About the job

Job summary

The AGO is a ministerial department serving the Attorney General and the Solicitor General (the Law Officers).  The Law Officers are the Government’s chief legal advisers.

The Law Officers make important decisions that affect public life. Among other things, they decide whether to send criminal sentences that may be too low to the Court of Appeal; whether to open inquests into deaths (for example, the Attorney General made the decision to open new inquests into the deaths at Hillsborough); are the Government’s chief legal advisors, providing advice to both the Prime Minister and Secretaries of State on a range of pressing issues touching on every aspect of daily life in the UK; and they represent the Crown Prosecution Service and Serious Fraud Office in Parliament.

The Office comprises around 63 multidisciplinary, engaged and high performing team members advising and supporting the Law Officers in all aspects of their work.  We pride ourselves on our problem-solving creativity, sophisticated political and handling awareness, and smart ways of working. 

The Law Officers also work alongside the Justice Secretary and Home Secretary to provide a more efficient, effective, and accountable criminal justice system for victims and the public.

The AGO comprises a high-performing, multi-disciplinary, engaged, and resilient team that prides itself on our:

• legal professional excellence and creativity;
• role and reputation;
• team spirit, ethos, and values; and
• individual development and wellbeing.

While the workload can be demanding and there may be times of pressure, the AGO is committed to staff wellbeing and ensuring colleagues have all the support and resources they need to succeed and ensuring our staff maintain a healthy work-life balance. AGO operates a hybrid working policy where there is a requirement of 60% office attendance.

AGO supports the Civil Service vision of being recognised as the UK’s most inclusive employer, by setting stretching diversity and equality objectives for our organisation.

AGO is an employer which promotes equality and aims to reflect the diversity of the society in which we live. It is committed to maximising the skills and potential of all its staff. We welcome applications from all suitably qualified persons irrespective of disability, race, colour, nationality, ethnic or national origins, gender, age, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, marital status or religion/belief.

Further information about the work of the Law Officers and the Office can be found at www.gov.uk/ago

Job description

This is a stretching and rewarding role at the heart of a fast-paced Corporate Services team. You will be working directly with the Director General (DG) and the Director, Deputy Head of Office, and have regular direct contact with them. They are involved in many of the most sensitive and fascinating issues that the Attorney General's Office deals with. The role is central in ensuring that they fulfil their responsibilities to the Law Officers.

Below are details of the main duties of the role:

• The postholder will maintain an overview of all key issues requiring the Director’s/Deputy Head of Office attention during the day/week, prioritising their work, anticipating problems, and proactively resolving issues as they arise.
• The role includes Diary Secretary functions for the DG and Director so they can deliver ministerial and departmental objectives, incorporating diary management and executive support.
• Providing effective secretariat service to the Executive Board, including developing agendas, commissioning papers, working with the Private Secretary to quality assure papers and producing minutes and actions.
• Working closely with the Private Secretary to co-ordinate briefings and effectively manage the private secretarial
• Supporting the Head of Governance and Private Secretary in relation to Governance work, such as
  • Annual Report
• Business Planning
• Board Effectiveness Reviews
• Effectively managing and continuously improving processes and systems, across the private secretarial functions.
• Oversee management of shared mailboxes, ensuring processes are in place to deliver an efficient service.
• Developing effective relationships across the office including the Law Officers’ Private Office and Private Offices across
• Adhering to the file storage and retention policy, and proactively overseeing the continuous development of department Know-How guides.
• Line management responsibility for the Corporate Support

Person specification

• Experience of strong organisational skills.
• Ability to work to a high-level of detail.
• Ability to work across organisational boundaries and take initiative to juggle priorities to meet tight deadlines. 
• The role requires the establishment of strong working relationships with colleagues within the AGO, the Law Officers’ Departments and other Government Departments. Candidates should be engaging, trustworthy and unafraid to constructively challenge peers and senior colleagues.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £33,309, Attorney General's Office contributes £8,993 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

Things you need to know

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Strengths and Experience.

Required Skills, Experience and Behaviours  

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Experience and Strengths

Applicants must be able to demonstrate the following Success Profiles behaviours in your application and at the interview at HEO level:

• Making Effective Decisions - lead behaviour
• Communicating and Influencing
• Leadership
• Delivering at Pace

Your application will be sifted by an AGO panel. In the event that we receive a high number of applications, an initial sift will be carried out on the lead behaviour: Making Effective Decisions.

Interviews will take place in person at 102 Petty France w/c 22 July.

Timetable

Advert Closing Date	11:55pm on Wednesday 10th July
Shortlisting	w/c 15th July
Interviews	w/c 22nd July

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

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check. Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check (opens in a new window).

See our vetting charter (opens in a new window). People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

Please note this Post is NOT regulated by the Civil Service Commission. 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.