Wales Office
Job Description for Head of the Directors Office and Governance Lead
Job Title
Head of the Director’s Office and Governance Lead
Pay Grade
SEO
Salary
£42,914 - £46,182 (National) / £49,325 - £53,081 (London) (plus
£7,149 Private Secretary allowance)
Location
Ty William Morgan, Cardiff, CF10 1EP / Gwydyr House, London,
SW1A 2NP
Reports to
Deputy Principal Private Secretary
Contract
Permanent
Clearance
SC (See Additional Information)
Background
This is a rewarding and challenging role as Head of Director’s Office and Governance
Lead, ensuring priorities are met, reporting mechanisms are functioning smoothly and
departmental governance requirements are managed effectively. Based within the
Private Office, you will report to the Deputy Principal Private Secretary - who also
leads the Ministerial Office - and will deputise for them as necessary to give support
to the wider team.
The Wales Office is the face of the UK Government in Wales and the voice of Wales
in Westminster. We support the Secretary of State for Wales and the Ministerial team
in representing Wales at the heart of Government. With offices in London and Cardiff,
we work in partnership with other Government Departments and stakeholders to
deliver a stronger Wales within a strong and prosperous United Kingdom.
About the job
This is an exciting time to take on the leadership of the Director’s Office and to lead
on departmental governance. With the Wales Office recruiting a new Director for the
first time in 13 years, this is an opportunity for an outstanding candidate to shape the
way in which a new Director engages with the wider department, across government
and with key stakeholders.
You will play a crucial part in ensuring the new Director is able to hit the ground running
by developing effective communication lines between the Director and the ministerial
offices, the senior leadership team, and the wider department. You will need to be
confident in your approach as you support them to develop ways of working and
institute change across the Department following the outcome of the Spending
Review.
Leading on governance, you will work directly with the senior leadership and
ministerial teams, to provide expert support, advice, and guidance. You will have
responsibility for the business planning process (including the Outcome Delivery Plan),
working collaboratively with colleagues and coordinating internal and external
reporting with the Cabinet Office and No10. In addition, you will provide support to the
Departmental Board and Committees. You will have responsibility for overseeing the
department’s strategic risk register.
You will need to be decisive and confident, working autonomously to drive forward
departmental objectives often at pace. You will need solid decision-making skills and
be proactive at taking your own initiative, with the ability to work in an environment that
is subject to ongoing change.
Key Responsibilities:
• Lead the Director’s Office, communicating the priorities of the Director to the
wider department effectively.
• Ensure a coherent governance programme for the Department, providing
support and co-ordination across the Boards and Committees.
• Contribute to the design, delivery, and upkeep of strategic products such as the
Department’s Outcome Delivery Plan, Strategic Risk Register, and the
Department’s reporting trackers.
• Prepare and maintain a set of regular reporting products for the Departmental
Board, Audit and Risk Assurance Committee, Cabinet Office, and Number 10.
• Lead on cross-cutting departmental policy issues such as resilience and civil
contingency planning.
• Manage the Director’s time to ensure that meetings and engagements are
relevant and productive, and commission briefings that are focused and
appropriate.
• Work with Permanent Secretaries’ Offices across Whitehall to gather
intelligence, insight and increase awareness of policies and priorities.
• Act as an interlocutor between the Director’s Office and the Ministerial Offices.
• Build strong internal relationships with Ministers, SpAds and departmental
teams; and externally across UK and Welsh governments, and with key
stakeholders to gain credibility for the Secretary of State for Wales and the
Department.
• Line management responsibilities may be required.
• Act as a leader - helping to develop the right culture and behaviours - and
support individuals to do well in their roles.
• Be a visible team player by pitching in and helping out with whatever might need
doing around the office.
• Contribute to corporate activities outside your immediate sphere of
responsibility.
You will need to be prepared to work some evenings and weekends as part of a Private
Office rota, and as such this role attracts an SEO Private Secretary allowance currently
set at £7,149.
This role will involve regular travel between the London and Cardiff offices and across
Wales. To support wellbeing and encourage collaboration, there is an expectation for
staff to spend a minimum of 60% of their working time working face to face with their
colleagues either at the office or on official business.
Person specification:
Please evidence in your Statement of Suitability, how closely you match the
essential criteria:
Essential Criteria:
• Strong inspiring leadership, working in collaboration with a range of colleagues
whilst enabling colleagues to deliver
• Ability to adapt to changing demands and conditions, and a readiness to make
decisions, take the initiative and take action where needed
• Ability to operate with political understanding in a complex environment of
change and uncertainty
• Attention to detail with an ability to produce work with a high level of accuracy.
• Ability to think strategically, prioritise, problem solve and set direction.
Desirable criteria:
• Experience in analysing, assessing, and reporting on governance and
departmental activity.
• Relevant qualification in corporate governance / planning
• Welsh Language skills.
Recruitment Process
This campaign will be undertaken using the Civil Service Success Profile framework.
You will need to provide evidence in your application to cover the following behaviours:
• Communicating and Influencing (Lead Behaviour) (Application & Interview)
• Managing a Quality Service (Application & Interview)
• Delivering at Pace (Interview Only)
• Seeing the Big Picture (Interview Only)
In the event of a high volume of applicants, we will sift only on the lead behaviour to
create a shortlist for interview.
Strengths may also be assessed at interview, but these are not shared in advance.
Candidates are also required to provide a Statement of Suitability (as stated above)
which details how they match the essential criteria for the role.
Additional Information
The Wales Office is not an employer in its own right and staff recruited to work at the
Wales Office will be employees of the Ministry of Justice who provide employment
services on our behalf.
This role requires SC level clearance. Applicants for National Security Clearance (SC)
must be resident in the UK for 5 years immediately prior to their application for Security
Clearance. If you have spent significant time abroad (a total of 6 months in the past 3
years), you would be required to give a reasonable account of the reasons why.
If you do not meet the above requirement, you may still be considered for the role if,
for example:
• You have been serving overseas with HM Armed Forces or in some other official
capacity as a representative of HM Government.
• You were studying abroad.
• You were living overseas with parents.