About the job

Job summary

Energy policy is something that touches on every aspect of our lives – at home, at work and at play. Energy fuels our society and our economy. That’s why our policy work is so important, and so rewarding. It protects consumers. It enables businesses. It influences the entire energy industry. And it helps to bring about the seismic societal and infrastructure changes that will be the foundations for a Net Zero future.

 

Rising prices and security of supply are challenging all parts of the energy sector to consider how we can collectively ensure that this crucial foundation for our society remains accessible to all. And as well as the complexity of the here and now, we continue to look to the future – ensuring that energy policies support a shift away from fossil fuels and that new, renewable energy sources are identified and developed into viable alternatives. And we are challenging the wholesale energy market to do more to ensure more efficient pricing and a better deal for consumers.

 

Ofgem are recruiting for an Assistant Private Secretary to join the Chair and CEO’s Private Office, a small, high-performing team providing policy, logistical and administrative support to a member of the organisation’s senior leadership team.

 

The successful candidate will fulfil a critical role within the Private Office, supporting the Chair and CEO and their Private Secretaries by providing accurate and timely advice and briefing, as well as logistical and administrative support as required. You will work across the whole of the organisation to ensure that it delivers effectively and efficiently in line with the Chair and CEO’s priorities.

Job description

• Supporting the Private Secretaries and Head of Private Office in the smooth and effective running of the Private Office.
• Acting as an interface between the Chair and CEO and the wider Department, supporting the Private Secretaries in delivering their steers to teams and ensuring they are fully actioned.
• Being the first point of contact for discrete aspects of the Chair and CEO’s portfolio, developing relationships with relevant teams across the organisation to support your understanding of relevant policies and issues in the subject area.
• Developing productive working relationships with teams across the organisation, collaborating with colleagues across grades to assist them in delivering against the Chair and CEO’s asks.
• Leading on the implementation, monitoring and refinement of effective and efficient processes to ensure the organisation provides briefings and other information required by the Chair and CEO in a timely way to a high standard.
• Attending internal and external meetings with the Chair and CEO ensuring they are properly briefed and subsequently allocating actions arising to teams with clarity.
• Working flexibly to support the wider team and form effective relationships with other Private Offices to ensure consistency and a commitment to excellence across the PO function.

 

Flexible Resourcing

 

Ofgem operates a Flexible Resourcing model where you will have the opportunity to work flexibly across Ofgem supporting on a range of projects or may have a longer deployment within a team where you have in-demand specialist skills, knowledge, and expertise.  We will support you to learn and develop the Policy & Strategy skills and knowledge you need to build your career.

Key Responsibilities and Outputs

 

Policy Development

 

• Responsible for supporting the Private Secretaries in the production of high quality, timely, and robust analysis of core issue/s and policy options resulting in evidence based recommendations.
• Ensuring the advice produced for the Chair and CEO is well-drafted, concise and action-oriented.
• Supporting the Private Secretaries in directing key workstreams and projects, including contributing to effective internal and external stakeholder engagement by prioritising, scoping and delivering work.

 

Stakeholder Management

 

• Effectively communicating the benefits, challenges and trade-offs of policy proposals to senior colleagues and partners.
• Ensuring delivery by effective collaboration across teams, supporting professions and other sources of evidence and expertise to understand and manage risks and issues.
• Responsible for representing Ofgem externally, building constructive and supportive relationships to ensure challenges and issues are identified and resolved in consumers interests.

 

Key Stakeholders

 

Internal

 

• Colleagues within Ofgem, including senior management, legal and other teams and professions.

 

External

 

• Effective interaction with energy companies, other industry stakeholders and government departments/nations/agencies.

 

Please note this role will involve significant and ongoing travel to London.

Person specification

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills. (LEAD)

 

• Strong analytical and problem solving skills. (LEAD)

 

• Demonstrable interest and/ or experience in public policy/energy/net zero.

 

• Demonstrative experience in engaging with/managing multiple stakeholders.

 

• Ability to manage different work activities or workstreams to keep projects on track. 

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £32,498, OFGEM contributes £8,774 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, Experience and Technical skills.

When you press the ‘Apply now’ button, you will be asked to complete personal details (not seen by the sift panel), your career history and qualifications.  

You will then be asked to provide a 1250 word ‘personal statement’ evidencing how you meet the essential and desirable skills and capabilities listed in the role profile. Please ensure you demonstrate clearly, within your supporting statement, how you meet each of the essential and desirable skills and capabilities. 

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

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window). 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.