Department for Education

Contents

• Location
• About the job
• Benefits
• Things you need to know
• Apply and further information

Manchester, North West England, M1 2WD : Sheffield, Yorkshire and the Humber, S1 2FJ

About the job

Job summary

https://youtu.be/rVaPVTGV3oA

The Pupil Wellbeing and Safety Directorate is committed to creating an educational environment that prioritises the safety, wellbeing, and inclusive education of every student. Our aim is to ensure that all children, regardless of their educational setting, are kept safe and have the opportunity to thrive.

The Directorate Support Team is advertising for Executive Officer (EO) Private Assistant to help us to deliver for the directorate across our areas of work and provide support to our Senior Civil Servant colleagues and their teams.

Below are some of the key responsibilities of the team: 

• Leadership of a People programme of work across the directorate, establishing governance, driving the Senior Leadership Team People Board and People Engagement Group, working with divisional leads to develop projects and create cross directorate connections and change.
• Management of directorate admin and programme budgets, working with policy leads and finance business partners to support accurate forecasting and record keeping. Providing accurate staffing budget reporting to support resourcing decisions.
• Manage the Reward scheme for the directorate, provide management information, monitor and report on budget spend, and lead on directorate reward offer approach and resources.
• Administer recruitment activity and support vacancy managers and senior leaders through the processes and liaise with the Human Resources Business Partner (HRBP) and central recruitment to resolve issues where necessary.

Job description

The postholder will need to provide diary management support to Deputy Director colleagues. There will be opportunity to support the team across its other responsibilities depending on the postholder’s interests.

Key deliverables include: 

• Daily management and delivery of Private Office functions to drive forward priorities and enable the Deputy Directors to lead and manage departmental business effectively.
• Acting as the secretariat for divisional meetings, organising the agenda and ensuring attendance is maintained and reviewed.
• Providing clear commissions and steers to relevant colleagues in advance of meetings and events and obtaining contributions from all appropriate stakeholders.

As this role includes completion of the Business Administration Apprenticeship (Level 3) please check the eligibility requirements below using the apprenticeship standard: Business administrator / Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education.

• You must have lived in the UK for 3 years prior to apprenticeship start date and not be undertaking another apprenticeship at the same time.
• You must not already have a substantial amount of the skills and knowledge that is covered in the contents of the apprenticeship standard.
• You must not have already worked in a similar role, or your previous learning, and/or work experience covers the contents (Knowledge, Skills, and Behaviours) of the apprenticeship standard. 

Please do not apply if:

• You already have all the skills and knowledge that is covered in the contents of the apprenticeship standard.
• You have already worked in a similar role, or your previous learning, and/or work experience covers the contents (Knowledge, Skills, and Behaviours) of the apprenticeship standard.
• You have a degree or equivalent in the same or similar subject. 
• Part of this apprenticeship is to complete a level 2 English and maths functional skills qualification. If you have already achieved GCSEs in English and maths at Level 4 (grade C) or equivalent or a higher grade, you will not need to complete the functional skills qualification. 

At the enrolment state, the individual's eligibility will be checked by the training provider.

Person specification

Essential Criteria: 

• Engagement Skills: Demonstrated ability to build positive relationships and communicate effectively.
• Team Collaboration: Enthusiastic about supporting and challenging colleagues, committed to the continuous improvement of the team and have an interest in the responsibilities of the team.
• Organisational Skills: Able to effectively plan and prioritise own work and manage calendars and react to clashes in a timely manner. Support Deputy Director colleagues effectively within their preferred way of working.
• Confidentiality: Commitment to accurate record-keeping and maintaining confidentiality. 

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £29,180, Department for Education contributes £8,453 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

Applicants currently holding a permanent post in the Civil Service should note that, if successful, their salary on appointment would be determined by the Department’s transfer / promotion policies.

As a member of the DfE, you will be entitled to join the highly competitive Civil Service Pension Scheme, which many experts agree is one of the most generous in the UK.

You will have 25 days leave, increasing by 1 day every year to a maximum of 30 days after five years’ service. In addition, all staff receive the King’s Birthday privilege holiday and 8 days’ bank and public holidays.

We offer flexible working arrangements, such as job sharing, term-time working, flexi-time and compressed hours.

Most DfE employees will be working a hybrid pattern, spending at least 60% of their time in an office or work setting. Changes to these working arrangements are available in exceptional circumstances but must be agreed with the line manager and in line with the requirements of the role.

Travel to your primary office location will not be paid for by DfE, but costs for travel to an office which is not your main location will be covered.

As an organisation, which exists to support education and lifelong learning, we offer our staff excellent professional development opportunities.

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 : James Burke
• Email : James.burke@education.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : Centralrecruitment.operations@education.gov.uk

Further information

The Department for Education’s recruitment processes are underpinned by the Civil Service Commissioners Recruitment Principles, which outlines that selection for appointment is made on merit based on fair and open competition. You have the right to complain if you feel a department has breached the requirement of the Recruitment Principles. In the first instance, you should raise the matter directly with the department concerned via CentralRecruitment.Operations@education.gov.uk. If you are not satisfied with the response, you may bring your complaint to the Commission. For further information on bringing a complaint to the Civil Service Commission please visit their web pages

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