About the job

Job summary

House of Commons

The House of Commons is a unique and exciting place to work right at the heart of the UK's thriving democratic system. 

Behind the scenes, the House of Commons Service is made up of more than 3,000 employees who support and facilitate the smooth day to day running of the House. They provide professional services to Members of Parliament, their staff, and the wider parliamentary community.

Introduction 

The Speaker's Office provides support to the Speaker of the House of Commons in the execution of his official duties. The Speaker’s Office team undertakes work ranging from:

• Ensuring that the business in the Chamber runs smoothly before the House sits and during the sitting itself (producing speaking lists, processing requests for urgent questions and ministerial statements, giving the Speaker guidance when in the Chair);
• Responding to Members, colleagues and public about points of procedure and handling a high volume and wide range of other queries;
• Arranging official events and international conferences, overseeing diplomatic and protocol arrangements for a variety of meetings with senior stakeholders;
• Managing heritage state apartments with works of art and historical objects collections;
• Managing the Speaker’s social media channels and producing internal and external communications;
• Supporting the Speaker in his various roles as Chair of the House of Commons Commission, Speaker’s Committee on IPSA, Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, Honorary Joint- President of Commonwealth Parliamentary Association UK (CPA UK) and British Group Inter-Parliamentary Union (BGIPU).

Job description

As Assistant Speaker’s Secretary, within the Chamber and Parliamentary function of the office, this post will support the Speaker’s Secretary, who is in the Chamber whenever the Speaker is and who takes the lead in the office on procedural matters. The postholder will have responsibility for the work of the office which relate to the House of Commons Chamber and parliamentary business. This role is therefore integral to the running of the daily business of the House – it manages the high-profile, highly visible, core ‘business as usual’ work of the office which must run smoothly to facilitate Members of Parliament in their roles as elected representatives, the Government in its role of legislating, and the Opposition being able to effectively scrutinise the work of Government.

A core focus of the postholder will be to ensure that the office continues to provide excellent customer service for Members, their staff, House Service and civil service colleagues and thereafter constantly seeks improvements in order to deliver the best service possible.

Some of the responsibilities for this role include:

• Oversee daily preparation for business in the Chamber, including processing applications for Urgent Questions and emergency debates; processing information about Government statements and collating requests for Members to speak in debates and preparation for each day’s Oral Questions, including Prime Ministers Questions.
• Undertake daily duties in the House of Commons Chamber with the Speaker’s Secretary, including spotting, identifying, and recording Members who try to ‘catch the Speaker’s eye’ to speak and managing the choreography of the Chamber from the perspective of the Chair, working with the Whips.
• Overseeing efficient management of Speaker’s Office correspondence whether from Members, colleagues in the House or members of the public - monitoring the team to ensure that all messages are acknowledged and dealt with satisfactorily within agreed timescales, following best customer service practice at all times.
• Lead on the Speaker’s Office contribution to internal ceremonial activity working with colleagues in the Lords.

Person specification

To be successful in this role you will demonstrate:

• Ability to quickly develop an expert understanding of the demands of Parliament, particularly the demands on Members and their staff and able to be responsive and flexible to these demands with short notice.
• Significant experience of working effectively across a range of stakeholders, with conflicting priorities, and the ability to successfully negotiate and influence to achieve desired outcomes.
• Well-developed oral communication skills with ability to provide authoritative advice to Members of Parliament and present to a diverse audience in an insightful and nuanced manner when required. Ability to draft clear, concise and accurate briefing material or correspondence, sometimes on unfamiliar topics.
• Proven ability in strong planning, organisational and people skills, including the ability to approach challenges analytically, exercise impeccable independent but informed judgements, work calmly and flexibly under pressure and manage competing priorities and changing deadlines.
• Experience of bringing ceremonial events to successful delivery on time. Experience of resource management, ability to meet KPIs and learn lessons for continuous improvement.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £56,180, House of Commons contributes £15,168 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

• Application Form - If you would like to apply for this role, please submit an application providing evidence against criteria 1-5 in the Job Description. 

More information on the role and the full criteria can be found in the Job Description. 

Please note that most job offers will be made at the minimum of the salary range, other than in exceptional circumstances.

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 counter-terrorist 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.