Executive Assistant London

Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office

Apply before 11:55 pm on Monday 21st October 2024

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Details

Reference number

366841

Salary

£33,000

The total package for this role at EO is £33,000 per annum (non-negotiable). This figure includes a non-pensionable, non-consolidated Location Allowance of £5,000.

A Civil Service Pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

Job grade

Executive Officer

Contract type

Permanent

Type of role

Other

Working pattern

Full-time

Location

London

About the job

Job summary

We lead the UK’s diplomatic, development and consular work around the world. We employ around 17,000 staff in our global network of 281 offices worldwide.

Our UK-based staff work in King Charles Street in London, Abercrombie House in East Kilbride and in Milton Keynes.

We are looking to recruit talented and enthusiastic individuals to join the FCDO Private Office Directorate (POD) Rotation Scheme. These roles are varied and rewarding, offering an exciting opportunity to see policy-making at the highest level and gain an understanding of how Parliament works. We aim to provide a top-quality service to Ministers and senior officials, in order to deliver UK foreign and development policy priorities.

The successful candidates will get the chance to work on top HMG international priorities, providing an opportunity to get to know the FCDO from the heart of the organisation, giving an unrivalled view of the range of the department’s work. They will learn how to formulate policy and develop crucial knowledge, skills and behaviours to become a policy professional.

Job description

Roles and Responsibilities

Executive Assistants provide a mix of policy support and professional office administration. POD will configure the roles to meet specific business needs. The list below is not exhaustive and gives an indication of what roles typically include:

Diary Manager: Maintaining oversight of all appointments, including meetings with foreign governments, cross-government meetings, and overseas travel.

Office Manager: Responsible for the smooth day-to-day running of the office, having oversight of all central administrative functions.

Attaché: Leading Private Office’s relationship with the Correspondence team and responsible for timely responses on correspondence and Written Parliamentary Questions (PQs), ensuring that they reflect Ministerial steers and priorities.

Correspondence Drafter: Managing and drafting bespoke correspondence for a Ministerial portfolio on a wide range of subject matters, coordinating with teams across the FCDO for policy lines to inform draft replies.

Parliamentary Questions Officer: Drafting and coordinating Written Parliamentary Questions and ensuring that the department meets its targets.

Parliamentary Executive Assistant: Playing a coordination and supportive role to ensure that the FCDO responds to Parliamentary scrutiny, for example Select Committee appearances, Oral Questions, Urgent Questions and debates in both the House of Commons and the Lords.

Operations & Crisis Response Officer: Supporting preparations in the event the FCDO moves to crisis mode, ensuring that plans are in place to maintain a positive relationship with Parliament and respond effectively to increased scrutiny, along with liaising with other Whitehall departments to ensure correspondence is allocated correctly.

Parliamentary Innovation Officer: Looking to the future and thinking creatively about how we can work better with Parliament. You will develop project management skills to make progress on various projects to improve our effectiveness, for example improving how we handle correspondence processes.

Parliamentary Performance & Capability Officer: Using data and analytical skills to monitor our performance and develop solutions to address gaps or trends and improve the skills and knowledge of staff across the FCDO.

Business Support Officer: Supporting POD on a wide range of corporate, financial and business needs to enable the Directorate to function effectively.

The successful candidates will have the opportunity to work in different roles within POD. We will place you in each role, taking into account your interests and matching skills and experience where relevant. In principle, you move roles every 12 months. Successful candidates need to be flexible and prepared to do any role. Please note, the roles are subject to change depending on business need.

Person specification

You must be a British Citizen at the time of application and, if invited to interview, you will need to bring proof of identity (British Passport/Driving Licence etc.) with you.

This role requires you to attain Developed Vetting (DV) security clearance.

For more information about this process, click here. Attaining DV will require you to have been resident in the UK for five of the last ten years. At least one year of this must have been a consecutive twelve-month period. Serving overseas with HM Forces, in some other official capacity as a representative of His Majesty’s Government or having lived overseas as a result of your parents’ or partner’s Government employment counts as UK residency for the purposes of security clearances.

It is essential in your application that you provide evidence and proven examples in each of the following Minimum Criteria as far as you are able to do so. These responses will be further developed and discussed with those candidates invited for interview.

Minimum Criteria

Strong interpersonal skills and a team player who supports colleagues, collaborating with others to deliver key outcomes.

Good organisation and planning skills with the ability to see the long-term and wider impact of your work.

Good communication skills both oral and written, including being able to draft high quality documents to short deadlines.

Proactive with the ability to focus on continuous improvement of self and service and an appetite to work with others to simplify processes and improve efficiency.

Good research and analysis skills, including drawing conclusions and making decisions using a sound evidence base.

Strong literacy, numeracy, and IT Skills including using IT packages such as Microsoft 365 – Outlook, Excel, and ideally, knowledge of Microsoft Windows 10 and MS Teams.

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

Managing a Quality Service
Delivering at Pace
Working Together
Communicating and Influencing

Technical skills

We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:

30-minute drafting exercise prior to interview.
Motivation question at Interview.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £33,000, Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office contributes £9,560 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

· A Civil Service Pension.
· 25 days Annual Leave per annum.
· 9 days Public and Privilege holidays per annum.
· Learning and Development tailored to your role.

See the attached candidate pack.

Things you need to know

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Ability, Experience and Technical skills.

Please see the attached candidate pack for the selection process details.

After submission of the first stage of your application you will be invited to complete a Civil Service Verbal Test and Civil Service Numerical Test. If you successfully pass the test, you will be invited to complete the final stage of the application.

Please complete the online tests as soon as possible (within 24-48 hours is recommended), the closing date for the tests is 23:55 on 21/10/2024. If you fail to complete both the online test and full application form before the deadline your application will be withdrawn. Guidance for the test will be available when you are invited to take the test. The tests are administered online and accessed via the CS Jobs website.

Reasonable Adjustment

If a person with disabilities is put at a substantial disadvantage compared to a non-disabled person, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes.

If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should:

Contact Government Recruitment Service via fcdorecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.

Complete the ‘Assistance required’ section in the ‘Additional requirements’ page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional.

Further Information

A reserve list may be held for a period of 12 months from which further appointments can be made.

Any move to FCDO from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax Free Childcare. Determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk

New entrants are expected to join on the minimum of the pay band.

Applicants who are successful at interview will be, as part of pre-employment screening, subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database (IFD). This check will provide information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences. This check also applies to employees who resign or otherwise leave before being dismissed for fraud or dishonesty had their employment continued. Any applicant’s details held on the IFD will be refused employment.

A candidate is not eligible to apply for a role within the Civil Service if the application is made within a 5 year period following a dismissal for carrying out internal fraud against government.

If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section.

The Civil Service values honesty and integrity and expects all candidates to abide by these principles. The evidence you provide in your application must relate to your own experiences. If there is any evidence of plagiarism, including presenting the ideas and experience of others as your own, your application will be withdrawn.

If successful and transferring from another Government Department a criminal record check may be carried out.

In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to Disclosure and Barring Service on your behalf.

However, we recognise in exceptional circumstances some candidates will want to send their completed forms direct. If you will be doing this, please advise Government Recruitment Service of your intention by emailing Pre-EmploymentChecks.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk stating the job reference number in the subject heading.

This role is full time only. Applicants who wish to work an alternative pattern are welcome to apply however your preferred working pattern may not be available and you should discuss this with the vacancy holder before applying.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.

Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is developed vetting (opens in a new window).

See our vetting charter (opens in a new window).

People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

Open to UK nationals only.

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

Apply and further information

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.

The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window).

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 : FCDO Recruitment Team
Email : fcdorecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

Recruitment team

Email : fcdorecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

Further information

The FCDO’s recruitment processes are underpinned by the principle of selection for appointment on merit, on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission Recruitment Principles. If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles and you wish to make a complaint, you should, in the first instance, contact External.Recruitment@fcdo.gov.uk. If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the FCDO, you can contact the Office of the Civil Service Commissioners.