About the job

Job summary

The International Strategy and Trade Relations Directorate (ISTR) is a new Directorate within DBT, formed in April 2024 and responsible for driving economic growth by capitalising on opportunities to open up and protect overseas markets for UK Business. You’ll be joining the team during an exciting time of growth and change and will play a key role in supporting the Director and Head of Office with settling teams into their new structures end establishing new ways of working.  

The Directors Office provides direct Private Office support to the ISTR Director, ensuring their time is prioritised and used effectively. In addition, the office manages and co-ordinates corporate support across the wider directorate ensuring that priorities and objectives are clearly communicated and fully implemented within teams. 

As this is a private office role, you will need to be comfortable working at pace and under pressure whilst maintaining quality. You will be required to quickly build a large degree of influence, responsibility, and autonomy across a variety of senior staff within the Directorate. You will be responsible for working closely with the head of the Directors Office and the Directors diary manager to ensure the Directors day-to-day business is transacted efficiently, in a timely manner, and that the optimal flow of information to and from teams is maintained. 

Job description

• Supporting the Head of Directors Office with the smooth and efficient running of the Directors Offices Private Office Function, demonstrating grip and good judgement when actioning requests on the Directors behalf. 
• Maintaining a strong overview of the Directors schedule and priority actions and wider pressures, priorities and issues across the Directors teams, keeping the Head of Office and the Director updated and escalating issues to the appropriate level where required  
• Take responsibility for clear and timely cross directorate commissioning, supporting Deputy Directors with completion as required and chasing and collating responses to requests for information or action. 
• Day to day oversight of the Directors diary – using your knowledge of the Director and Deputy Directors priorities and workload to support the diary manager in ensuring the diary reflects an efficient and appropriate use of the Directors time and is aligned with wider departmental priorities. This includes ensuring the Director is fully prepared for each meeting by commissioning papers and briefings in advance.  
• Ensuring an effective organisation system of the inbox and that important emails and clearance requests are boxed for clearance in a timely manner and quality assured - requesting clarity or further information where needed and adding context where possible.  
• Provide line management and support to the Directors Diary manager (1 x EO) and the 3 x EO PAs supporting Deputy Directors across ISTR.  
• Providing secretariat support to meetings as required, including minute taking and support with completion of actions.  
• Ad hoc responsibilities as requested by the Director, Head of Office or teams across ESTR. 

Person specification

Essential criteria

• Excellent organisational skills with proven ability to identify priorities and support senior leaders to oversee their portfolios of work. 
• Effective communication skills (written and oral) intelligently tailored to engage the audience. 
• Proven ability to prioritise concurrent projects to deliver efficiently to time and quality. 
• Ability to work at pace in a constantly changing environment.  

Personal attributes & skills 

The successful candidate will be highly organised with the ability to manage competing priorities and deliver them at pace and to a high standard. An important part of your role will be working with private offices, senior civil servants and other key stakeholders and therefore you should be confident in dealing with senior people and you will possess good written and verbal communication skills. The role may present opportunities to take on extra responsibilities and so you should be a self-starter with drive and energy. 

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £32,858, Department for Business and Trade contributes £8,871 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, Ability and Experience.

After submission of the first stage of your application you will be invited to complete a Civil Service Verbal Test. If you successfully pass the test, you will be invited to complete the final stage of the application. 

Please complete the online tests as soon as possible (within 24-48 hours is recommended), the closing date for the tests is 23:55 on 20/04/2023. If you fail to complete the online test before the deadline your application will be withdrawn. Guidance for the test will be available when you are invited to take the test. The tests are administered online and accessed via the CS Jobs website.

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. 

After the closing date 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.

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.   

In the event of a large number of applicants, an initial short sift will be conducted on the Personal Statement.

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

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 

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.  

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

Feedback

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.