Business Support Manager (Synergy Programme)

Department for Work and Pensions (DWP); Lancashire; On-site; GBP 42,000 - 54,000; Full time

Job summary

Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is seeking a senior Private Office professional to support the Chief of Staff and Executive Team. The role requires strategic advisory capability, governance expertise, and strong stakeholder management at Director level.

You will coordinate meeting agendas, minutes, and action tracking, while guiding Directors on priorities and briefing needs. A collaborative, discrete approach and advanced MS Office skills are essential.

Qualifications

• Experience in Private Office, strategic advisory at Director level.
• Proven ability to manage competing priorities and make sound decisions.
• Experience supporting governance forums with high-quality minute taking.

Responsibilities

• Support the Chief of Staff and Private Office to back the SRO and Executive Team.
• Provide executive support, prioritise correspondence, and commission briefing as needed.
• Manage Directors’ priorities, identify risks and mitigate them promptly.
• Lead Senior Leadership Team and departmental meetings with clear forward planning and action tracking.
• Coordinate the Accounting Officers Forum briefing materials for effective discussion.
• Build and maintain relationships with internal and external stakeholders at senior levels.
• Understand strategic programme context and apply it to prioritisation and decisions.
• Provide discrete guidance to Directors across business areas.
• Support Directors with procurement processes in line with policy.
• Lead the Business Support Team and line management responsibilities.

Skills

Private Office & SLT support

Governance & Secretariat

Organisation & Planning

Stakeholder Engagement

Executive Briefing & Correspondence

Digital & MS Office

Tools

Microsoft Office Suite

Job description

While no two days will be the same, the responsibilities may vary but will include:

• Effectively supporting the Chief of Staff and Private Office team to support the Senior Responsible Officer (SRO) and the Executive Team in the delivery of their priorities. Your judgment, collaborative approach, influencing and communication skills will be critical to succeeding in this role.
• Providing executive support to the Senior Responsible Officer (SRO) and the Executive Team as and when required. Ensuring correspondence is progressed and prioritised, identifying where action/briefing is required and commissioning as appropriate.
• Proactively managing Directors’ priorities and plans, resolving conflict quickly and effectively, identifying risks and taking appropriate and timely action to mitigate or escape.
• Supporting the SRO and the Executive Team by leading Senior Leadership Team meetings (24 members) and departmental SRO and Executive meetings. Maintaining a clear forward look for these meetings, minute taking and action tracking at pace.
• Supporting the Chief of Staff in coordinating the Accounting Officers Forum (the Synergy Cluster’s Permanent Secretaries), including commissioning and drafting the Chair’s briefing materials to support effective discussion and decision-making.
• Actively engaging, building, maintaining and managing relationships with internal and external stakeholders, collaborating with senior leaders across the organisation to anticipate and respond to issues.
• Understanding the strategic context of the Programme in line with new ministerial initiatives and to apply this to prioritisation and decision making.
• Providing informed, sound and discrete guidance to the Directors on a range of business areas.
• Supporting the Directors with commercial and procurement processes, in line with DWP policies and Delegated Financial Authority limits.
• Providing leadership to the wider Business Support Team, including line management duties.

Person specification

Candidates must be able to demonstrate the following essential criteria:

• Private Office and Senior Leadership Support (Lead Criteria)
• Experienced in Private Office, providing business management support and strategic advice at Director level. Skilled in fast-paced settings, making sound decisions, building stakeholder relationships, and adapting to changing priorities.
• Governance, Secretariat and Minute Taking
• Experience of supporting senior leadership and executive governance forums, including high-quality minute taking, maintaining forward look schedules, agenda planning, tracking actions to completion, and ensuring effective governance processes are in place.
• Organisation, Planning and Continuous Improvement
• Strong organisational skills with a proven ability to manage competing priorities, plan and coordinate complex workloads, identify and mitigate risks, resolve conflicts, and drive continuous improvement to business processes and ways of working.
• Stakeholder Engagement and Communication
• Experience of building and maintaining effective relationships across internal teams and external organisations. Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to influence, negotiate, collaborate, and manage a diverse range of stakeholders.
• Executive Briefing and Correspondence
• Strong drafting and briefing skills, including commissioning contributions from senior leaders, analysing complex information and producing clear briefings for the directors.
• Digital and Microsoft Office Skills
• Excellent working knowledge of Microsoft Office applications, including OneNote, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, SharePoint, and Outlook, with the ability to use digital tools effectively to support business management, collaboration, and governance activities.