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Private Secretary and Head of the Private Office

Serious Fraud Office (UK)

London

Hybrid

GBP 55,000 - 80,000

Full time

2 days ago

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Job summary

The Serious Fraud Office (UK) is seeking a Private Secretary and Head of the Private Office to provide high-level administrative support to the Executive Team. This pivotal role requires exceptional organizational and interpersonal skills, with responsibilities spanning team management, strategic oversight, and executive liaison. Candidates must demonstrate strong judgment and the ability to manage complex information effectively while maintaining a proactive approach to organizational priorities.

Benefits

Generous annual leave provision of 25 days

Interest-free season travel ticket

Discretionary performance-related bonus scheme

Access to Rental Deposit Salary Advance Scheme

Opportunities for learning and development

Qualifications

Experience of line management and implementing a high-performing team culture.
Excellent interpersonal skills, including ability to communicate effectively with staff and external stakeholders.
Ability to prioritize competing tasks under pressure.

Responsibilities

Line management and personal development of three Private Office team members.
Oversight of commissioning high-quality advice for the Executive Team.
Authoring steering briefs for high-level meetings and board papers.

Skills

Organisational skills

Written communication skills

Judgement

Interpersonal skills

Private Secretary and Head of the Private Office

Join to apply for the Private Secretary and Head of the Private Office role at Serious Fraud Office (UK)

Private Secretary and Head of the Private Office

Join to apply for the Private Secretary and Head of the Private Office role at Serious Fraud Office (UK)

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The role will be based at our offices at 2-4 Cockspur Street, London, SW1Y 5BS, in central London. Please be aware that this role can only be worked in the UK and not overseas. Informal hybrid working arrangements apply and there is an expectation that staff will attend the office regularly. Work pattern and office attendance will be agreed with successful candidates.

Job Summary

The Private Secretary and Head of the Private Office is a pivotal, high profile role in the SFO. In a rewarding, fast paced, and dynamic environment, you will provide advice and guidance to the Director of Legal Services, Director of Operations, and Chief Operating Officer; you will also lead, line manage and develop the Assistant Private Secretaries to these seniors and the Director (collectively the ‘Executive Team’) and oversee the delivery of products and services to them. You will also provide resilience and support to the Chief of Staff, who works to the Director.

The role demands the highest level of organisational and written skills, discretion, and flexibility. You must be able to deal confidently with staff of all grades and external stakeholders, and exercise sound judgement over what the Executive Team need to know and when. Your success in the role will depend on factors including your prioritisation skills, your horizon-scanning, being proactive in managing and resolving issues escalated to the Executive Team, and your insight of activities across the organisation and beyond that affect its effective running and reputation.

Job Description

As Private Secretary and Head of the Private Office you will be responsible for:

Line management and personal development of three Private Office team members;
Oversight of the commissioning and delivery to the Executive Team of high quality advice, and oversight of Executive Team resource planning;
Build and maintain effective and trusted relationships with the Executive Team to identify and manage issues.
Play a proactive role in managing cross-organisational initiatives;
Authoring Steering Briefs for Executive Team attendance at the highest-level internal and external meetings, and author of papers for the SFO Board and Executive Committee;
Act as the primary conduit for SFO engagement with the Attorney General’s Office in furtherance of SFO objectives, including leading preparation for the quarterly Superintendence meetings and ensuring AGO officials are sighted on key issues;

For more information about the role and for a full list of key responsibilities, please see attached Job Pack.

As Private Secretary and Head of the Private Office you will be responsible for:

Line management and personal development of three Private Office team members;
Oversight of the commissioning and delivery to the Executive Team of high quality advice, and oversight of Executive Team resource planning;
Build and maintain effective and trusted relationships with the Executive Team to identify and manage issues.
Play a proactive role in managing cross-organisational initiatives;
Authoring Steering Briefs for Executive Team attendance at the highest-level internal and external meetings, and author of papers for the SFO Board and Executive Committee;
Act as the primary conduit for SFO engagement with the Attorney General’s Office in furtherance of SFO objectives, including leading preparation for the quarterly Superintendence meetings and ensuring AGO officials are sighted on key issues;

For more information about the role and for a full list of key responsibilities, please see attached Job Pack.

Person specification

See above and attached Job Pack.

Behaviours

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

Managing a Quality Service
Seeing the Big Picture
Delivering at Pace

Alongside your salary of £55,789, Serious Fraud Office contributes £16,162 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

Option to join the Civil Service pension scheme. For further details, click here http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/pensions

Generous annual leave provision of 25 days which increases to 30 days after five years’ service plus an additional day in recognition of the King’s Birthday and the option to buy or sell up to five days’ leave per year. Different terms may apply if you are already a Civil Servant.

Discretionary performance-related bonus scheme.

Interest-free season travel ticket, bicycle loan and cycle to work scheme.

Access to the Rental Deposit Salary Advance Scheme which assists employees in meeting the costs of deposits for privately rented homes.

Opportunities for learning and development.

Flexible working arrangements and family-friendly policies.

Voucher for eye care and discounted spectacles.

Access to a range of discounts through membership of the Civil Service Sports and Social Club, CSSC Sports and Leisure. http://www.cssc.co.uk/

Maternity and paternity leave provision over and above the statutory entitlements.

Access to My CPS Rewards Gateway. My CPS Rewards offers staff a range of rewards and savings including:

Discounts with high street retailers
Savings on grocery shopping at a range of supermarkets
Special salary sacrifice and recognition schemes
Reloadable gift cards and e-cards
Instant vouchers

Any move to the Serious Fraud Office 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/

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours and Experience.

Application Stage

Please provide two statements on the following:

Statement 1. Please provide a 500 word personal statement demonstrating how your skills and experience meet the following criteria:

Experience of line management and implementing high-performing and inclusive team culture
Excellent interpersonal skills, including the ability to communicate effectively with staff, including influencing at the highest levels and with external stakeholders.
Ability to understand and summarise complex information, and write clearly and concisely.
Highly organised, with excellent attention to detail.
Ability to work under pressure, maintain focus and react to changing circumstances.
Ability to manage risks proactively, and identify and deliver solutions.
Ability to prioritise competing tasks.

Statement 2. In 250 words, please describe a role you have undertaken most relevant to this application, and how your experience there will support you being successful as the Private Secretary and Head of the Private Office at the SFO.

Please note, ‘Ability to understand and summarise complex information, and write clearly and concisely.’ is a lead criteria and only those who meet the standard for this criteria will have the rest of their application scored.

Interview Stage

Applicants invited to interview will be assessed on their behaviours and experience criteria as listed in the job pack. There may be an in-tray exercise designed to assess their ability to prioritise.

Full details of the interview process will be made available to shortlisted candidates in the invite to interview.

Sift to take place from 25 June..

Interviews are expected to take place 4 July.

All dates are indicative and subject to change.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours and Experience.

Security

Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check (opens in a new window).See our vetting charter (opens in a new window).

People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check (opens in a new window).See our vetting charter (opens in a new window).

People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

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

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

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).

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

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).

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.

Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job Contact

Name : People and Culture
Email : People@sfo.gov.uk

Recruitment team

Email : People@sfo.gov.uk

Further information

For external competitions there is no appeal against the selection decision. However, individuals have a right to appeal if they feel that the principle of appointment on merit through fair and open competition and the Civil Service Commissioners’ recruitment principles have not been met. Individuals who want to appeal should do this by setting out their grounds for appeal in an email for the attention of Head of People to People@sfo.gov.uk. If, after an internal appeal, you still believe that the Civil Service Commissioners’ Principles have not been met, then you can contact the Commission directly: Complaints should be sent in writing to: Civil Service Commission, Room G08 ,1 Horse Guards Road, London SW1A 2HQ. Email info@csc.gov.uk

Seniority level

Seniority level
Director

Employment type

Employment type
Full-time

Job function

Job function
Administrative
Industries
Law Enforcement

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