Assistant Private Secretary

Job summary

From healthcare to artificial intelligence, energy to national security, we provide legal advice to government departments on nation-changing subjects.

At Government Legal Department we have a vital, single-minded purpose: to help the Government govern well within the rule of law. This is complemented by our exciting vision to be an outstanding legal organisation, committed to the highest standards of service and professionalism and a brilliant place to work where we can all thrive and fulfill our potential.

Our work touches almost every aspect of public life. We are the largest provider of legal services across government, working on high profile matters.

Our respected professionals are involved in everything from regulation and litigation to advice on drafting legislation. They provide expertise to the full range of government departments. We are at the heart of delivering the government’s priorities and our success depends on our people.

GLD is a non-ministerial government department headed by the Treasury Solicitor, our Permanent Secretary, and employs nearly 4000 people, including nearly 3000 legal professionals. We have offices nationwide, in Bristol, Leeds, inner and outer London and Manchester. Our lawyers can also be located within other departments and overseas.

GLD also depends on a range of cross-functional professionals to provide our corporate services. There are nearly 1000 colleagues playing an essential part in helping GLD to achieve its purpose and truly deliver much more than law.

This is an exciting time to join GLD, with cutting edge legal work on global issues and a transformation agenda which is ensuring the Department exemplifies the Modern Civil Service.

To find out more about what we do you can view our introductory film. On our website you can hear from team members, find out how to apply and learn about the benefits of working for GLD. You can also read more about the future vision for GLD in our GLD Strategy 2024 – 2027.

Job description

About the Private Office and Governance Division

The Private Office and Governance Division directly support the Permanent Secretary, the Executive Team and the Non-Executive Board Members in the effective running of the department.

This is an exciting opportunity to work at the heart of government, supporting the work of the Treasury Solicitor and the Executive Team, made up of four Director Generals and two Directors. We benefit from exposure and insight into the key issues across government, supporting a team of high-performing individuals working across stimulating portfolios.

We are a supportive, enthusiastic, and collaborative team made up of colleagues with a wide range of experiences and backgrounds. You will be expected to play a leadership role in modelling these behaviours and to contribute to the team environment. You should be engaging, trustworthy, supportive to peers and senior colleagues, and a team player willing to get stuck in.

About the Role

The Private Office act as a key link and channel of communication between Whitehall and the department. You will use your judgement to identify issues and to manage the flow of information and decision making for the Permanent Secretary and the Executive Team.

You will provide a high-quality service, supporting the Executive Team to deliver their personal and departmental priorities. This will include a range of the most sensitive matters of Government, where you will be required to convey views to a range of senior stakeholders. It requires discretion, excellent judgement, grip, and strong people skills.

You will have a good understanding and experience of the interaction between legal and policy work, and will be familiar with the legal profession, although you are not expected to be an expert in the field. You will need to deliver under pressure, manage multiple tasks simultaneously, and understand new information quickly, so good communication and coordination skills are essential requirements. The need to prioritise and pivot at pace due to competing priorities is crucial to the role.

This is a high-profile role requiring excellent organisational inter-personal and communication skills. You will work closely with the most senior officials in GLD and across the department and this requires proactivity, the ability to show Initiative and a can-do approach.

It will be essential to think strategically in order to make important connections between key meetings, their inputs and outputs and have the confidence to influence at all levels.

While this role will initially focus on management of diaries, there is scope to support with briefing, notetaking, and strategic work for the Executive Team.

Key responsibilities:

• Delivering a high-quality service for your principal, driving forward their priorities. A good working relationship with your principal is key to this role.
• Managing the diary, ensuring it is up to date and accurate. Proactively identifying conflicts in various schedules and taking initiative to resolve these.
• Supporting engagement with the wider legal profession, working with high-profile organisations such as the Law Society, Bar Council and senior judiciary externally.
• Developing and maintaining influential working relationships with a wide range of stakeholders across Whitehall, including senior officials’ private offices, and GLD’s senior leadership team.
• Responding to requests promptly, working at pace to resolve emerging issues and manage competing priorities. Flagging potential issues to the DG and proactively working with teams to identify solutions.
• Proactively horizon scanning to ensure effective management of time sensitive tasks.
• Assisting with the management of inboxes, and other tasks such as transparency returns and commissioning reports.

Person specification

Behaviours

Below are details of the Success Profiles that make up this role. Demonstrating all the behaviours listed below is essential at either application or interview. You can read more about Success Profiles and how they are used as an assessment method before completing your application.

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

• Delivering at Pace
• Communicating and Influencing
• Managing a Quality Service

Key skills and Experience

Essential – must be demonstrated at application and interview

• Experience of communicating effectively with a wide range of stakeholders, including senior colleagues.
• Capability to work effectively under pressure and at pace.
• Excellent time management, organisational and planning skills.
• Experience of having to navigating multiple and conflicting priorities to achieve the best outcome.

Desirable

Desirable criteria will be used when there is a need to distinguish between candidates who are closely tied or the same after the initial consideration of essential criteria, at sift and / or interview.

• Experience of working in a Private Office setting (within government), or in a role with similar transferable skills s