Private Secretary and Head of Office for the Minister for Victims and Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) and Minister for Prisons, Probation and Reducing Reoffending (up to 2 posts available)

Grade 7

Private Office and Parliament

The Private Office and Parliament Directorate is recruiting permanently for up to two Grade 7 Private Secretary and Head of Office roles. This campaign is open to current civil servants on level transfer and suitable candidates on promotion.

Location:

Successful candidates will be based at:

• 102 Petty France, London

Ways of Working

Due to the nature of Private Secretary roles, which require frequent interaction with Ministers, the successful candidate must work in the office when the Minister is present.

The role cannot be undertaken on a part-time basis; however, we welcome job share applications where the combined hours provide full-time coverage. Please indicate in your application if you wish to apply as part of a job share.

In addition, when the Minister is away (for example, during Parliamentary recess or on visits), there may be opportunities for remote work such as working from home.

If we receive applications from more suitable candidates than we have vacancies for at this time, we may hold suitable applicants on a reserve list for 12 months, and future vacancies requiring the same skills and experience could be offered to candidates on the reserve list without a new competition.

We welcome and encourage applications from everyone, including groups currently underrepresented in our workforce and pride ourselves as being an employer of choice. To find out more about how we champion diversity and inclusion in the workplace, visit: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice/about/equality-and-diversity

Salary

Existing Civil Servants will have their salary calculated in accordance with the Department’s pay on transfer / pay on promotion rules.  

Please note that these roles will require working extended hours for which a Private Secretary allowance is payable.

Security Clearance

This role requires National Security Vetting given the access to sensitive information afforded by the job role. You can find more information by reviewing the information held in the following links:

United Kingdom Security Vetting: Applicant - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

The vetting charter - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

In addition, there is a minimum UK residency requirement set by the Cabinet Office which is dependent on the security level required for the role.

This role requires SC and to be eligible to apply for this role you should have been present in the UK continuously for the past 5 years.

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ)

MoJ is the largest government department, employing over 90,000 people with a budget of approximately £10 billion. Each year, millions of people use our services across the UK - including at 500 courts and tribunals, and 133 prisons in England and Wales.

Further information can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice

The Work of Private Office

The Ministry of Justice’s Private Office and Parliament Directorate is a supportive and collaborative group. It is also a busy and interesting place to work - it is the interface between the Permanent Secretary, Ministers, the rest of the Department and Whitehall. The Department is at the forefront of the Government’s programme to tackle serious crime and support victims.  You will play a key role in helping to deliver the reforms that the Secretary of State has set out, working in a fast-paced and exciting environment where strong team working is required. You will gain invaluable experience working at the heart of the decision-making process, working directly with the ministers, Special Advisers and senior officials across the Department and with external stakeholders, on a range of stimulating issues.

Private Secretary and Head of Office - the role

We are recruiting for two Private Secretary and Head of Office roles in MoJ’s Ministerial Private Office. These present an exciting opportunity to take on an intellectually and professionally stimulating role at the centre of government.

We are recruiting for two roles:

1. Private Secretary and Head of Offices to the Minister for Victims and Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG)

2. Private Secretary and Head of Office to the Minister for Prisons, Probation and Reducing Reoffending

As a Private Secretary, you will play a key role in helping to deliver Ministerial priorities, including landmark reforms to the prisons and courts system, working in a fast-paced and exciting environment where strong team working is required. You will be responsible for a large portfolio across a number of government priorities. You will gain invaluable experience working at the heart of the decision-making process, working directly with the Permanent Secretary, special advisers, senior officials, ministers and No10.

These posts provide unparalleled experience of Departmental business and Ministerial decision-making. It offers direct and senior exposure to civil servants, stakeholders and parliamentarians. This involves contributing to the strategic agenda of the department and government and ensuring not only that relevant departments appropriately supports the Minister but also helps them deliver departmental objectives.

Candidates must display adaptability, initiative, leadership, resilience and drive. Key requirements are an ability to show excellent judgment coupled with an ability to drive progress in the face of uncertainty, competing views and divergent priorities. Leadership and the ability to support a team and maintain a welcoming and friendly culture in high-pressure situations are also vital.

Skills and Experience

In particular, the post holder is responsible for:

• Running the Minister’s Private Office ensuring the provision of a high-quality service that meets ministerial needs. You will effectively manage and prioritise a large portfolio of work and coach the team to deliver work to a high standard, often delivering at pace.

• Engaging with the senior leadership team within MoJ to deliver the best advice to the Ministers in a timely way.

• Developing and maintaining strong working relationships both within the Department, across Whitehall, and with important external stakeholders.

• Monitoring progress, exploring problems and negotiating solutions to make sure the minister's priorities are effectively delivered.

• You will be comfortable with working independently, be resilient and are able to adapt your working style to address both reactive and proactive tasks but also invest time into developing those within the wider team.

• You will play a vital part in the Directorate’s Senior Management Team, delivering proactive work to make the Directorate a great place to work.

• You should be highly resilient, empathetic and able to support external stakeholders and victims in a trauma-informed way.

• You will be responsible for a team of one SEO, two or three HEOs and an EO, while also working closely with an AO correspondence manager.

Essential skills:

• Strong judgement in decision-making and the ability to absorb pressure in difficult situations.

• An understanding of the mechanisms of government and central decision making, knowing which levers to pull to get things done.

• The ability to work strategically across a large portfolio, setting priorities, managing upwards and driving progress at pace - and the confidence to appropriately challenge others where necessary.

• Experience leading a high performing team, developing and maintaining processes, and delivering a quality service.

• The ability to work with, and deliver through, a large and diverse group of stakeholders.

Desirable:

• Experience working with Ministers or in policy development / delivery.

• Experience engaging with Parliamentary processes.

• Experience working in the justice sector or in the justice policy space.

• Resilient and empathetic - able to support external stakeholders in a trauma-informed way.

Candidates applying from HMPPS should note that the Ministry of Justice does not have the same conditions of employment as HMPPS. It is the candidate’s responsibility to ensure they are aware of the terms and conditions they will adopt should they be successful.

The MoJ is proud to be Level 3 Disability Confident. Disability Confident is the approach through which we offer guaranteed interviews for all people with disabilities meeting the minimum criteria for the advertised role as set out in the job description.

Application process

You will be assessed against the Civil service success profiles framework.

You must ensure that any evidence submitted as part of your application, including your CV, statement of suitability and behaviour examples, are truthful and factually accurate. Please note that plagiarism can include presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own.

Experience

You will be asked to provide a CV during the application process in order to assess any demonstrable experience, career history and achievements that are relevant to the role.

You will also be asked to upload a Statement of Suitability of no more than 750 words what you would bring to the role, with reference to the Skills and Experience listed above.

Behaviours

During the application process you will be asked to provide an example of how you have met the following behaviour (see Annex A for more information):

• Leadership

• Communicating and Influencing

• Delivering at Pace

Please also refer to the CS Behaviours framework for more details at this grade:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/717275/CS_Behaviours_2018.pdf

Should we receive a large number of applications, we will sift primarily on the lead behaviour of Leadership. Successful applicants will then be invited to an interview, testing both behaviours and strengths.

Candidates invited to Interview

Please note that interviews will be carried out in person at 102 Petty France.

During the panel interview, you will be asked behaviour-based questions to explore in detail what you are capable of, and strengths-based questions to also explore what you enjoy, and your motivations relevant to the job role.

There is no expectation or requirement for you to prepare for the strengths-based questions in advance of the interview, though you may find it helpful to spend some time reflecting on what you enjoy doing and what you do well.

You can refer to the CS Strengths dictionary for more details: Success Profiles - Civil Service Strengths Dictionary (publishing.service.gov.uk)

Interviews are expected to take place in January 2026.

Contact information  

Please do get in touch if you would like to know more about the role or what it is like working in our team. Charlotte Hewitt, charlotte.hewitt3@justice.gov.uk or Annabella Owens annabella.owens@justice.gov.uk

Annex A - The STAR method

Using the STAR method can help you give examples of relevant experience that you have. It allows you to set the scene, show what you did, and how you did it, and explain the overall outcome.

Situation - Describe the situation you found yourself in. You must describe a specific event or situation. Be sure to give enough detail for the job holder to understand.

• Where are you?

• Who was there with you?

• What had happened?

Task - The job holder will want to understand what you tried to achieve from the situation you found yourself in.

• What was the task that you had to complete and why?

• What did you have to achieve?

Actions - What did you do? The job holder will be looking for information on what you did, how you did it and why. Keep the focus on you. What specific steps did you take and what was your contribution? Remember to include how you did it, and the behaviours you used. Try to use “I" rather than “we" to explain your actions that lead to the result. Be careful not to take credit for something that you did not do.

Results - Don’t be shy about taking credit for your behaviour. Quote specific facts and figures. Explain how the outcome benefitted the organisation or your area. Make the outcomes easily understandable.

• What results did the actions produce?

• What did you achieve through your actions and did you meet your goals?

• Was it a successful outcome? If not, what did you learn from the experience?

Keep the situation and task parts brief. Concentrate on the action and the result. If the result was not entirely successful describe what you learned from this and what you would do differently next time. Make sure you focus on your strengths.