About the job

Job summary

This position is based nationally.

Job description

We encourage applications from people from all backgrounds and aim to have a workforce that represents the wider society that we serve. We pride ourselves on being an employer of choice. We champion diversity, inclusion and wellbeing and aim to create a workplace where everyone feels valued and a sense of belonging. To find out more about how we do this visit: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice/about/equality-and-diversity.

Job Title:                Deputy Chief of Staff / Senior Business Manager in the Chief Commercial Officer’s Office

Job Grade:               Senior Executive Officer (Band B)

Reporting to:           Chief of Staff to Chief Commercial Officer

Job Location:          National (click here to find your nearest location)

Contract Type:        Permanent

Business Area:       MOJ – Commercial & Contract Management Department

Type of role:            Business Support, Corporate/ Administration Support

Working pattern:    Flexible working, Full-time

Number of Posts:   1

ABOUT THE DEPARTMENT

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) is a major government department, at the heart of the justice system. Responsible for courts, prisons and probation services, we work to ensure sentences are served and offenders are given rehabilitation opportunities to become law-abiding citizens.

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has one of the largest and most complex spend profiles in central government. The Commercial and Contract Management Directorate (CCMD) is responsible for coordinating procurement and contract management across the MoJ, its agencies and non-departmental public bodies.

The MoJ spends £6.7bn a year and manages over 1000 active contracts, all of which are sourced and managed by CCMD. We are running some of the most groundbreaking programmes such as Prison Reform and His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunal Service Reform. The scope of our contracts ranges from building, maintenance and the operation of Prisons, Courts and Young Offender establishments through to food for prison dogs. The directorate also buys and manages contracts for feeding up to 80,000 prisoners, the secure escorting of prisoners from numerous establishments based around the country and translation services.

CCMD is organised into category teams, each with an interesting portfolio of contracts and diverse customers and suppliers to manage. We also have systems, programme management office, supplier relationship and risk management teams who work across all areas.

SCOPE

Portfolio – Chief Commercial Officer’s Private Office

At the Ministry of Justice, we aim to lead the way across government in achieving the highest level of performance against government commercial standards. We support some of the most innovative commercial work in government and the Commercial and Contract Management Directorate’s (CCMD) work is crucial to the successful delivery of the £1.3bn prison reform and £700m court reform programmes.

We are looking to appoint a Senior Business Manager in the Chief Commercial Officer’s (CCO) Private Office to work with one of our Senior Leadership Team. You will be joining a friendly team of 11, made up from the Chief of Staff, Business Managers and PAs (including this post). We have a range of experience between us and your input into our development will be key as we continue to grow and improve.

Purpose – Overview of job role

This is a challenging and fast-paced role based within the Chief Commercial Officer’s (CCO) Office.

The CCO’s office is a close-knit team responsible for the effective operation of the Senior Leadership Team within the Commercial and Contract Management Directorate (CCMD) within the Ministry of Justice. The Deputy Chief of Staff is a key role in supporting the Chief Commercial Officer and his Senior Leadership Team, Chief of Staff and the wider team.

The postholder will:

• work closely with senior internal and external stakeholders.
• need to work autonomously, act on their initiative and adapt to an environment that is fast-paced and where priorities change regularly.
• be a leader within their own right with the ability to deputise and make decisions on behalf of the Chief of Staff where necessary.

This is an excellent opportunity to join an open and supportive team where you will have the ability to grow and work in an interesting and challenging area of the department.

Due to the challenging nature of the role, and to allow scope for projects to be undertaken the post-holder will be expected to spend at least 2 years in post. We encourage any prospective applicants to contact the vacancy holder before applying if you have any questions.

Job role – key responsibilities

You will support a member of the CCMD Senior Leadership Team by providing excellent administrative support in a range of areas, including, but not limited to:

• Acting as Deputy Chief of Staff, providing cover for the Chief of Staff during periods of absence, making decisions on her behalf when necessary.
• Providing brilliant line management to at least two Personal Assistants within the team;
• Providing full oversight and authority over the senior leader’s diary, ensuring clashes are resolved and ensuring their time is used as effectively as possible. Managing upwards to ensure the correct decisions are made;
• Coordinating all travel including making bookings for rail, hotels, car hire, etc.;
• Anticipating risks and issues occurring and work with multiple stakeholders to manage and mitigate risks and maximise opportunities (particularly with regard to diary orchestration);
• Identifying where the senior leader will need briefings for meetings, preparing agendas, coordinating meetings and taking minutes and actions as necessary;
• Ensuring they are well prepared and briefed for meetings and speaking events;
• Supporting the senior leader in ensuring effective and appropriate communications to and from the staff in their remit so that they can deliver their priorities on a timely basis;
• Build effective relationships across the Department and beyond.

The list above is not exhaustive this is a varied and dynamic role which will see you working on a range of priorities and tasks. You will also have the opportunity to be part of the wider team, taking on smaller individual projects for the senior leader or CoS if you wish. We also encourage opportunities such as site visits and team away days, which are other rewarding elements of our roles.

Person Specification

Essential Criteria:

 

• Strong written and communication skills, with the ability to work with a range of stakeholders to communicate and work both informally and in the most sensitive manner.
• Problem solving skills with the ability to work calmly and at pace under pressure.
• High levels of confidentiality and discretion due to access to senior leaders’ emails and schedules.
• Strong IT skills (i.e. the ability to work confidently in Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Outlook and Teams).

Desirable Criteria:

Most importantly we are looking for someone with the right personal qualities – enthusiasm, energy, proactivity and a team player who is also able to work under their own initiative and to be flexible and adaptable in a demanding environment. Experience working as a diary secretary would be an advantage in your induction period, however this is not essential as you would receive support and training throughout your time in post.

Application form stage assessments:

An initial sift will be performed against the following elements:

Behaviours

• Leadership (250 words)
• Delivering at Pace (250 words)

Experience

• Statement of Suitability (750 words)

Please note that in the event of a large number of applications being received we may run the initial sift on the Statement of Suitability and Lead behaviour of ‘Leadership’.

If shortlisted, you’ll be invited to an interview and will be assessed on the selected success profile elements at the interview stage. Please carry a valid proof of Id that has your photo on it (passport, BRP, driving licence etc) at the interview.

Interview:

There is one interview stage for this vacancy and as part of the interview process you will be required to provide evidence of the following:

Behaviours

• Leadership
• Communicating and Influencing
• Managing a Quality Service
• Making Effective Decisions

Strengths may also be assessed at interview.

Please use STAR approach to structure your examples.

• Situation – Describe the situation you found yourself in and what happened.

• Task – The Hiring Manager will want to understand what you tried to achieve from the situation that you found yourself in.

• Action – What actions did you take and how did you do it. Make sure to use “I”, not “we” to explain how your actions lead to a result.

• Result – Use facts and statistics to demonstrate the results that your actions produced. Explain whether it was a successful outcome, and if not, what you learned from the experience.

Further information on the Success profile elements can be found on Success Profiles - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Person specification

Please refer to Job Description

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £39,868, Ministry of Justice contributes £10,804 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.https://justicejobs.tal.net/vx/candidate/cms/About%20the%20MOJ

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.