About the job

Job summary

This role provides an exciting opportunity to play a pivotal part in the effective operation of the Chief Finance Officer Directorates. We are looking for an enthusiastic and committed individual with exceptional communication skills that pride themselves on their ability to deliver extraordinary levels of service and provide solutions.

As Business Manager you will be responsible for providing direct private secretary and corporate support to two Deputy Directors within Finance. You will work closely with their Senior Leadership Teams and wider business functions to ensure the smooth operation of all office operations, which includes management of two Deputy Directors busy diaries and inboxes and will require working work closely with other business managers across the directorate to ensure seamless interaction between the different parts of the directorate.

This is an exciting opportunity for an ambitious individual with experience of being able to multitask and prioritise tasks to ensure the smooth running of the office working on a one-to-one basis with two Deputy Directors, and on a wider basis with internal and external stakeholders.

Job description

Key accountabilities include but are not limited to the following:

1. Provide private secretary support to two Deputy Directors, managing their inboxes and boxes, providing briefings & speaking notes, along with calendar management and travel arrangements.

2. Acting as the point of contact between the two Deputy Directors and internal and external colleagues anticipating and determining their needs to ensure greater efficiencies.

3. Leading corporate processes including, but not limited to, budget management, HR management, communications, risk management, in-year reward.

4. Managing the new joiner process, onboarding new staff, supporting with recruitment, and maintaining organograms and induction packs.

5. Managing the team’s priorities and outstanding actions, drafting reports and updates on the team’s activity and performance against objectives.

6. Coordinating meetings and away days, both for senior leadership teams and all-staff events.

7. Ownership of the team’s intranet content and SharePoint sites.

Person specification

Skills and Experience

Essential Criteria

• Effective, strong organisational skills, attention to detail and being ability to process a large quantity of information with pace and accuracy.
• Experience of working with a range of stakeholders across organisational and professional boundaries, building positive working relationships.
• Demonstrate self-motivation and pro-activity, with the ability to manage and prioritise personal workload.
• Ability to communicate effectively, written, and oral with stakeholders at all levels.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities on parallel and competing deadlines.
• Experience of working both independently and as part of a team to achieve your goal.
• Ability to develop and maintain relationships with others.
• Able to analyse and apply skills to review correspondence and commission papers, working across boundaries to deliver results to time.

Desirable Criteria

• Experience of working in a Business Manager role or similar.

Personal Attributes & Skills

• A confident communicator who is comfortable working and engaging with senior leaders.
• Positive, curious, engaged, and motivated with a desire to learn about topics beyond their immediate role.
• A proactive self-starter with the ability to work independently to solve problems and deliver discreet pieces of work as well as being team player with a strong customer focus.
• Strong interpersonal skills and be adept at tailoring messages for different audiences.
• Flexible and adaptable; able to work effectively in a fast-paced environment.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £32,858, Department for Business and Trade contributes £8,871 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.

Interviews for this vacancy will be conducted virtually. We will, however, consider in-person interviews by exception.

Please ensure that you check your emails regularly as all updates from us will be sent to you this way.

To apply for this post, you will be asked to complete the following as part of the online application:   

• A CV setting out your career history, with key responsibilities and achievements. Provide employment history that relates to the essential criteria, and that any gaps in employment history within the last 2 years are explained. The CV should not exceed more than 2 x A4 pages.
• A Personal Statement (in 500 words) explaining your motivation for applying for this role and the extent to which you satisfy the requirements of the role.

It is likely that the sift will take place 1-2 weeks after the closing date and interviews 3-5 weeks after the closing date though this is subject to change.

In the event that there is a high volume of applicants, a short sift will be conducted based on Personal statement only. Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift, or progressed straight to assessment/interview.

Existing Civil Servants and applicants from accredited NDPBs are eligible to apply, but will only be considered on loan basis (Civil Servants) or secondment (accredited NDPBs). Prior agreement to be released on a loan basis must be obtained before commencing the application process. In the case of Civil Servants, the terms of the loan will be agreed between the home and host department and the Civil Servant. This includes grade on return.

Reasonable Adjustments

We are committed to supporting candidates so they can perform at their best throughout the recruitment process. This includes making reasonable adjustments to our process. In order to request an adjustment: 

Complete the ‘Assistance required’ section on the ‘Additional requirements’ page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process. 

Alternatively contact the Government Recruitment Service at DBTrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.  

If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section.

Candidate Support

You may want to join a virtual Candidate Support Session. These sessions include helpful tips and advice on the recruitment process, from application to interview.  

Please see attached Candidate Pack for further information on: Diversity and Inclusion; Benefits; Learning and Development; Working Patterns and what we deliver as a department. 

Further Information:

• A reserve list may be held for a period of 12 months from which further appointments can be made. Reserve Lists will be for each location and appointments made in merit order based on location preferences.   
• Any move to the Department for Business and Trade from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments.
• The Department will not consider sponsoring a visa or issuing a Certificate of Sponsorship. We are unable to offer advice on any Visa and Immigration cases.  
• New entrants are expected to join on the minimum of the pay band.  
• Applicants who are successful at interview will be, as part of pre-employment screening, subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database (IFD). This check will provide information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences. This check also applies to employees who resign or otherwise leave before being dismissed for fraud or dishonesty. Any applicant who has details held on the IFD will be refused employment.   
• A candidate is not eligible to apply for a role within the Civil Service if the application is made within a 5 year period following a dismissal for carrying out internal fraud against government.  
• Terms and Conditions are attached. Please take time to read the document to determine how these may affect you.
• Please note – the successful candidate will be expected to remain in post for a minimum of 18 months before being released for another role.

In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to Disclosure and Barring Service /Disclosure Scotland/Access NI on your behalf.

However, we recognise in exceptional circumstances some candidates will want to send their completed forms direct. If you will be doing this, please advise Government Recruitment Service of your intention by emailing Pre-EmploymentChecks.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk stating the job reference number in the subject heading. 

For further information on the Disclosure Scotland confidential checking service telephone: the Disclosure Scotland Helpline on 0870 609 6006 and ask to speak to the operations manager in confidence, or email Info@disclosurescotland.co.uk 

For further information on the Access NI confidential checking service telephone: the Access NI Helpline on 0300 200 7888 and ask to speak to the operations manager in confidence, or email accessni@ani.x.gsi.gov.uk 

The requirement for SC clearance is to have been present in the UK for at least 3 of the last 5 years. Failure to meet the residency requirements will result in your security clearance application being rejected. 

For further information on National Security Vetting please visit the following page https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/demystifying-vetting

Feedback

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.