requirements This job is broadly open to the following groups: UK nationals nationals of the Republic of Ireland nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window) nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020 Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service