Private Secretary to the Minister for Trade

We are seeking a motivated and ambitious individual to join Private Office Group as Private Secretary to the Minister of State for Trade.

This is a demanding, fast-paced role that would ideally suit someone with an international relations, trade, national and economic security interest and/or business experience. The successful role holder would sit within the dynamic and fast-paced Private Office Group (POG) and exists to support delivery of ministerial priorities.

This role offers unprecedented exposure to the top-level workings of a government department, and an excellent opportunity for the right individual to develop the skills required to progress further in the Civil Service. Working closely with the Minister, Head of Office, Deputy Head of Office (the postholder’s prospective line manager), two other HEO private secretaries and a Diary Manager, you will ensure ministerial priorities are carefully planned and contribute to their successful delivery. 

We are looking for someone with impeccable organisational skills, strong written and verbal briefing skills, confidence in their own judgement and strong political awareness. This role provides exposure to strategic decision-making, as well as offering significant responsibility and autonomy. You will need to be flexible and responsive to ministerial direction, take pride in high quality and timely work and have a proven track record for delivering in a high-pressured environment. This role will also require adaptability to pick up work outside the specific portfolio, so the successful candidate will demonstrate an ability to work together in a team with a can-do attitude. In return, we will offer you a collaborative and trusting working environment, with a strong team culture and clear sense of purpose.

There will be opportunities to travel and work with Post to deliver on BIST objectives as well as with likeminded countries to deliver on this Government’s priorities.  

The successful candidate will:

• Help advise the minister on areas within their portfolio (e.g. Europe, multilateral, national security) working closely with other members of the Private Office to support the Minister in a wide range of meetings and events, including parliamentary debates and select committees 
  
• Commission, support and feed into briefings, submissions and documents on behalf of the principal, quality-assuring any important documents before they are presented and anticipating future decisions and pressure points 

• Produce high quality box notes to guide decision-making and link issues and submissions to put them into context  

• Plan and deliver international and domestic visits, providing personal support where required 

• Work closely and collaboratively with the minister’s wider private office to ensure that his time is balanced between his various priorities 

• Set direction to and work with senior civil servants and teams across the Department and Whitehall to ensure they provide high-quality advice on policy issues and ensure delivery of the minister’s priorities 

• Work with the Head of Office and other Private Offices to improve processes both in the directorate and the wider department 

• Be a visible and positive ambassador for POG to the rest of the Department. 

• Make a meaningful corporate contribution to POG

Private Office roles require you to work some unsocial hours – including weekends – when required. For this, a Private Office Allowance is payable to the successful applicant while in post. 

The postholder will be expected to stay in role for a minimum period of 12 months. 

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

Personal Attributes and Skills

The below is a list of characteristics which may be helpful in this role. These will not be assessed throughout the recruitment process, but are laid out to help candidates understand more about the role.

While there is no specific previous experience required to be successful in this role, we are looking for someone who is resilient, with excellent organisation and prioritisation skills, along with an ability to develop and maintain strong working relationships both with the Minister and senior stakeholders. We’d be particularly interested in hearing from you if you have: 

• Strong judgement, initiative, and the confidence to make informed decisions on behalf of your principal 
• Proven leadership skills and the emotional intelligence to work collaboratively with a range of stakeholders 
• Confidence in your own judgement and strong political awareness 
• The ability to think strategically, anticipate different emerging issues and reprioritise your work in response to an often-changing environment, proactively driving progress  
• Excellent ability to synthesise large amounts of information quickly, triage issue and evaluate them in the wider context of the Department and Government’s work. 

Essential criteria: 

The below criteria are essential and will be assessed at application stage.

• Experience of working in a pressurised, fast-paced environment 
• Attention to detail and perceptive judgment 
• Strong interpersonal, written, and oral communication skills 
• Resilience and adaptability when juggling competing priorities.

 Desirable criteria: 

The below criteria are desirable only. These will not be assessed throughout the recruitment process, but will be used in the event of tied scores between candidates.

• Experience of working directly with Ministers and/or in Private Office 
• Understanding of Parliamentary (Lords) business 
• Experience working on Europe and/or trade policy 
• Experience working on national security issues.

This role requires Security Check (SC) clearance.