Diary Secretary and Assistant Private Secretary

Business Area:
Private Office

Role

Title:

Diary Secretary and Assistant Private Secretary to the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State

Terms of Appointment: 18 Months (FTC or Loan)

Grade: HEO

Location:

1 Horse Guards Road, London, SW1A 2HQ

Occasional travel between Belfast and London will be required.

Vacancy Manager:
Beth Lynas

Applications Invited From:
Existing Civil Servants on Level transfer or promotion, and external applications

New entrants to the Civil Service will be expected to join on the minimum of the pay range.

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

The London starting salary is £42,859. Your salary will be dependent on your base location.

The Northern Ireland Office supports the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland in promoting the best interests of Northern Ireland. We make sure that Northern Ireland interests are represented within the UK Government and that UK government responsibilities are fully and effectively represented in Northern Ireland. We are the centre of expertise on Northern Ireland issues across Government.

The Northern Ireland Office employs around 170 staff, with offices in Belfast and London. As a small Department, we adopt a flexible project‑based approach to ensure that we have the right people, with the right skills, in the right place to support the delivery of our key objectives.

Due to our structure and size, we are able to offer extensive exposure to Ministers and the opportunity to work on a far wider portfolio of policy and responsibilities than might be the case in a larger department. This creates an interesting and stimulating work environment.

Our key priorities are set out in our Operational Delivery plan and include:

• Supporting greater inclusion, tolerance and openness in Northern Ireland
• Contributing to a safer Northern Ireland, where terrorist and paramilitary groups are less able to cause harm to communities
• Ensuring that governance in Northern Ireland is responsive, transparent and able to deliver effective public service
• Addressing the legacy of the past in Northern Ireland

For more information about what we do:
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This is an exciting, varied role at the very heart of the Northern Ireland Office. You will join a friendly, high achieving private office team, where no two days are the same. We are looking for someone with a positive, can‑do attitude who is ready to get stuck in to support the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (PUSS). This is a role that is stretching and will give you a high level of exposure to the inner workings of a Ministerial Private Office.

As the PUSS’ dedicated Diary Secretary, you will have overall responsibility for their diary management. You will be working across the wider team to coordinate their diary, manage invitations, and organise all logistics for visits. As an Assistant Private Secretary in the Office, you will support the Private Office with the production of the PUSS’ daily pack, and take a lead on portfolio areas for the PUSS including Security and Protection, Ceremonial, Governance and External Affairs.

You will also support the Correspondence Manager with the correspondence process for the PUSS, including proactively managing incoming and outgoing correspondence for the Department. If needed, you will also provide additional PS and diary support to the NIO’s Lords Spokesperson during busy periods.

This is a role that will be suited to someone organised, communicative, and attentive to detail. Things can change at the last minute so you should be adaptable and patient. The team can be very busy so you will also need to be able to make informed decisions independently and with confidence. That said, you will be supported by two private secretaries and wider colleagues in the Secretary of State’s Private Office, all of whom are working together to deliver the best possible service to Ministers and the Department.

• Lead on the diary of the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, with overall responsibility for all logistics and invites.
• Work with the Private Office…