About the job

Job summary

We are recruiting for the role of Corporate Officer working with Secretariat Services

The location for this role is flexible however regular in-person working in London will be required. 

We provide extensive wellbeing support for colleagues, as well as excellent benefits, all of which we hope encourages you to join us.

We are a diverse, inclusive organisation which we believe helps ensure we provide a service which promotes the diversity and uniqueness of children and families from all backgrounds. We especially welcome applications from people from diverse backgrounds as we strive to ensure our workforce reflects the diversity of the children and families we work with.

Job description

Let us tell you a bit more about the role…

As a Corporate Officer, you will provide high quality support into the secretariat working closely with our Corporate Management Team and the Cafcass Board in a supportive environment that is handling large volumes of strategic and operational content which can often also be high profile.

The support you provide includes a range of written and oral communication and requires the ability to problem solve on a day to day basis.  There is a need for a high focus on maintaining strong governance of meetings including forward planning and maintenance of agendas, collation and distribution of papers, recording of notes, minutes and decisions and managing the communication routes.  In addition there is also plenty of opportunity to help shape and continuously improve the services that are undertaken and be involved in delivery of improvement projects.

Person specification

What we are looking for:

• Relevant experience of corporate and organisational governance processes and administrative support to senior management.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills that enable positive working relationships at all levels
• Highly organised, self-motivated, and able to plan and prioritise workloads, competing tasks and deadlines and manage own time efficiently
• High level of attention to detail within written and oral skills
• Ability to deal with sensitive matters and an understanding of confidentiality including data protection
• Excellent interpersonal skills
• Ability to adapt to a changing environment and deal tactfully and sensitively with people.

You can find out more about the above - and much more - by reading the job description which we encourage you to read so that you can ensure your application fully identifies your suitability for the role.

Benefits

We also know that to join us you want to be rewarded in a variety of ways, including quality time away from work to spend time with those important to you, support to manage your financial present and future, whilst also being trusted to manage your work/life balance. We have an extensive package of benefits that you can find out more about when you click through, including excellent holidays and a generous Local Government Pension Scheme to name just two things.

 

We also understand that you will want to work for an organisation that is both passionate and committed to supporting your wellbeing. As you will find out when you visit our vacancy page, the four dedicated, additional days per year when colleagues are encouraged to spend time focusing on their health and wellbeing is just one of a multitude of ways in which we do this.

Things you need to know

Selection process details

If and when you are ready to apply, our application process is straightforward and quick to complete. You don’t need to complete your application in a single visit, you can start it and come back and amend your responses / update your CV, just make sure you come back before the closing date to submit.

Below we have given you an indication of a timetable we are hoping to work towards, although dates are subject to change.

Closing date:	19th January 2024
Initial Interview:	24th January 2024
Final Interview:	1st & 2nd February 2024

We understand you may benefit from finding out more to help you decide to apply. There is a lot of information available at Cafcass Careers but if there is something else you need to find out more about, you can either contact chloe.hearne@cafcass.gov.uk from our HR Resourcing team if your query is to do with the recruitment process or is HR-related, or  Nicola.blakebrough@cafcass.gov.uk. if your questions relate more to the role, providing your contact information and best times / methods to get hold of you.

Whilst we will always try and respond a.s.a.p. we wouldn’t want you to miss the closing date before we are able to. If this is the case, we recommend you apply and as part of your application you can ask questions and this may allow us to contact you and provide you with the required information that will help you decide if you still wish to be considered.

Finally, in anticipation of your application being successful, you might want to read about the offer and pre-employment checks process. As part of your application you can highlight any concerns or questions about the pre-employment checks and we encourage all applicants to do so, safe in the knowledge such information will not be shared with individuals involved in the selection process.

We look forward to hearing from you.

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

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check. 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.