DCMS Jobs 2023 – Private Secretary

About the job

Location

Belfast, Darlington, London, Manchester

Job Summary

About the job

DCMS is looking for a proactive Band B to join the Finance and Commercial team. This post will be to support the Director of Finance and Commercial as Private Secretary and Business Support Officer and you will be responsible for making sure that they stay on track with their agenda. Finance is at the heart of DCMS and this role is extremely interesting as you will get access to some of the most exciting and unique priorities of Government.

Job Description

As Private Secretary and Business Support Officer, you must support the Director with their priorities. Therefore, this role is suited to someone who enjoys a fast-paced and exciting environment, with a genuine interest in seeing how their work supports the delivery of the Senior Leadership Team and wider department.

Working closely with the F&C Senior Leadership Team, you will be responsible for the management of the Director’s time, helping to ensure the smooth running and management of their portfolio. You will provide support and help to maximise their time, ensuring that activities stay on track. This role will contribute significantly to the smooth functioning of the Directorate. You will play an important role in making sure that the directorate runs smoothly. You are responsible for ensuring that the Director of Finance and Commercial is able to effectively prioritise their workload and drive forward the directorate’s priorities and agenda.

The Private office is a busy and exciting office to join, with great exposure to F&C senior leadership. You will join a close-knit team which is composed of F&C’s Business Manager and two Executive Assistants and will be expected to use your initiative to make decisions on behalf of the Director and to support your team.

The role of Private Secretary and Business Support Officer is varied, challenging and stimulating. You can expect an exciting and fast-paced experience, where no two days are the same. Your role is critical to ensuring the F&C Director can work effectively with the department, the wider Government and key external stakeholders. Within your role you will directly be responsible for feeding information to the Business Manager and F&C Director as appropriate to help deliver the objectives of the directorate. You will be a critical bridge between the Director, wider SLT, Business Manager and other teams across the Department, including at Senior Civil Service level.

You will be expected to use your initiative, also keeping on track with given deadlines. In this band B role, you will start to have autonomy over the workstrands which you are responsible for and with that, you need to be able to self-manage your priorities. You need to be a team player in this key role as you will be constantly consuming and sharing information, so working together as a team is vital to ensure the smooth running of business priorities.

We hope this represents a great opportunity for you – it will help you develop your understanding of the big picture, especially in respect to working at the centre of a Senior Leadership Team. This role possesses a lot of responsibility and is both an excellent step up or level move, as the role has a lot of scope. DCMS is a central Government Department, with a wide range of stakeholders across Government and industry. Inevitably, the work can sometimes be intense and so this role requires a candidate who is able to deliver at pace and be able to juggle multiple priorities.

The role presents an excellent opportunity to gain experience working closely with Senior Civil Servants in a fast-paced environment.

Person specification

See the attached candidate pack for a list of your roles and responsibilities.

Behaviours

We’ll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Making Effective Decisions
• Delivering at Pace
• Working Together
• Communicating and Influencing

We only ask for evidence of these behaviours on your application form:

• Making Effective Decisions

Benefits

DCMS values its staff and offers a wide range of benefits to everyone who works here. We’re 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 with an average employer contribution of 27%
• 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.
• Active and engaged staff networks to join including the LGBT+, Ethnic Minorities, Mental Health and Wellbeing and Women’s 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

To apply for this post, please send us the following documents no later than Monday 24th October, 23:55 via the CS Jobs portal:

• 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 Statement of Suitability (max 500 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.
• A behaviour statement of 250 words on Making Effective Decisions.
• 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.
• You may be invited to a second stage interview with an SCS as part of the interview process.

In the event of a large number of applicants, applications will only be sifted on the statement of suitability. Candidates who are successful in this initial sift, should it occur, will either be progressed to a full sift or invited straight to assessment/interview.

Sift and interview dates to be confirmed.

Further Information

A reserve list may be held for a period of 6 months from which further appointments can be made.

Any move to DCMS 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

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/Access NI 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

For further information on the Access NI confidential checking service telephone: the Access NI Helpline on 0300 200 7888 and ask to speak to the operations manager in confidence, or email

New entrants are expected to join on the minimum of the pay band.

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 applicant’s 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.

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.

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 .

Interviews

In most cases interviews will take place remotely via Google Meet video call. However please refer to the Candidate Information Pack to confirm the interview approach.

Location

This role can be based in London, Manchester, Darlington or Belfast . The hub locations are displayed on the job advert. Not all hub locations have confirmed office space yet – successful applicants will be expected to work remotely until this becomes available.

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 [email protected] 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.

If you choose to join on a loan basis, 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.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must pass a disclosure and barring security check.

Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is

People working with government assets must complete

Nationality Requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals from the EU, EEA or Switzerland with settled or pre-settled status or who apply for either status by the deadline of the
• relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals working in the Civil Service
• relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals who have built up the right to work in the Civil Service
• certain family members of the relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals

Working for the Civil Service

The

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission’s

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

Apply and further information

This vacancy is part of the

The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction.

Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job Contact

• Name : Sarah Nugent
• Email : [email protected]

Recruitment team :

• Email : [email protected]

Further information

The law requires that selection for appointment to the Civil Service is on merit on the basis of fair and open competition as outlined in the Civil Service Commission’s Recruitment Principles.

If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles, and you wish to make a complaint, you should contact ([email protected]) in the first instance.

If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Department, you can contact the Civil Service Commission at: https://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk/recruitment/civilservicerecruitmentcomplaints/