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Location
About the job
Job summary
The Department for Work and Pensions is looking to recruit high calibre candidates to fill Assistant Private Secretary (APS) roles into Ministerial and Special Advisers' offices.
DWP is the UK’s biggest public service department, and administers the state pension, a range of working age, disability, and ill health benefits to around 22 million claimants and customers. What we do matters to millions of people every day.
Job description
DWP Private Office is the link between Ministers, the Permanent Secretary, the Departmental Board, the Executive Team, the wider Department and across Government, and plays a key role in the development of policy and the delivery of Ministerial priorities.
We have several exciting opportunities coming up, offering the chance to work with Ministers daily, helping to address challenges that affect the lives of people across the country. These roles provide an opportunity to see how Ministers, Special Advisers and the Civil Service operate in a way that is rarely matched in other roles of the same grade.
These are fast paced, stretching and a great platform for your future career in the Civil Service. We are looking for candidates who will enjoy and thrive in this unique and interesting environment at the heart of Government.
The Private Office team is high-performing, friendly and inclusive. These are demanding but rewarding roles for candidates interested in working closely with Ministers, Special Advisers, and senior officials. These roles offer a unique opportunity to facilitate decision-making at the highest levels of government and ensure smooth running of DWP business by communicating Ministerial views to the wider department.
This is a fantastic opportunity to work in a key Private Office role. The Assistant Private Secretary is crucial in providing effective support and advice to the Minister and Special Advisers across a wide range of departmental business, with a particular focus on policy, communications and parliamentary business. The successful candidate will be responsible for ensuring high quality and timely advice across the portfolio is provided and will be the interface between the Department and Ministerial Team.
The ministerial portfolios are extremely busy and cover a range of both interesting and stimulating areas of policy. These all attract a high-Level of Parliamentary engagement; the successful candidate(s) will therefore be expected to support the Minister with Select Committee appearances, Parliamentary debates, and Oral questions.
We offer successful candidates:
- The opportunity to work closely with Ministers, Special Advisers, and senior officials
- An exciting, fast paced, and challenging work environment that involves dealing with complex issues
- The chance to be part of a supportive team with plenty of opportunities to Learn and develop new skills
- The opportunity to broaden understanding of DWP policy, Parliamentary business and cross government functions
In this role, the Assistant Private Secretary is responsible for:
- Work with the Department and the Grade 7 Head of Office, be responsible for making sure Ministers or Special Advisers get the high-quality advice they need to make well informed decisions, often on complex and fast-moving policy areas. You will then work with teams across the Department to ensure feedback is relayed and actioned.
- Advise and work directly with Ministers or Special Advisers to support them to deliver their departmental.
- Co-ordinate the Ministers' or Special Advisers’ duties, supporting them in a wide range of internal and cross-government meetings and engagements, ensuring they are well briefed for parliamentary debates and select committees.
- Support the Minister or Special Adviser during meetings, responsible for providing an accurate readout, capturing actions and ensuring progress.
- Accompany and support Ministers or Special Advisers on relevant events and visits, working with the visits team to ensure logistics are properly arranged and acting as an ambassador for your Minister and DWP when meeting high profile stakeholders.
- In Special Advisers’ office, you will prioritise and work closely with Secretary of State’s Private Secretaries to ensure that the Secretary of State receives high quality advice at the right time.
- Play a proactive role in the wider corporate effort within the Private Office.
Person specification
Inthese roles you will
- We are looking for someone with excellent organisational skills and the ability to communicate effectively with Ministers, Special Advisers, and senior officials.
- You will need to manage a heavy workload, be able to prioritise effectively and enjoy working in a fastmoving environment.
- You will also need excellent judgement and political awareness and an interest in parliamentary business.
- Experience of working with ministers and an understanding of DWP policy and operational matters is desirable but not essential.
Essential Criteria
The successful candidate will be able to demonstrate:
- An ability to work collaboratively within a dynamic team, often to short deadlines and to achieve common goals, maintaining a high level of service throughout. (Lead Criteria)
- Strong interpersonal, relationship building and communication skills (both verbal and written).
- Confidence to engage proactively and regularly with the Department's most senior leaders, including Ministers, Permanent Secretary, Directors.
- Excellent judgement and approach to situations, tasks and problems, and a self-starter who can work.
- An ability to deliver to tight deadlines quickly but effectively, whilst remaining professional in a pressured environment.
- A strong track record in managing a high-quality service, and the ability to manage competing priorities and deal pragmatically with sometimes conflicting priorities.
- A flexible outlook and approach, coupled with a real taking responsibility for high quality work, demonstrating personal resilience and strong attention to detail.
- Excellent IT skills, especially Outlook.
Due to nature of the role, it may be necessary to work long hours, especially when Parliament is sitting, for which overtime will be payable.
The successful candidate will be based in the office (Caxton House, London) and is full time.
Behaviours
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
- Communicating and Influencing
- Delivering at Pace
- Making Effective Decisions
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%
Location
Applicants should apply for suitable posts where they can travel to and from their home office location daily within a reasonable time.
Please be aware that this role can only be worked in the UK and not overseas. Relocation costs will not be reimbursed.
Hybrid Working
This job role may be suitable for hybrid working, which is where an employee works part of the week in their DWP office and part of the week from home. This is a voluntary, non-contractual arrangement and your office will be your contractual place of work. The number of days that anyone will be able to work at home will be determined primarily by business need but personal circumstances and other relevant circumstances will also be taken into account. If you are successful, any opportunities for hybrid working, including whether a hybrid working arrangement is suitable for you, will be discussed with you prior to you taking up your post.
Things you need to know
Selection process details
Application
As part of the application process you will be asked to complete a CV and Personal Statement (1000 words max) to demonstrate how you meet the person specification and the essential criteria.
Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.
Selection will be by a written sift and shortlisted candidates will be invited to attend a face to face interview.
The CV element will not be individually scored so please put the main content of your evidence and skills in your 1000 word Personal Statement. The CV is an online tool accessed through the Civil Service Jobsite and there is no requirement to upload your personal CV.
Should a large number of applications be received, an initial sift may be conducted using the lead criteria:
- An ability to work collaboratively within a dynamic team, often to short deadlines and to achieve common goals, maintaining a high level of service throughout. (Lead Criteria)
Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift, or progressed straight to assessment/interview.
Interview Stage
Shortlisted candidates will be invited to attend an interview at Caxton House, London and will be assessed on their answers to interview questions on Behaviours and Strengths.
This will consist of a face-to-face blended interview, which should take approximately between 30-40 minutes.
Blended Interview
You will be asked a mixture of Behaviour and Strength questions.
A blended interview aims to be more of a conversation at interview offering a more inclusive approach.
The Behaviour and Strength based questioning explores what the candidate can and has done, but also their potential.
Questions in Advance
To help you prepare and settle into the interview you will be sent the behaviour questions in advance, 5 days prior to your interview. These questions should be treated as confidential and should not be shared.
The interview panel may ask you other questions which will not be shared in advance, including follow-up questions, and those about your strengths.
An example of a Behavioural question would be; Tell me about a time when you’ve had to deal with a difficult customer.
The behaviours being assessed are:
- Communicating and Influencing - Communicate purpose and direction with clarity, integrity and enthusiasm. Respect the needs, responses and opinions of others.
- Delivering at Pace - Take responsibility for delivering timely and quality results with focus and drive.
- Making Effective Decisions - Use evidence and knowledge to support accurate, expert decisions and advice. Carefully consider alternative options, implications, and risks of decisions.
It may help to use one or more examples of a piece of work you have completed or a situation you have been in, and use the WHO or STAR model to explain:
What was the task, How you approached the work/situation and what the Outcomes were, what did you achieve? Or What was the Situation? That were the Tasks? What Action did you take? What were the Results of your actions?
It is difficult to prepare for strength type questions. However you can think through your answers, focus on your achievements and aspects you enjoy and decide how these can be applied in the organisation and role.
While strengths questions are shorter and we do not expect a full STAR response, the panel is interested in your first reaction to the question and information or reasoning to support this.
The sift will be carried out in mid April 2024.
Interview dates to be confirmed.
Interviews will be held at Caxton House, London SW1H 9DA.
Further Information
Find out more about Working for DWP
A reserve list may be held for a period of 3 months from which further appointments can be made.
Any move to DWP 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
This role is full time only. Applicants who wish to work an alternative pattern are welcome to apply however your preferred working pattern may not be available and you should discuss this with the vacancy holder before applying.
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.
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.
Before applying for this vacancy, current employees of DWP should check whether a successful application would result in changes to their terms & conditions of employment, e.g. mobility, pay, allowances. Civil Servants that would transfer into DWP from other government organisations, following successful application, will assume DWP's terms & conditions of employment current on the day they are posted, unless DWP has stated otherwise in writing.
The evidence you provide in your application must relate to your own experiences. If evidence of plagiarism is found your application will be withdrawn.
The Civil Service values honesty and integrity and expects all candidates to abide by these principles. Please ensure that all examples provided in your application are taken directly from your own experience and that you describe the examples in your own words. Applications will be screened and if evidence of plagiarism or copying examples/answers from other sources is found, your application will be withdrawn. Internal DWP candidates may also face disciplinary action.
New entrants are expected to join on the minimum of the pay band.
Security Requirements
If successful and transferring from another Government Department a criminal record check may be carried out.
You must meet the security requirements before you can be appointed. The level of security needed is Security Check.
For meaningful checks to be carried out individuals you will need to have lived in the UK for a sufficient period of time, to enable appropriate checks to be carried out and produce a result which provides the required level of assurance. Whilst a lack of UK residency in itself is not necessarily a bar to a security clearance, and expectation of UK residency may range from 3 to 5 years.
Failure to meet the residency requirements needed for the role may result in the withdrawal of provisional jobs offers.
For further information on National Security Vetting please visit the following page https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/demystifying-vetting
Reasonable Adjustment
At DWP we value diversity and inclusion and actively encourage and welcome applications from everyone, including those that are underrepresented in our workforce.
We consider visible and non-visible disabilities, neurodiversity or learning differences, chronic medical conditions, or mental ill health. Examples include dyslexia, epilepsy, autism, chronic fatigue, or schizophrenia.
If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should: Contact Government Recruitment Service via DWPrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.
Complete the “Reasonable Adjustments” 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 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
See our vetting charter (opens in a new window).
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. Click here to visit the Civil Service Commission.
