Length of employment: Job Summary: DWP is looking to fill Principal Private Secretary role in Policy Group. The Principal Private Secretary plays a high profile and critical role within DWP working within a fast paced and dynamic environment. Their primary focus is acting as a trusted adviser to the DWP Secretary of State, managing that critical relationship and supporting the Secretary of State in their delivery of the DWP priorities. The role entails: Advising and supporting the Secretary of State in their oversight of the department and delivery of their objectives. Leading Private Office, ensuring that it works effectively in support of Ministers and the department. Oversight of ministerial correspondence, legislation and Parliament, and the Secretary of State's Implementation and Delivery Unit. Acting as a bridge between the Secretary of State, senior civil servants, policy and operational experts across the department. Building strong relationships with the PM and Chancellor's office, to support the Secretary of State and the Department to achieve its objectives. The role involves a significant amount of collaborative working across DWP, with Senior Officials and their teams, Ministers, Special Advisers and stakeholders. Virtual Engagement Session Date: 18th June 2025 Time: 14:00 - 15:00 This virtual session is an opportunity for you to find out more about the role and what it's like leading the Policy Directorate. You'll get the opportunity to hear directly from the vacancy holder Emily Antcliffe (Vacancy Holder) and Carrie Rodgers (HR Director) who will provide an overview of the role and hold a Q&A session Join Live Event Job Description: As the biggest public service department in the country, we are looking for a dynamic and experienced leader to help us navigate through the times ahead. This role presents a fabulous opportunity to work at the heart of government, advising and supporting the Secretary of State, wider Executive Team and Non-Executive Directors on the governance and accountability of the department. This is an important leadership role, of both the immediate Departmental Governance and Legislation Division, and working with a busy Private Office and ministerial team supporting priority cross-cutting work in the Department. Please see the candidate pack attached to the advert for Key Responsibilities. It's an exciting time to be part of DWP! DWP have a broad benefits package built around your work-life balance which includes: Working patterns to support work/life balance such as job sharing, term-time working, flexi-time and compressed hours. Generous annual leave - at least 25 days on entry, increasing up to 30 days over time (pro-rata for part time employees), plus 9 days public and privilege leave. Support for financial wellbeing, including interest-free season ticket loans for travel, a cycle to work scheme and an employee discount scheme. Health and wellbeing support including our Employee Assistance Programme for specialist advice and counselling and the opportunity to join HASSRA a first-class programme of competitions, activities and benefits for its members (subscription payable monthly). Family friendly policies including enhanced maternity and shared parental leave pay after 1 year's continuous service. Funded learning and development to support progress in your role and career. This includes industry recognised qualifications and accreditations, coaching, mentoring and talent development programmes. An inclusive and diverse environment with opportunities to join professional and interpersonal networks including Women's Network, National Race Network, National Disability Network (THRIVE) and many more. The successful candidate must be able to demonstrate their knowledge, experience and skills against the following essential criteria: Experience of working in a policy and political environment with senior stakeholders and an understanding of how DWP's role fits into the wider Government context. Highly developed interpersonal and influencing skills, with the ability to: Establish credibility and trust quickly with a diverse network of senior leaders and / or Ministers Present complex issues simply and effectively and influence decisions, Deliver results at pace, handle uncertainty and demonstrate exceptional judgement in a complex environment Strong people leadership skills: An inspirational leader with a flair for engaging people making the complex simple and compelling Provides visible, positive, and collaborative leadership Able to build capable, inclusive, and high performing teams Makes a full contribution to the wider leadership team. If you think you have the experience and energy to take on these stretching and demanding role, we would be very keen to hear from you. To apply for this post, you will need to complete the online application process outlined below no later than 12:00 midday on 30th June 2025. A CV setting out your career history, with key responsibilities and achievements. Please ensure you have provided reasons for any gaps within the last two years; A personal statement (maximum 1250 words) explaining how you consider your personal skills, qualities, and experience provide evidence of your suitability for the role, with particular reference to the essential criteria in the person specification. Failure to submit both documents will mean the panel only have limited information on which to assess your application against the criteria in the person specification. For more information about the roles and the applications process, please see the candidate pack attached.