About the job

Job summary

This is an exciting time to join the Department for Business and Trade. The work we do has a real impact on jobs and growth across the United Kingdom. Our mission is to help businesses export, drive investment, and promote free trade.  

We are seeking enthusiastic and diligent executive assistants looking to develop a career in the civil service. We have two roles available to support senior civil servants responsible for goods and regulation policy, and the Gulf Cooperation Council and India trade agreements. You will need to be proactive, organised, and an excellent communicator to ensure support for our senior leaders, enabling them to deliver strategic leadership and deliver trade wins for the UK. 

We are recruiting for two roles within the Directorate: 

1. This role will support the Director’s Office with its broader responsibility for multiple policy areas and trade agreements.
2. This role will support Deputy Directors responsible for the specific area of ‘goods’ trade policy as it relates to all trade agreements and other international trade arrangements

Our teams are vibrant, hardworking, and collaborative. We pay special attention to providing training, support, and opportunities to allow individuals to achieve their goals and excel. We recognise the importance and professional and a personal growth and will encourage you to develop your abilities. 

Job description

Key responsibilities include:  

• Manage the diary of the Directors / Deputy Directors, ensuring their time is effectively organised and prioritised. Support the Directors / Deputy Directors navigate a rapidly changing schedule, ensuring they are where they need to be even at short notice.
• Arrange meetings requested by both Government officials and external stakeholders. This includes checking attendee availability, booking rooms, providing call details, issuing appointments, and rescheduling or arranging deputies if necessary.
• Manage the Director / Deputy Director mailbox. Take appropriate action to resolve emails, for instance, ensuring Directors / Deputy Directors are aware of urgent or important emails for their action, resolving emails yourself as appropriate.
• Liaise with colleagues to obtain background papers or briefing notes for meetings or issues to ensure the Director / Deputy Director has everything they need.
• Assist with monthly finance and People Data returns to support business operations.
• Build strong working relationships with peers across the Department.
• Undertake ad-hoc duties and tasks, such as organising away-days, social events, purchase orders and booking travel arrangements.
• Provide team support in the form of room bookings, organising meetings etc.

Person specification

Essential Criteria

You must ensure the successful candidate meets your specification entirely, so do not put expectations that are not vital.

• Strong organisational skills
• Effective communication skills 
• Ability to confidently work independently
• Ability to work under pressure

Desirable Criteria

• Previous experience within executive assistant / business support roles
• Experience with diary management
• Good IT skills and confident with Microsoft Outlook, Excel, and Word

Personal Attributes & Skills

The successful candidates will join a team working to deliver high ambition objectives to tight timelines. They should be comfortable operating under pressure and able to adapt quickly to changing circumstances and demands.

You will need to be enthusiastic, and ensure the Directors / Deputy Directors are engaged with their priorities to ensure deadlines are met.

You must be able to work flexibly to ensure last minute tasks are completed, and build robust relationships with peers across the Directorate and Department. 

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £27,329, Department for Business and Trade contributes £7,378 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.

Interviews for this vacancy will be conducted virtually. We will, however, consider in-person interviews by exception.

Please ensure that you check your emails regularly as all updates from us will be sent to you this way.

To apply for this post, you will be asked to complete the following as part of the online application:   

• A CV setting out your career history, with key responsibilities and achievements. Provide employment history that relates to the essential criteria, and that any gaps in employment history within the last 2 years are explained. The CV should not exceed more than 2 x A4 pages.
• A Personal Statement of up to 750 words explaining how you consider your personal skills, qualities and experience provide evidence of your suitability for the role in reference to the essential criteria.

It is likely that the sift will take place 1-2 weeks after the closing date and interviews 3-5 weeks after the closing date though this is subject to change.

In the event of a large number of applicants, an initial short sift will be conducted on the Personal Statement only. Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift or progressed straight to assessment/interview.

Vetting

The requirement for SC clearance is to have been present in the UK for at least 3 of the last 5 years. Failure to meet the residency requirements will result in your security clearance application being rejected.   

Reasonable Adjustments

We are committed to supporting candidates so they can perform at their best throughout the recruitment process. This includes making reasonable adjustments to our process. In order to request an adjustment: 

Complete the ‘Assistance required’ section on the ‘Additional requirements’ page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process. 

Alternatively contact the Government Recruitment Service at DBTrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.  

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

Candidate Support

You may want to join a virtual Candidate Support Session. These sessions include helpful tips and advice on the recruitment process, from application to interview.  

Please see attached Candidate Pack for further information on: Diversity and Inclusion; Benefits; Learning and Development; Working Patterns and what we deliver as a department.

Further Information:

• A reserve list may be held for a period of 12 months from which further appointments can be made. Reserve Lists will be for each location and appointments made in merit order based on location preferences.   
• Any move to the Department for Business and Trade from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments.
• The Department will not consider sponsoring a visa or issuing a Certificate of Sponsorship. We are unable to offer advice on any Visa and Immigration cases.  
• 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. Any applicant who has 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.  
• Terms and Conditions are attached.  Please take time to read the document to determine how these may affect you.

Please note – the successful candidate will be expected to remain in post for a minimum of 18 months before being released for another role.

In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to Disclosure and Barring Service /Disclosure Scotland/Access NI 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 the Disclosure Scotland confidential checking service telephone: the Disclosure Scotland Helpline on 0870 609 6006 and ask to speak to the operations manager in confidence, or email Info@disclosurescotland.co.uk 

For further information on the Access NI confidential checking service telephone: the Access NI Helpline on 0300 200 7888 and ask to speak to the operations manager in confidence, or email accessni@ani.x.gsi.gov.uk

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.