Ministry of Justice

The Private Office and Parliament Directorate is recruiting permanently for a Grade 6 Deputy Principal Private Secretary. 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 PS roles, which involve a significant amount of interaction with ministers, the successful candidate will need to be able to work in the office when the minister is present. Unfortunately, the role is unsuitable for part-time or flexible working, but full-time Jobsharers are welcome to apply. When the minister is out (for example during parliamentary recess, or when on a visit), there are opportunities for flexible working 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 this role may require working extended hours for which a Private Secretary allowance is payable.

Security Clearance

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.  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)

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 £9.5 billion. Each year, millions of people use our services across the UK - including 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 and Parliamentary Directorate

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.

Deputy Principal Private Secretary - the role

As Deputy Principal Private Secretary to the Lord Chancellor, you will work at the heart of the Department’s decision-making process. This high-profile role involves working directly with the Lord Chancellor, Junior Ministers, senior officials across Whitehall, and external stakeholders. You will support the delivery of cross-cutting policy priorities, the management of the Lord Chancellor’s office, parliamentary engagement, coordination across ministerial offices and are seen a key member of the SLG delivering wider leadership to the Directorate. This role reports to the Deputy Director for Parliament, Legislation and Ministerial Offices.

This role has responsibilities across the following:

·        Management of the Lord Chancellor’s office reporting to the Principal Private Secretary;

·        Lead on cross-cutting policy priorities including safer streets mission delivery and criminal justice outcomes;

·        Manage the Lord Chancellor’s parliamentary engagement including Oral Parliamentary Questions and select committee appearances;

·        Support coordination between the Lord Chancellor and Junior Minister offices;

·        Ensure high-quality advice, briefings, and correspondence on complex policy and operational issues;

·        Management of the ministerial correspondence and Business Support Team;

·        Management of the junior ministerial offices;

·        Collaborate with policy, parliamentary, and private office colleagues to manage emerging issues; and,

·        Contribute to the Private Office and Parliament Senior Leadership team.

Skills and Experience

Essential:

• Excellent leadership and interpersonal skills, with experience leading teams in fast-paced environments;
• Strategic thinking and ability to navigate complex policy and political landscapes;
• Effective communication skills, with the ability to distil complex messages clearly;
• Experience building professional relationships to identify risks and resolve issues;
• Judgement and understanding of wider context to support ministerial decision-making; and,
• Collaborative and empathetic team leadership.

Desirable:

·        Knowledge of relevant policy and operational challenges.

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

During the application process you will be asked to submit a CV 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 (no more than 500 words). Which details an explanation of why you are interested in the role and how your skills and experience align with the tasks listed in the job description.

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 (lead behaviour)

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 your Statement of Suitability. Successful applicants will be invited to an interview, testing both behaviours and strengths.

Candidates invited to Interview

Please note that interviews will be carried out in-person.

In addition to the Behaviour listed in the application form, you will also be asked by the interview panel to provide examples of how you meet the 3 behaviours listed below.

• Leadership

• Communicating and Influencing

• Delivering at Pace

The interview will also cover strength-based questions. 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: Strengths - GOV.UK

Candidates will also be asked to give a short presentation as part of the interview; details of this will be sent to those candidates who are invited for interview.

Interviews are expected to take place in the latter part of August 2025.

Please be advised that as part of the recruitment campaign we will conduct fireside conversations with the relevant Minister and/or senior member of the Private Office Team.

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. Ben.Archibald@justice.gov.uk or 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.