Assistant Private Secretary


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Details

Reference number

304497

Salary

£32,154 – £36,050
Staff applying on promotion within the Civil Service will usually be appointed to the salary minimum or receive a 10% increase on their existing salary. Individuals appointed on level transfer will retain their existing salary. Applicants from outside of the Civil Service should be aware that starting salaries will normally be at the band minimum and you should not expect to receive a higher salary.
A
Civil Service Pension with an average employer contribution of 27%

Job grade

Higher Executive Officer
Band D

Contract type

Permanent

Type of role

Administration / Corporate Support
Secretarial

Working pattern

Flexible working, Full-time, Job share, Part-time, Compressed Hours

Number of jobs available

1

Contents

The role will be based at our offices at 2-4 Cockspur Street, London, SW1Y 5BS, in central London, however please note that we are due to move to Canary Wharf in 2024. Please be aware that this role can only be worked in the UK and not overseas. We are operating hybrid working arrangements that require staff to be in Cockspur Street 40% of their working pattern.

Job summary

This is a fast moving, exciting and hugely influential private office role, where the successful candidate will be working closely with the SFO’s Chief Capability Officer (CCO) as her Assistant Private Secretary (APS).

This is an excellent opportunity to be part of a team with great exposure across the organisation, from working with colleagues from the teams who are working on the most complex financial crime cases in the country to working with the senior leaders who set and deliver the strategies / oversee the delivery of the SFO’s mission to tackle serious fraud, corruption and bribery in the 21st century.

The successful candidate will have the personal presence, effectiveness and credibility to work with senior staff in a highly pressurised environment. You will have excellent judgement and highly developed analytical skills that can be deployed flexibly across Private Office team. You will have strong communication skills, resilience and the ability to work at pace in a complex multi-stakeholder environment, driving progress on competing priorities to deliver successful outcomes for the SFO.

This role would especially suit Band E/EOs or existing Band D/HEOs who want to experience the law enforcement sector, or for those wishing to gain experience working closely with senior leadership.

Job description

As an Assistant Private Secretary you will be responsible for:

  • Provide efficient and effective support to the CCO;
  • Line management of 1x Band E/EO Diary Assistant
  • Ensuring that the CCO is well prepared and briefed for all meetings, speaking engagements and all other events;
  • Facilitate the interaction between the CCO and teams throughout the SFO, working closely with other members of the SFO’s Senior Leadership Team, to identify and resolve issues which can impact the business;
  • Organising, planning and managing CCO’s diary alongside the diary manager; proactively managing issues for on behalf of the CCO to ensure that the CCO’s time is used as effectively as possible;

For more information about the role and for a full list of key responsibilities, please see attached Job Pack.

Person specification

See above and attached Job Pack.

Behaviours

We’ll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

Alongside your salary of £32,154, Serious Fraud Office contributes
£8,682 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme.

Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

Option to join the Civil Service pension scheme. For further details, click here http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/pensions 

Generous annual leave provision of 25 days which increases to 30 days after five years’ service plus an additional day in recognition of the Queen’s Birthday and the option to buy or sell up to five days’ leave per year. Different terms may apply if you are already a Civil Servant.

Discretionary performance-related bonus scheme.

Interest-free season travel ticket, bicycle loan and cycle to work scheme.

Access to the Rental Deposit Salary Advance Scheme which assists employees in meeting the costs of deposits for privately rented homes.

Opportunities for learning and development.

Flexible working arrangements and family-friendly policies.

Voucher for eye care and discounted spectacles.

Access to a range of discounts through membership of the Civil Service Sports and Social Club, CSSC Sports and Leisure. http://www.cssc.co.uk/

Maternity and paternity leave provision over and above the statutory entitlements.

Access to My CPS Rewards Gateway. My CPS Rewards offers staff a range of rewards and savings including:

  • Discounts with high street retailers
  • Savings on grocery shopping at a range of supermarkets
  • Special salary sacrifice and recognition schemes
  • Reloadable gift cards and e-cards
  • Instant vouchers

Any move to the Serious Fraud Office 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/

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours and Experience.

Application stage

As part of the application process you will be required to provide:

  • A personal statement of no more than 500 words that explains how your skills and experience meet each of the essential experience criteria as listed in the job pack.
  • A supporting CV with details of your job history.

It will not be possible to provide feedback to applicants who are unsuccessful at the application stage.

Interview stage

Behaviours and experience as outlined in the job pack will be tested at interview

Full details of the interview process will be made available to shortlisted candidates in the invite to interview.

Sift to take place from 18 August 2023.

Interviews are expected to take place w/c 28 August and w/c 4 September.

All dates are indicative and subject to change.

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 Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
  • nationals of the Republic of Ireland
  • nationals from the EU, EEA or Switzerland with settled or pre-settled status or who apply for either status by the deadline of the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
  • relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals working in the Civil Service
  • relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals who have built up the right to work in the Civil Service
  • certain family members of the relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals

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.
This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.
Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available.
You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

  • Name : Human Resources
  • Email : HumanResources@sfo.gov.uk

Recruitment team

  • Email : HumanResources@sfo.gov.uk

Further information

For external competitions there is no appeal against the selection decision. However, individuals have a right to appeal if they feel that the principle of appointment on merit through fair and open competition and the Civil Service Commissioners’ recruitment principles have not been met. Individuals who want to appeal should do this by setting out their grounds for appeal in an email for the attention of Head of HR Operations to HumanResources@sfo.gov.uk. If, after an internal appeal, you still believe that the Civil Service Commissioners’ Principles have not been met, then you can contact the Commission directly: Complaints should be sent in writing to: Civil Service Commission, Room G08 ,1 Horse Guards Road, London SW1A 2HQ. Email info@csc.gov.uk

Attachments

Band D APS to CCO – Job Pack FINAL Opens in new window (pdf, 659kB)

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