Assistant Private Secretary at the Ministry of Justice

HEO posts

Private Office and Parliament Directorate

Want to see how government really works? Join a team at the heart of ministerial decision-making, where every day brings new challenges, direct exposure to Ministers, and the chance to develop skills that will serve you throughout your career. We'll support you with active development opportunities and the chance to work flexibly in a team that values your contribution.

The Private Office and Parliament (POP) Directorate is recruiting for up to four HEO Assistant Private Secretaries (or similar private office facing 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.

About the role

We're recruiting for up to four Assistant Private Secretary roles in a busy, dynamic team at the heart of government. This is your chance to work directly with an experienced minister, providing expert advice and support that shapes decisions on issues that matter.

What you'll do: You'll lead on a ministerial portfolio, managing correspondence and ensuring your minister is briefed, prepared and informed at every turn. You'll be the vital link between the minister and the wider department, working with officials at all levels and representing MoJ to external stakeholders and across Whitehall. From solving problems at pace to ensuring follow-up on key actions, you'll be trusted to make effective decisions in a fast-moving environment.

What we're looking for: Someone who thrives on building relationships, stays calm under pressure, and enjoys the challenge of keeping multiple plates spinning. You'll need strong interpersonal skills, excellent organisation, and the confidence to provide credible advice to ministerial level.

Why join us: This is an exciting time to be part of the Private Office and Parliament (POP) directorate. We're a friendly, collegiate team that supports each other to succeed in these demanding but rewarding roles. With a range of corporate workstreams and a culture of learning, POP is a place where you can develop, thrive and make a real impact.

Skills and Experience

We are looking for someone who has experience of:

Essential:

• Providing high quality advice and effective decision making. You should know how to analyse and use information to support ministerial decision making, knowing how to involve others and invite challenge when appropriate.

• You will be an effective communicator, knowing how to communicate in a straightforward and engaging manner, sharing information with colleagues as appropriate and taking into account different opinions and views.

• Experience of building effective professional relationships with others to identify risks and resolve issues efficiently. You will know how to involve a diverse range of colleagues, stakeholders and delivery partners in developing suggestions for improvements and provide an effective channel of communication for the Minister with other private offices, the Department, the rest of Whitehall, Parliament and the public.

• Someone that uses their relationships, judgement and understanding of the wider context to support the Minister in their work and to add value to the process and substance of decision making, ensuring financial and ethical probity. You should be engaging, trustworthy and unafraid to challenge peers and senior colleagues.

• You will be a collaborative, empathetic and inspiring team player, knowing how to effectively work within a team, escalate issues where appropriate and work together with others to deliver work to a high standard, often delivering at pace.

About the Ministry of Justice (MoJ)

MOJ is one of the largest government departments, employing over 90,000 people (including those in the Probation Service), 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

Ways of Working

This role is available on a full-time basis.

Due to the nature of this role the successful candidate will be expected to primarily work from the office in 102 Petty France.

Please note that this role may require working extended hours for which a Private Secretary allowance is payable.

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 may consider the possibility of making the successful applicant permanent at the end of the loan assignment, should headcount and budget restrictions allow. This will be reviewed at the end of the loan period and is not guaranteed.

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.  

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.

Application process

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.

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

Experience

During the application process you will be asked to provide a CV 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 500 words stating what you would bring to the role, with reference to the Skills and Experience listed above.

Behaviours

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

• Delivering at pace

• Seeing the Big Picture

• Communicating and Influencing

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

Successful applicants will then be invited to an interview, testing both behaviours and strengths.

Candidates Invited to Interview

Please note that interviews will be held in-person in 102 Petty France.

During the panel interview, you will be asked:

Behaviour-based questions to explore in detail what you are capable of. The Behaviours that will be covered by the panel are as follows:

• Delivering at Pace

• Seeing the Big Picture

• Communicating and Influencing

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

There will be a short exercise during the interview, where candidates will be presented with a submission and asked to summarise the key points. The exercise will take approximately 10 minutes in total. You will also be asked at least one Strength question.

Strength 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 February 2025.

Contact information  

Please do get in touch with Annabella Owen if you would like to know more about the role or what it is like working in our team, via: Annabella.owen@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.