PA to 2x Deputy Directors (CCO’s Office) (Ref:77646)

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.

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)

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

• Delivering at Pace
• Making Effective Decisions

• Access to learning and development
• A working environment that supports a range of flexible working options to enhance your work life balance
• A working culture which encourages inclusion and diversity
• A Civil Service pension with an average employer contribution of 27%
• Annual Leave
• Public Holidays
• Season Ticket Advance

For more information about the recruitment process, benefits and allowances and answers to general queries, please click the below link which will direct you to our Candidate Information Page.

Link: https://justicejobs.tal.net/vx/candidate/cms/About%20the%20MOJ

Job contact :

• Name : SSCL Recruitment Enquiries Team
• Email : Moj-recruitment-vetting-enquiries@gov.sscl.com
• Telephone : 0845 241 5359

Recruitment team

• Email : Moj-recruitment-vetting-enquiries@gov.sscl.com