About the job

Job summary

If you’re interested in making a difference to people’s lives, the Treasury can offer you an exciting opportunity to influence decision making that affects the whole of the UK. Working at the heart of government, we collaborate across government to promote responsible public spending and drive strong and sustainable economic growth.  

Our work ranges from protecting customers through the regulation of the financial sector, helping to reduce carbon emissions and creating a greener economy, to promoting British trade around the world and supporting people across the country on jobs, growth and more.  

HM Treasury is proud of a diverse and inclusive work environment, committed to fairness and the promotion of equality of opportunity for all. We know that having a range of experiences, ways of working and thinking makes us stronger and better at developing policy that reflects the needs of every community. We embrace different views and experiences and value the new perspective that people from a variety of circumstances bring to the work we do. We welcome applications from candidates who have not previously worked for the Civil Service, mid- and late-career changers with transferrable skills, people from all backgrounds and circumstances regardless of disability, gender, age ethnicity, LGBT+ identity and socio-economic status.  

We are part of the Darlington Economic Campus, a pioneering new cross-government hub which brings people together to play an active role in the most important issues of the day whilst working closer to the communities we serve. The campus provides the opportunity for people from all over the UK to help shape the future of the country, and our flexible working practices ensure you can collaborate effectively with our partners. It’s central government, made more accessible to you! 

Job description

Ministerial and Communications 

The Ministerial and Communications Group sits at the heart of the Treasury. If you are interested in the inner workings of the Government, meeting Ministers, Senior Officials and liaising with the Press then this could be the place for you! We are a friendly and inclusive Group working on some of the most exciting issues of the day, bringing together work from across the rest of the department and engaging closely with partners across Whitehall and beyond. 

We provide support to Ministers, through Ministerial offices. We act as Treasury's external face, through the Press Office and Communications team. We are responsible for managing the department, through our support for the Permanent Secretary, the Second Permanent Secretaries, the Treasury Board, and the Executive Management Board (EMB), and our ownership of Treasury governance structures. This is a unique group in HMT, is overseen collaboratively by the three Deputy Directors (PPS; Press Secretary; and Chief of Staff to the Permanent Secretary) reporting to the Permanent Secretary, supported by the Director, Strategy, Planning and Budget (SPB).

The Ministerial Support Team consists of six ministerial private offices who support each of the Treasury ministers. It also includes our Parliamentary Unit and the Special Advisers’ private office. Our team comprises around 50 people and the work of all the units is overseen by the Principal Private Secretary

About the Job

This is an exciting, fast-paced and rewarding post, which offers an outstanding opportunity to operate at the centre of everything the Treasury does, lead one of the largest teams in the department, and gain an unrivalled insight into the workings of the Treasury and Government. The Principal Private Secretary (PPS) is a crucial channel of communication between the Chancellor, the Treasury, and the rest of Government. The post is heavily loaded and requires out of hours working.

Key Accountabilities for this role include:

• Ensure the smooth and efficient running of the Chancellor's Office, working collaboratively with Special Advisers, the Communications Team, the Permanent Secretary, our Executive Management Board (EMB), the Strategy, Planning and Budget team (SPB) and the Treasury’s senior officials to provide the highest quality support for the Chancellor.
• Lead the Ministerial team of around 50 staff across the six Ministerial offices, the Special Advisers’ Office and the Parliamentary Unit. Directly line-manage four senior managers staff and provide overall leadership to the whole team, ensuring that all offices and units are appropriately resourced and led, and that they work effectively as a team to deliver the service Ministers expect and the Department requires, as well as providing support to staff often working under considerable pressure. You will also have responsibility for management of the team’s budget and jointly running Ministerial and Communications (MinComm) Group.
• Own the Treasury’s relationship with Number 10, building strong relationships with the Prime Minister’s private office and wider team, and leading negotiations to advance HMT and Chancellor priorities. Also lead relationships with the offices of Cabinet Ministers and the offices of Finance Ministers in other countries and have a critical role in handling relationships with other key partners, including the Governor of the Bank of England. You will need to have the credibility to represent the Chancellor and the Treasury in these relationships.
• Maintain a clear understanding of the Treasury’s top policy issues, prioritising what the Chancellor focuses on, acting as the key link between the Chancellor and other Treasury Ministers and the Department, and ensuring the Department has clear steers on Ministerial preferences and priorities, helping them work better together.
• Play a leading role in helping coordinate Budgets and other key Treasury events, such as Spending Reviews, working closely with key policy and coordination teams and helping focus the Chancellor’s time to reflect their and the Department’s priorities.

You will jointly lead the Ministerial and Communications group with the Chancellor’s spokesperson and the Chief of Staff to the Permanent Secretary.

Security Vetting

Applicants will need to undergo or hold SC clearance to initially take up the post, however will need to go through Developed Vetting once appointed to meet the ongoing needs of the role.

Candidate Drop-In Session 
 
We will be running a candidate drop-in session for this role to give you greater insight about the role as well as the chance to learn more about HM Treasury and the recruitment process. If you would like to join us, then please reach out to Hitesh Darjee for further information - Hitesh.Darjee@hmtreasury.gov.uk

This session will be held on Monday 25th March at 13:30 PM.  

Person specification

Please review the Candidate FAQ document that is attached to the advert for guidance on how to complete your application.

Required Skills, Experience and Behaviours:

For your application, please send us a CV and a personal statement setting out how you meet the following skills, behaviours and experience. This should be no longer than 750 words, and include no more than 250 words on each criteria below;

• The credibility to influence at all levels, including with senior Ministers, and to work collaboratively to resolve difficult issues. [Communicating and influencing]
• Exceptional interpersonal and management skills, with the ability to provide leadership across a large, diverse team. [Leadership]
• Excellent organisational and prioritisation skills, with the ability to work effectively and deliver across a range of tasks and under pressure. [Delivering at Pace]

Staff engagement panel exercise

If you are shortlisted, you will be asked to take part in a staff engagement panel exercise. This assessment will not result in a pass or fail decision. Rather it is designed to support the panel’s decision making and highlight areas for the panel to explore further at interview. 

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £75,000, HM Treasury contributes £20,250 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.

Recruitment Timeline 

• Closing date: Tuesday 2nd April 2024
• Shortlisting: w/c 8th April 2024
• Staff engagement: w/c 15th April 2024
• Interviews: w/c 29th April 2024

This timeline is indicative and may be subject to change. We will inform you if there is a substantial change to the recruitment timeline. 

If your contact details change at any time during the selection process, please ensure you update your Civil Service Jobs Profile. 

Please note that only applications submitted through Civil Service Jobs will be accepted.

Eligibility Statement  

A candidate is not eligible to apply for a role in the Civil Service if the application is made within a 5 year period following a dismissal for carrying out internal fraud against government. Checks will be performed as part of pre-employment checks in line with this. Please refer to the Candidate FAQ document attached to the advert for more information. 

Individuals appointed to the Treasury Group will be subject to National Security Vetting. To allow for meaningful checks to be carried out applicants will normally need to have lived in the UK for at least 8 out of the last 10 years. A lack of UK residency in itself is not always a bar to security clearance but the Department will need to consider eligibility on a case by case basis using all information that can be obtained following a successful application. 

Everyone working with government assets must complete Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) checks.  

For many roles, security clearance is also required. Successful candidates must meet the security requirements of the role before they can be appointed. The level of security clearance required for this role is Developed Vetting (DV). Successful applicants will be able to start in post on Security Check (SC) level clearance, and undertake further vetting whilst in post. 

Please read the Vetting Charter for information on what to expect during the vetting process and what will be expected from you.  

Many areas of your life may be explored during your vetting journey, and it is important that every individual, regardless of their background and experiences, should feel comfortable going through this personal process, whilst having confidence that it is fair, proportionate, and inclusive.  

These short videos address common concerns and preconceptions which applicants may have about national security vetting.  

If you have questions relating to security clearances, please contact HMTSecurityVetting@hmtreasury.gov.uk

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

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.