Diary Manager

Job summary

At the Department for Education (DFE), we are striving for world-class education, training and care for everyone whatever their background. Our ambition is to have a more productive economy, giving everyone the chance to reach their potential and live a more fulfilled life.

We work in multi-disciplinary teams using Agile methods to innovate and radically improve services that:

• Raise education standards and provide the best start in life for children.
• Support disadvantaged and vulnerable children and young people.
• Drive economic growth.

Our work and set up is truly end-to-end. We work closely with Ministers and our users on the design of our programmes and policies, through to successful implementation, through our research and analysis, finance and commercial, communications, technical design and programme management.

Working in Private Office is really rewarding and a fun place to work, but you will need to be resilient to the challenges that arise. To be successful, you must be able to build networks across all levels and communicate effectively in writing and verbally. You will be empowered to make decisions and so must demonstrate excellent judgement in the face of uncertainty, competing views and demands. This is an exciting and stretching role with significant developmental opportunities.

The Diary Manager is responsible for complex diary management, meeting coordination, travel arrangements, correspondence management, document preparation, stakeholder engagement, and supporting the delivery of key business activities. The role also acts as a central point of contact for internal and external stakeholders, helping to maintain effective communication and operational continuity.

This is a challenging, fast-paced role which provides a unique opportunity to work in the heart of Government and support the development and delivery of education policies.

Private Office posts involve providing direct support to Ministers or Advisers, managing their time and working closely with senior officials and other Ministerial offices. You will witness and help to shape how Ministers and senior officials make key decisions, as well as gain an understanding of how the Department and wider Government operates.

Job description

The Diary Manager role provides first-hand experience of working with Ministers and senior officials. This is a fantastic opportunity to work at the heart of a large Government department.

The Diary Manager will help manage the Minister or Adviser’s time, so they are able to attend key meetings and have time to engage with policy and strategic issues to make decisions. You will have control of the diary, organising and prioritising meetings with stakeholders, commissioning briefings for meetings and events, and developing strong relationships across the Department, including with other Ministerial offices.

As a Diary Manager you will work with a range of internal stakeholders, including members of your own team and the wider department. You will also interact with important external stakeholders such as members of the public, service providers, the media, think tanks or research institutes, local and central government, regulators and international bodies.

You will anticipate and solve problems before they arise and liaise frequently with senior colleagues and external stakeholders. The varied role will include: electronic diary and email management, drafting correspondence, and administrative support.

You will be an excellent communicator with strong organisational skills. You will need to juggle a busy and rapidly changing schedule, staying one step ahead in thinking about the needs and commitments of the Deputy Directors.

We are looking for a highly organised and enthusiastic individual to join Private Office at the Department for Education as a Diary Manager. This is an opportunity to work in a fast-paced office supporting ministers to deliver high profile priorities. The position will be challenging and rewarding, managing a busy diary, ensuring it suits ministers' needs and preferences and consistently managing competing priorities.

Responsibilities will include, but are not limited to:

• Manage Minister's / Director / Deputy Director's diary on a day-to-day basis and organise meetings as requested. Strategic management of diaries to identify busy periods in the business cycle and monitor their inbox(s) for diary-related emails. Understand the objectives of meetings and prioritise against conflicting requirements.
• Handle sensitive information in a confidential manner and manage the Minister's / Director / Deputy Director's inbox to prioritise work effectively.
• Work with leads across the finance function to coordinate ministerial correspondence, ensuring the necessary approvals have been completed and that the statutory deadlines are met.
• Secretariat to Senior Leadership Team (SLT) and/or board meetings as required, maintain a forward plan of agenda items, draft agendas, commission papers and circulate in good time. Attend the meetings, drafting accurate minutes and actions, track progress against actions. Prepare meeting papers for the Director / Deputy Director, ensure they have all information required for all meetings in their preferred format. Source briefing for meetings where required.
• Work cohesively and in a joined-up way with the PA network, with other PAs in the Private Office and more widely with other PAs across the department. Provide high quality customer service in line with departmental expectation. Ensure that all information for customers is accurate, timely, clear and easy to understand and that all dealings with customers are professional positive and respectful.
• Take active part in the Private Office Team and take responsibility of group wide activities. Support the improvement of internal procedures and systems, identifying opportunities for innovation and continuous improvement.
• Managing busy diaries, prioritising and organising the SLTs time to ensure they meet their objectives. You will attend and provide secretariat support to board / committee meetings as required, being responsible for the forward look, minutes and action recording.
• Handling sensitive information within the Minister's / Director / Deputy Directors inboxes in a confidential manner. You will coordinate responses to ministerial correspondence, ensuring that the request is dealt with appropriately, with the relevant approvals by the statutory deadlines.
• Actively take part in activities across the function, supporting opportunities for innovation and continuous improvemen

Person specification

Essential criteria

The below criteria are essential and will be assessed at application stage.

• Demonstrate the ability to manage complex and demanding diaries, prioritise competing requests, coordinate meetings, and ensure efficient use of senior leaders' time, maintaining accurate records, and delivering high-quality administrative support in a fast-paced environment.
• Strong organisational skills, with the ability to track, manage and prioritise multiple competing demands in a fast-moving environment.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills, including the ability to summarise complex issues clearly and tailor messages for different audiences.
• Ability to build and maintain strong working relationships, foster collaboration across teams and support effective join-up.
• Sound judgement, with the confidence to make decisions, identify emerging issues and know when to escalate risks or concerns.
• Flexible and proactive team-working skills, with the ability to support colleagues and respond effectively to urgent priorit