About the job

Job summary

The Privy Council is the mechanism through which agreement is reached on items of Government business which, for historical or other reasons, fall to Ministers as Privy Counsellors rather than as Departmental Ministers.

The Privy Council meets at least nine times a year (often more) in the presence of The King, who gives his personal approval to all Orders in Council. Meetings are presided over by the Lord President of the Council, who is the Ministerial Head of the Office. Each meeting is unique and the business can vary widely from month to month.

The Privy Council Office is the Secretariat to the Privy Council. It is responsible for delivering all aspects of Privy Council business, including arrangements for Privy Council meetings; managing casework relating to the Privy Council’s prerogative and statutory portfolio; and administrative formalities connected with all appointments of new Privy Counsellors; Ministerial appointments; Royal Charter matters; Royal Proclamations; the approval of Channel Islands legislation; and the appointment of High Sheriffs in England and Wales.

This is a unique opportunity, initially to work on a short term records management project and then to provide business support to the team.

Job description

As a Business Support Officer, you will initially be responsible for undertaking the work of digitising the Privy Council Office’s paper records and assisting with the transfer of records to The National Archives; or the destruction of records that are no longer required.

Due to the nature of this role, you will be expected to work from our London office for most of the week, with the flexibility to work one or two days a week from home.

The role requires a very high degree of accuracy and attention to detail.  The postholder will also need to be able to prioritise a busy workload efficiently and build effective working relationships between the Privy Council Office and our stakeholders, which include the Royal Household, Parliament and other government departments.

On completion of the records management project you will be required to provide assistance with all other aspects of Privy Council work. This may include the organisation of regular Privy Council meetings, assisting with the nomination or appointment of High Sheriffs in England and Wales or management of the Privy Council Office website alongside continued records management support.

Your work will be overseen by the Senior Casework and Records Manager, but you will be expected to manage your workload effectively; and at times work without direct supervision.

Responsibilities

The below responsibilities are the main objectives of the post, however in line with business needs, the responsibilities may change and evolve over time to meet the needs of the Office.

1. Undertake a short term project to ensure all the records of the Privy Council Office are digitised, including all our current and historic records.
   
   
2. Maintaining files and other records required by the Office, including creating folders and managing the electronic filing system. This will include Charter cases, the appointment of High Sheriffs and the regular Privy Council meetings.
   
   
3. Assisting with the records management process, including working with The National Archives and Cabinet Office colleagues to identify records for destruction, retention or permanent preservation.
   
   
4. Routine office management tasks, including answering routine emails; updating the Privy Council Office website and assisting with arrangements for internal and external meetings.
   
   
5. Ad-hoc admin support, as required, for other strands of work across the Privy Council Office portfolio, as directed by your line manager.

Person specification

We are looking for a flexible, hard working individual with a keen eye for detail.  Strong organisational skills are essential, as the post holder will have to balance and prioritise competing tasks on a daily basis, whilst ensuring the digitisation project will be completed on time. The successful candidate may also be engaging with stakeholders across Government and so excellent verbal and written communication skills are also essential.

Essential

• Excellent IT skills, including a knowledge of Google Suite (including Google Drive) and Microsoft Office products .
• Experience of working independently and delivering work to a consistently high standard.
• Excellent attention to detail and ability to multitask.
• Ability to build and maintain effective relationships with key stakeholders

Desirable

• Previous experience of records management work.

Additional information:

A minimum 60% of your working time should be spent at your principal workplace. Although requirements to attend other locations for official business will also count towards this level of attendance.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £28,700, Cabinet Office contributes £7,749 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 and Experience.

Application process
As part of the application process you will be asked to provide a 250 word personal statement. The sift will be conducted from this personal statement. 

Candidates who are invited to interview, will then be assessed on three civil service behaviours: working together, managing a quality service and delivering at pace.

Selection process
The sift will be conducted from the personal statement provided. Candidates should use this personal statement to show how their experience and interests align to the person specification and overall job role taking into account the three behaviours listed above. 

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

Expected timeline (subject to change)
Expected sift date – w/c 27th May
Expected interview date/s – w/c 3rd June
Interview location - 1 Horse Guard Road, London

Reasonable Adjustment

If a person with disabilities is put at a substantial disadvantage compared to a non-disabled person, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes. 

If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should: 

Contact Government Recruitment Service via cabinetofficerecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs. 

Complete the ‘Assistance required’ section in the ‘Additional requirements’ page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional.

Further Information

A reserve list may be held for a period of 12 months from which further appointments can be made.

Any move to Cabinet Office from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax Free Childcare. Determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk

If successful and transferring from another Government Department a criminal record check may be carried out. 

In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to Disclosure and Barring Service 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 National Security Vetting please visit the following page https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/demystifying-vetting

Please note that this role requires CTC clearance, which would normally need 3 years’ UK residency in the past 3 years. This is not an absolute requirement, but supplementary checks may be needed where individuals have not lived in the UK for that period. This may mean your security clearance (and therefore your appointment) will take longer or, in some cases, not be possible.

Please be aware the levels of national security clearance are changing which may impact on the level needed for this role by the time of appointment. All efforts will be made to keep candidates informed of any changes and what that will mean in terms of vetting criteria. For more information please See our vetting charter 

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 had their employment continued. Any applicant’s 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.

Please note terms and conditions are attached. Please take time to read the document to determine how these may affect you.

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. 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.