About the job

Job summary

Are you a highly organised and resilient individual who thrives on working within a fast-paced environment?

Can you communicate with confidence and enjoy building and maintaining positive working relationships?

If so, we are looking for a Diary Manager to the Chief Executive, to join us at the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) and we'd love to hear from you!  

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) implements the government’s maritime safety policy in the United Kingdom and works to prevent the loss of life and occurrence of pollution on the coast and at sea.

Safer lives. Safer Ships. Cleaner Seas.

Our vision is to be a world-leading organisation, accelerating the transition to sustainable shipping with non-negotiable safety standards. We put our people, our customers and our planet at the heart of everything we do.

We welcome applications from all communities, and we don’t discriminate against any identity. We’re interested to hear from you, regardless of your background.

Job description

This post sits within the Chief Executive’s Private Office, whose aim is to ensure the Chief Executive is at the right place, at the right time, with the right information. It is the central point of contact for supporting the Chief Executive and liaising with internal and external stakeholders.

As the Diary Manager to the Chief Executive, it will be your main responsibility to lead on diary management, travel booking and expenses submission for the Chief Executive. You will also carry out additional administrative tasks to support other senior members of the Agency.

The role will also support the other members of the Private Office to provide resilience during leave periods and undertake other activities to support the business of the Private Office. Therefore, it is important that you can build and maintain positive relationships and be confident when communicating with senior colleagues.

As this is a dynamic role, it is important that you are comfortable working independently, as well as part of a team. You will need to work on your own initiative and have confidence in your ability to apply good judgement when making fast-paced decisions, ensuring you are responsive to moving components in the diary.

If you are looking for a varied role, where you can work autonomously with a different challenge every day, then this will be a fantastic opportunity for you! You will have the opportunity to work with a variety of stakeholders and enquires, providing you with a complete overview of the agency.

Your responsibilities include but are not limited to:  

Manage the Chief Executive’s diary:

• Plan well ahead to make efficient and effective use of their time.
• Negotiate mutually convenient times with stakeholders for planned meetings and events.
• Prioritise appointments according to available time and importance and arrange venue, attendees, and papers/briefings.
• Manage conflicting priorities often with tight deadlines.
• Lead regular meeting with the Chief Executive to agree diary priorities.

Manage travel and accommodation arrangements for the Chief Executive:

• Prepare options or use best knowledge to book travel and accommodation.
• Ensure clear travel instructions are available and outlined in the Chief Executive’s diary.
• Manage travel and accommodation in keeping within Civil Service financial guidelines and value for money.

Accurately prepare and submit expense and fee claims for the Chief Executive.

Accurately manage and prepare the Chief Executive’s daily papers:

• React quickly to any updates required on a daily basis
• Reorganise own workloads where necessary.

For further information about the role and responsibilities, please see the attached role profile.

Person specification

About You 

To be successful in this role, you will need to have experience in diary management in a busy Executive or Ministerial environment. You will be confident and articulate when communicating with internal and external stakeholders at all levels, both verbally and in writing.

You will have great interpersonal skills and the ability to build trusted working relationships. You will be assertive when required, whilst remaining calm and professional in the face of conflicting and changing priorities. You will be discreet and respectful of confidentiality, with the ability to recognise and deal appropriately with potentially sensitive issues.

You will be a proactive problem solver who is able to demonstrate resilience and good judgement when making fast-paced decisions in response to moving components in the diary. You will work well independently, using your initiative when required, as well as demonstrating good teamwork and support for colleagues.

You will be highly organised, with excellent time management, high attention to detail and the capability to plan strategically.

Additional Information 

This role will be based in the Southampton HQ. MCA supports flexible working and operates a hybrid working model between home and office for this role, giving you greater flexibility over where and when you work.  

The expectation is that you will spend a minimum 60% of your working time based at your principal workplace or out on official business. Details of the arrangement will be discussed further with your line manager. 

This is a full-time position, the successful candidate will be expected to work 37 hours a week to meet the Chief Executive's commitments.

There may be a requirement for occasional travel to support the Chief Executive in the execution of their role. This may involve overnight stays. Notice will be given prior to travel.

Benefits

Being part of our brilliant Civil Service means you will have access to a wide range of fantastic benefits. We offer generous annual leave, attractive pension options, flexible working, inclusive working environments and much more to support a healthy work/life balance.

Click here to get a copy of the MCA Staff Benefits Brochure

Find out what it's like to work at the Maritime and Coastguard Agency

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.

This vacancy is using Success Profiles. This gives us the best possible chance of finding the right person for the job, drives up performance and improves diversity and inclusivity.   

How to Apply   

CV and Personal Statement:   

Within your CV and personal statement please demonstrate your knowledge and experience of:

• Diary management in a busy Executive or Ministerial environment.
• Strong communication skills, both verbal and written, with an ability to communicate confidently on behalf of the Agency and Chief Executive and engage with senior stakeholders.
• Delivering against tight and competing deadlines, remaining calm under pressure.
• Being discrete and diplomatic when handling sensitive information and relationships.
• Using own judgement to make decisions.

Your personal statement will be limited to a maximum of 1,250 words.  

It is essential when submitting your personal statement that you provide as much detail as possible, and utilise the full word count given, against the essential criteria outlined above as this will be used in conjunction with your CV to assess candidate suitability to move to the next round in the recruitment process.   

Sift and Interview Dates: 

The sift is due to take place on 9th & 10th January 2024.

Interviews/assessments are likely to be held w/c 29th January 2024.

This interview will be conducted online via Teams. Further details will be provided to you should you be selected for interview.  

We will try to meet the dates set out in the advert. There may be occasions when these dates will change. You will be provided with sufficient notice of the confirmed dates.  

The selection process will be designed specifically for the role. As a result, your assessment will include:  

• An interview.
• An in-tray exercise.

You’re encouraged to become familiar with the role profile, as you may be assessed against any of the criteria recorded within. 

Reasonable Adjustments

As a Disability Confident Leader employer, we are committed to ensuring that the recruitment process is fair, accessible and allows all candidates to perform at their best. If a person with a visible or non-visible disability is substantially disadvantaged, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes.

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

If you need a reasonable adjustment so that you can complete your application, you should contact Government Recruitment Service via dftrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.

Document Accessibility

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

This job advert contains links to the DfT Careers website. Our website provides useful guidance and information that can support you during the application process. If you cannot access the information on our website for any reason, please email DRGComms@dft.gov.uk for assistance.

Further Information

For more information about how we hire, and for useful tips on submitting your application for this role, visit the How We Hire page of our DfT Careers website. You can find detailed information about the recruitment process and what to expect when applying for a role. 

Pre-employment Checking

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.

This role is full time only. Applicants who wish to work an alternative pattern are welcome to apply however your preferred working pattern may not be available and you should discuss this with the vacancy holder before applying.                                               

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. 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.