Honours Secretary

Government Recruitment Service; Greater London; On-site; GBP 37,000 - 40,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Disability Confident employer scheme

Job summary

The Honours & Awards team, part of DCMS, leads two annual rounds of honours nominations and works closely with Cabinet Office and the Royal Household. The Honours Secretary role offers autonomy, senior stakeholder engagement, and a focus on rigorous, time-bound processes to deliver high-quality recommendations.

The post supports the Honour system's priorities and includes line management of EOs and opportunities to apply AI-driven process improvements, within a temporary capacity in London.

Responsibilities

• Lead delivery of DCMS Honours nominations for specific lists, ensuring Birthday and New Year honours are delivered on time.
• Support strategic work to pipeline honours nominations that reflect the whole country.
• Manage relationships with the Permanent Secretary and policy teams and Ministers and SpAds.
• Liaise with Cabinet Office, the Royal Household, No.10, Committee Chairs and Members.
• Work with the Honours Case Management System – a CRM database.
• Line manage EOs within the Honours Team.
• Proactively leveraging AI to streamline processes and reduce duplication.

Job description

The Honours & Awards team of nine, led by Meg Taylor (G6), is part of the Public Bodies, Appointments and Honours team within Corporate Strategy.

The honours team manage honours nominations from across DCMS sectors, two rounds per year: New Year’s Day and the King’s Birthday. The dedicated team delivers each element of the process and works closely with Cabinet Office as well as the independent committees, SCS and Ministers. This is an exciting time to be working within the honours system, as a high priority for both our Secretary of State and our Permanent Secretary.

DCMS plays an active role in Arts & Media, Sport, and Community & Voluntary Service lists, as well as contributing to Public Service, Economy and Science Technology and Research lists. DCMS is the biggest departmental contributor of nominations to the Honours system.

You will be supported by Deputy Honours Secretaries and the team is a highly collaborative one, used to meeting firm deadlines and delivering high quality recommendations.

The role offers a high level of autonomy as well as the opportunity to work collaboratively with senior external stakeholders, including the Royal Household, No 10, Cabinet Office, Committee Chairs and members. It requires efficient management of rigorous, time bound and transparent processes. The team is experienced, knowledgeable and a highly collaborative team. DCMS is the biggest departmental contributor of nominations to the Honours system. The job includes:

• Leading the delivery of and owning responsibility for DCMS Honours nominations for specific lists, ensuring delivery of Birthday and New Year honours according to strict deadlines;
• Supporting the strategic work to pipeline honours nominations that are diverse and represent the whole country;
• Supporting the team’s relationships with the Permanent Secretary and her office, policy teams and Ministers and SpAds;
• Liaison with Cabinet Office, the Royal Household (eg. on Royal Garden Party nominations), No.10, Committee Chairs and Members;
• Working with and leading on the Honours Case Management System - a CRM database;
• Line management of EOs within the Honours Team;
• Proactively leveraging AI to streamline processes/reduce duplication.

Proud member of the Disability Confident employer scheme

Honours Secretary

• Company: Government Recruitment Service
• Salary: £36,734 to £40,344 a year
• Hours: Full-time
• Location: M2 3AW
• Job type: Temporary
• Posting date: 29 Oct 2026
• Closing date: 4 Nov 2026

About Disability Confident

Disability Confident is a government scheme. It encourages employers to recruit and retain disabled people and those with long term health conditions.

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