Senior Civil Servant (SCS) Personal Assistant- Part Time

Job summary

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) is the UK’s largest producer of official statistics, covering a range of key economic, social, and demographic topics. These include measuring changes in the value of the UK economy, estimating the size, geographic distribution, and characteristics of the population, and providing indicators of price inflation, employment, earnings, crime, and migration.

Be at the heart of decision-making in one of the UK's leading data organisations. As Personal Assistant to the Senior Civil Service (SCS) leadership team within Data Products, Services and Governance (DPSG), you'll play a pivotal role in supporting senior leaders who are helping shape the future of data use across government, research, and society.

Data Products, Services and Governance (DPSG) is a central directorate within the Office for National Statistics (ONS), providing the expertise, systems and governance that enable data to be accessed, shared and used effectively. The directorate develops and manages the services that underpin the secure distribution of data across ONS and to external users, ensuring that valuable data can be used safely and responsibly.

DPSG plays a vital role in supporting government departments, researchers, academics and other external partners by providing access to high-quality data and linked data products. Through this work, the directorate helps drive innovation, supports evidence-based decision-making, and enables world-leading statistical and research activities that deliver real public value.

As part of this dynamic and influential area, you'll gain unique insight into senior leadership, contribute to high-profile priorities, and help ensure the smooth running of a directorate at the forefront of data and innovation.

Part-Time Opportunity:This role is offered on a part-time basis, working up to 22 hours per week, providing dedicated support to a Deputy Director. We are committed to flexible working, and the specific working pattern can be discussed and agreed with the hiring manager to meet both business needs and the preferences of the successful candidate.

Job description

As a Personal Assistant within the Directorate Support Team, you will play a key role in enabling senior leaders to focus on delivering strategic priorities and organisational outcomes. Working as part of a wider business support network, you will provide high-quality, proactive support to Director and Deputy Director level leaders, collaborating with colleagues across a range of functions to ensure the smooth and effective running of the directorate.

This is a varied and rewarding role within a fast-paced environment, where no two days are the same. You will manage competing priorities, anticipate the needs of senior leaders, and build strong relationships with a diverse range of stakeholders across ONS and beyond. Strong organisational skills, sound judgement, and the ability to remain calm and adaptable in a busy environment will be key to your success.

The role also provides the opportunity to work closely with other Personal Assistants and business support professionals across ONS, sharing best practice, contributing to continuous improvement initiatives, and helping to develop innovative solutions to operational challenges. This makes it an excellent opportunity for someone who enjoys collaboration, problem-solving, and making a visible impact within a high-profile area of the organisation.

Responsibilities

• Taking the lead as the Director’s / Deputy Director(s)’s first point of contact, providing comprehensive and proactive inbox(es) management, to include:
  • rationalising and filtering email traffic,
  • responding to requests as appropriate,
  • escalating issues,
  • prioritising work,
  • cascading information.

• Proactively and reactively managing the Director /Deputy Director(s)’s diary, ensuring efficient use of their time, managing changes and conflicts (including delegating to their senior leadership team as appropriate), working collaboratively across the organization negotiating with others as necessary to achieve this.
• Providing the Director / Deputy Directors with all necessary documentation ahead of meetings
• Facilitating effective communication between the Director / Deputy Director, their senior team, and other stakeholders, both internal and external, as required.
• Working with the business support team, organise and manage the logistics of business meetings, conferences and away days, ensuring that meeting papers are complete and distributed in a timely fashion, as necessary.
• Arranging travel and accommodation in line with ONS policies for the Director /Deputy Director, and submission of travel expenses on their behalf.
• Other ad-hoc administrative tasks as required, which may include covering for other PA absences within the wider Directorate as required.
• Providing other business support to the wider team as necessary, including undertaking short self-contained assignments as required.

Person specification

Essential Criteria

• Strong communication skills, with the confidence to engage professionally with stakeholders at all levels, both verbally and in writing.
• Highly organised, with the ability to work under pressure, meet deadlines, and maintain accurate, accessible information.
• Able to effectively prioritise workload, managing multiple competing demands in a fast-paced environment.
• Adaptable and flexible, tailoring your approach to meet the needs of Director and Deputy Director-level leaders.
• Excellent attention to detail, producing high-quality work and using Microsoft Office applications confidently and effectively.

Behaviours

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

• Delivering at Pace
• Working Together
• Communicating and Influencing
• Seeing the Big Picture

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £28,138, Office for National Statistics contributes £8,151 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).

The Office for National Statistics is part of the Civil Service, and as such we share a number of key benefits with other departments, whilst also having our own unique offerings to support our valued colleagues across the organisation.

Whether you are hearing about us for the first time or already know a bit about our organisation, we hope that our careers site will give you a great insight into the benefits and facilities available to our colleagues, and our fantastic working culture.

Inclusion & Accessibility

At ONS we are always looking to attract the very best people from the widest possible talent pool, and we are proud to be an inclusive, equal opportunities employer. As a Disability Confident Leader we’re committed to ensuring that all candidates are treated fairly throughout the recruitment process.

As part of our application process, you will be prompted to provide details of any reasonable adjustments to our recruitment process that you need. If you would like to discuss any reasonable adjustments before applying, please contact the recruitment team in the first instance.

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