About the job

Job summary

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is recruiting for the role of a Ministerial Private Secretary.

The Department for Work and Pensions is responsible for social security, labour market, pensions, and child maintenance policy. As the UK’s biggest public service department, we administer the State Pension and a range of working age, disability, and ill health benefits to around 20 million claimants and customers. What we do matters to millions of people every day. 

Private Office is crucial to providing effective support and advice to Ministers and Special Advisers across all aspects of Departmental business, acting as the key interface between the Department and Ministers to deliver DWP’s critical agenda.

Job description

The Private Office is a high-performing, dynamic, supportive and inclusive team. This is a demanding but rewarding role for someone interested in working closely with Ministers, Special Advisers and senior officials.

This post reports to the Deputy Principal Private Secretary.

In this role you will:

• Advise and work directly with a Minister or Secretary of State and wider Ministerial Team to support them in delivering their priorities
• Work with senior stakeholders across the Department, including policy and operations, as well as across Whitehall, to provide the Ministerial Team with high quality and timely advice
• Support the Minister or Secretary of State in a wide range of internal and Cross-Government meetings and engagements
• Be an active member of the Private Office Senior Management Team

 We offer successful candidates:

•  The opportunity to work closely with Ministers, Special Advisers and senior officials
•  An exciting, fast-paced and challenging work environment that involves dealing with complex policy and operational issues
• The chance to be part of a supportive team with plenty of opportunities to learn and develop new skills
• The opportunity to broaden understanding of DWP policy, parliamentary business and cross-government functions

Person specification

We are looking for a tenacious, resilient and flexible person with excellent communication skills to work effectively with Ministers, Special Advisers and senior officials.

You will need to manage a heavy workload, prioritise effectively and enjoy working in a fast-moving environment.

Experience of working with Ministers or senior leaders is desirable but not essential.

Essential Criteria

The successful candidate will be able to demonstrate:

• An ability to work collaboratively and flexibly with others and within a dynamic team, often to short deadlines and to achieve common goals, maintaining a high level of service (Lead Criteria)
• Strong interpersonal, relationship building and communication skills (both verbal and written)
• Confidence to engage daily with the department’s most senior leaders, including Ministers, the Permanent Secretary and Director Generals
• Excellent judgement and approach to situations, tasks and problems, and a self-starter who can work independently
• An ability to deliver to tight deadlines quickly but effectively, whilst remaining professional in a pressured environment
• A strong track record in managing a high-quality service, and the ability to manage competing priorities and deal pragmatically with sometimes conflicting priorities
•  A flexible outlook and approach, coupled with a real enthusiasm for taking responsibility for high-quality work, demonstrating personal resilience and strong attention to detail

Due to the nature of the role, it may be necessary to work long hours, including weekends, especially when Parliament is sitting, for which an allowance will be payable.

The role is full time or job share. 

Benefits

• Learning and development tailored to your role
• An environment with flexible working options
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
• A Civil Service pension with an average employer contribution of 27%

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.

As part of the application process you will be asked to complete a CV and Personal Statement (1000 word max) to demonstrate how you meet the person specification and the essential criteria.

Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.

Selection will be by a written sift and shortlisted candidates will be invited to attend a face to face interview (Caxton House, London).

The CV element will not be individually scored so please put the main content of your evidence and skills in your 1000 word Personal Statement.

The CV is an online tool accessed through the Civil Service Jobsite and there is no requirement to upload your personal CV.

Should a large number of applications be received, an initial sift may be conducted using the lead criteria:  

• An ability to work collaboratively and flexibly with others and within a dynamic team, often to short deadlines and to achieve common goals, maintaining a high level of service (Lead Criteria).
  

Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift, or progressed straight to interview.

Interview Stage 

Shortlisted candidates will be invited to attend an interview at Caxton House, London and will be assessed on their answers to interview questions on Behaviours and Strengths. 

This will consist of a face-to-face blended interview, which should take approximately between 30-40 minutes. 

A blended interview aims to be more of a conversation at interview offering a more inclusive approach. 
 
The Behaviour and Strength based questioning explores what the candidate can and has done, but also their potential.

Questions in Advance 

To help you prepare and settle into the interview you will be sent the behaviour questions in advance, 5 days prior to your interview. These questions should be treated as confidential and should not be shared.

The interview panel may ask you other questions which will not be shared in advance, including follow-up questions, and those about your strengths. 

An example of a Behavioural question would be; Tell me about a time when you’ve had to deal with a difficult customer.

The behaviours being assessed are: 

• Communicating and Influencing - Communicate purpose and direction with clarity, integrity and enthusiasm. Respect the needs, responses and opinions of others.
• Working Together - Form effective partnerships and relationships with people both internally and externally, from a range of diverse backgrounds, sharing information, resources and support.
• Delivering at Pace -Take responsibility for delivering timely and quality results with focus and drive. 
• Seeing the Big Picture - Understand how your role fits with and supports organisational objectives. Recognise the wider Civil Service priorities and ensure work is in the national interest.

It may help to use one or more examples of a piece of work you have completed or a situation you have been in, and use the WHO or STAR model to explain:

What was the task, How you approached the work/situation and what the Outcomes were, what did you achieve? Or What was the Situation? That were the Tasks? What Action did you take? What were the Results of your actions?

It is difficult to prepare for strength type questions. However you can think through your answers, focus on your achievements and aspects you enjoy and decide how these can be applied in the organisation and role.

While strengths questions are shorter and we do not expect a full STAR response, the panel is interested in your first reaction to the question and information or reasoning to support this.

The sift will be carried out July 2024 - Interview dates to be confirmed. 

Further Information

Find out more about Working for DWP

A reserve list may be held for a period of 3 months from which further appointments can be made.

Any move to DWP 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

This role is full time/job share 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.

Appointments on Merit 

Selection for appointment to the Civil Service is on merit, on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's Recruitment Principles here. Successful candidates will be posted in merit order based on your location preferences, where appropriate, and the geographical requirements of the business. Dependent on your position on the merit list, if none of your location preferences remain at the point we make a job offer DWP may offer you a role at an alternative advertised location. If we are unable to offer you a role in any of your preferred locations, and you are unable to accept a role at an alternative advertised location, we will add you to the reserve list if one is being held.

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.

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.

Before applying for this vacancy, current employees of DWP should check whether a successful application would result in changes to their terms & conditions of employment, e.g. mobility, pay, allowances. Civil Servants that would transfer into DWP from other government organisations, following successful application, will assume DWP's terms & conditions of employment current on the day they are posted, unless DWP has stated otherwise in writing.

The Civil Service values honesty and integrity and expects all candidates to abide by these principles. Please ensure that all examples provided in your application are taken directly from your own experience and that you describe the examples in your own words. Applications will be screened and if evidence of plagiarism or copying examples/answers from other sources is found, your application will be withdrawn. Internal DWP candidates may also face disciplinary action.

New entrants are expected to join on the minimum of the pay band.

Security Requirements

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

You must meet the security requirements before you can be appointed. The level of security needed is Security Check.

For meaningful checks to be carried out individuals you will need to have lived in the UK for a sufficient period of time, to enable appropriate checks to be carried out and produce a result which provides the required level of assurance. Whilst a lack of UK residency in itself is not necessarily a bar to a security clearance, and expectation of UK residency may range from 3 to 5 years.

Failure to meet the residency requirements needed for the role may result in the withdrawal of provisional jobs offers.

NSV

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

Reasonable Adjustment

At DWP we value diversity and inclusion and actively encourage and welcome applications from everyone, including those that are underrepresented in our workforce.

We consider visible and non-visible disabilities, neurodiversity or learning differences, chronic medical conditions, or mental ill health. Examples include dyslexia, epilepsy, autism, chronic fatigue, or schizophrenia.

If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should:  Contact Government Recruitment Service via DWPrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.

Complete the “Reasonable Adjustments” 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.

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

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.