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:

PA to 2 x Deputy Directors

Job Grade:

Executive Officer

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 Personal Assistant to the Chief Commercial Officer’s (CCO) Private Office to work with two of our Deputy Director’s (DD’s). You will be joining a friendly team of 10, 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.

The successful candidate should have the ability to plan and prioritise their workload and work calmly under pressure. They should also have excellent organisational skills, communication skills with the ability to engage with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders at all levels. This is an exciting opportunity for someone looking to develop quickly and work closely with senior leaders and be part of a nurturing team.

Key Responsibilities

•    You will be the key person in managing the DD’s emails and diary, ensuring conflicts are resolved. Gaining an understanding of priorities to have an intuitive approach to diary planning will be key here.
•    Using relevant documents and papers to ensure DDs are fully briefed and are prepared in advance of all meetings. 
•    Arranging meetings and leading on logistics for meetings - including room bookings and invitations, circulation and filing of papers and minutes.
•    Managing travel bookings, including itinerary planning and problem solving when more complicated trips take place.
•    Accompanying the DD to meetings as required to take minutes and actions, ensuring the timely follow up of actions when needed.
•    Delegating work on behalf of the DD, including leading on commissions and taking on drafting and briefings when necessary.
•    Work with the rest of the CCO Private Office to share knowledge and best practice and be part of the development of a strong Private Office service. Including providing support to the other PAs and Business Managers during periods of leave.

The list above is not exhaustive, these are varied and dynamic roles which will see you working on a range of changing and interesting priorities and tasks. You will also have the opportunity to get involved with the wider team, shadowing other team members or taking on smaller individual projects if you wish. We also encourage opportunities such as site visits and team away days, which are other interesting and 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 

•    Delivering at Pace (250 words)
•    Making Effective Decisions (250 words)

Experience

•    Statement of Suitability (500 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 ‘Delivering at Pace’.

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

•    Delivering at Pace
•    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 £27,223, Ministry of Justice contributes £7,377 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.