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About the job
Benefits
Things you need to know
Apply and further information
Location
About the job
Job summary
The EU Trade and the Union Directorate in the Department of Health and Social Care, is looking fortwo Personal Assistant and Business Support Officers.
In DHSC, we are proud of our purpose – to enable everyone to live more independent, healthier lives for longer. The EU, Trade and the Union Directorate plays a crucial role in our approach protecting the health of the UK and leads on negotiating and implementing international agreements, including trade and cooperation agreements and the Windsor Framework.
Our vision is to keep people’s health safe at home and overseas by building strong relationships with our national and international partners. We deliver post-Brexit health and care reforms on reciprocal healthcare, international trade, NHS cost recovery, medicines and medical devices, retained EU law and lead the Department’s relationship with the European Commission.
We also develop health and care policy that benefits people across the UK Union, working closely with governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, Crown Dependencies and the UK’s Overseas Territories.
Our work is pacey and wide-ranging, and provides the opportunity to lead work across DHSC, with other government departments including HM Treasury, Cabinet Office and No 10, DHSC agencies, partner organisations and stakeholders. You will have regular exposure to Ministers and senior officials.
You will be part of a friendly, supportive and diverse team – turning ambiguity into clarity and communicating complex policy issues to senior management, Ministers, Devolved Governments and international partners.
Job description
Person specification
- Ensuring smooth day to day running of the diary, prioritising commitments, as required. Leading forward-look diary meetings with senior leaders.
- Maintaining a broad understanding of your teams’ portfolio and priorities and ensuring that these are reflected in diary commitments
- Anticipating and identifying potential problems arising in the diary, especially when there are competing priorities and diary changes at very short notice. Taking the initiative to act to resolve or minimise disruption.
- Responsibility for planning and organising internal and external meetings, calls, video conferences, speaking engagements and visits. Ensuring papers and briefing are prepared in advance for meetings.
- Establishing and maintaining good relationships across DHSC, other Government Departments and with external stakeholders and using these to ensure delivery of priorities.
- Build good working relationships with other PA’s and Business Support within the Directorate/wider Department to share knowledge and best practice.
- Arranging travel and accommodation and preparing detailed travel itineraries.
- Managing expenses and completing quarterly transparency reports in a timely manner.
Key skills and experience required for the role
- Highly organised and have an attention to detail.
- Able to prioritise and make effective decisions, remaining calm under pressure in a fast-paced, reactive environment. The ability to be flexible in ways of working is important -as you may be working to more than one senior manager.
- Excellent communication skills and the ability to work collaboratively as part of a team as well as being able to work with autonomy, are essential.
- Use own initiative, and use own judgement to progress work on senior leaders behalf.
Your normal place of work will be your contractual primary workplace, usually either London or Leeds. Within DHSC we offer non-contractual hybrid working. The expectation at present is a minimum of 60% of your working time spent in the office, enabling in person interaction and collaboration and enhancing team working, learning, and support.
You will be asked to express a location preference during the application process. Please be aware that this role can only be worked in the UK and not overseas and some travel may be required across the DHSC estate.
Opportunities for some working from home may be available; other flexible working options may be discussed with the hiring manager in line with individual circumstances and Business need.
There are a limited number of DHSC colleagues who have existing agreed homeworking contracts resulting from Our Future Estate Programme 2023-2024. Colleagues covered by these arrangements are eligible to apply for this role whilst continuing their agreed existing home working arrangement. Occasional travel to DHSC offices or other locations may still be required according to business need. Travel and subsistence will be provided in line with the pre-agreed homeworker arrangements.
Behaviours
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
- Delivering at Pace
- Communicating and Influencing
- Managing a Quality Service
Benefits
- Learning and development tailored to your role
- An environment with flexible working options
- A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
- A Civil Service pension with an average employer contribution of 27%
Things you need to know
Selection process details
Sift date: W/C 18/03/2024
Interview date: expected W/C 08/04/2024
Interview location: By video
The available interview slots will be released with the sift scores.
Applications will be sifted on CV, Statement of Suitability.
Please use your CV to set out your career history, highlighting specific responsibilities and achievements that are relevant for this role. These can be found in the ‘key skills and experience required for the role’ section of the advert.
Please use your statement of suitability to (in no more than 500 words) outline how you meet the key skills and experience required for the role as set out in the job advert.
At interview candidates will be assessed on Behaviours and Strengths.
To find out more about working in the department please visit our page on the Civil Service Careers Website here
Applicants who are appointable but were not successful in appointment to this vacancy, may be held on a reserve list for up to 12 months, and contacted if similar vacancies become available.
Please be aware that some travel may be required across the DHSC estate.
Please note that applicants will require BPSS clearance.
This role is being advertised on a permanent basis. If preferable, Loan or Secondment options will also be available for existing Civil Servants (Loan) and applicants from accredited NDPBs or any other employer (Secondment). Prior agreement to be released on a loan basis must be obtained before commencing the application process. In the case of Civil Servants, the terms of the loan will be agreed between the home and host department and the Civil Servant. This includes grade on return.
Terms and Conditions
Candidates should note that DHSC’s Terms and Conditions of employment changed from 1 October 2013. It is the candidate’s responsibility to ensure they are aware of the terms and conditions they will adopt should they be successful.
New Entrants to the Civil Service
New entrants appointed in grades AA to G6 will receive DHSC’s modernised terms and conditions:
- Annual Leave: 25 days on entry rising by one day for each completed year of service to a maximum of 30 days and pro-rata for part-time staff
- Privilege Leave: 1 day - for the King’s birthday
- Hours of Work: 37 hours (net) per week for full time staff in all geographical locations, including London and pro rata for part-time staff
- Occupational Sick Pay (OSP): one month full pay/one month half pay on entry, rising by one month for each completed year of service to a maximum of five months’ full pay and five months’ half pay
- Mobility: Mobility clause in contracts allow staff to be mobile across the Civil Service
- Probation: 6 month probation period
Existing Civil Service staff transferring from another Government department, on either level transfer or promotion
All staff moving to DHSC will transfer onto DHSC’s modernised terms and conditions (as outlined above).
Existing DHSC staff, appointed on either level transfer or promotion
If DHSC’s modernised terms and conditions are already held, the employee will retain those terms and conditions. If DHSC’s pre-modernised terms and conditions are held, the employee will transfer onto DHSC’s modernised terms and conditions (as outlined above).
Further Information
A reserve list may be held for a period of 12 months from which further appointments can be made.
Any move to DHSC 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
Reasonable Adjustment
If a person with disabilities is put at a substantial disadvantage compared to a non-disabled person, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes.
If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should:
Contact Government Recruitment Service via DHSCrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.
Complete the ‘Assistance required’ section in the ‘Additional requirements’ page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional.
If successful and transferring from another Government Department a criminal record check may be carried out.
In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to Disclosure and Barring Service 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.
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 had their employment continued. Any applicant’s 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.
If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section.
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
Security
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
Working for the Civil Service
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).
Apply and further information
Contact point for applicants
Job contact :
Recruitment team
Further information
If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Department, you can contact the Civil Service Commission: https://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk/contact-us/
