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We encourage applications from people from all backgrounds and aim to have a workforce that represents the wider society that we serve. We pride ourselves on being an employer of choice. We champion diversity, inclusion and wellbeing and aim to create a workplace where everyone feels valued and a sense of belonging. To find out more about how we do this visit: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice/about/equality-and-diversity.

Executive Assistant to the Private Office of the President of the Family Division

New recruits to the Civil Service joining MoJ are expected to join at the band minimum.

The Judicial Office is looking to recruit a high calibre candidate to fill the post of Executive Assistant to support the Private Office of the President of the Family Division (PFD). This is a business-critical post, working at the heart of the Judicial Office; the post-holder will need to manage conflicting priorities and use their initiative daily. The role is demanding, fast paced and varied and the post-holder will be required to provide administrative support to the Private Office as well as maintain the diary of the PFD. Collaboration and flexibility is essential in this role given the requirement to work with a variety of people, all working towards key priorities which focus on the effective operation of the Family Division and family justice system as well as the development of high-profile priority initiatives on behalf of the PFD.

The Judicial Office was established in 2006 following the implementation of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 which made the Lord Chief Justice (LCJ) the Head of the Judiciary. The LCJ’s specific responsibilities include representing the views of the judiciary of England and Wales to Parliament, the Lord Chancellor and ministers generally; maintaining arrangements for the welfare, training and guidance of the judiciary; and maintaining arrangements for the deployment of judges and the allocation of work within the courts. The role of the Judicial Office is to support the LCJ in carrying out these responsibilities. Where those responsibilities have been delegated to other members of the judiciary, the Judicial Office supports them directly. For more information see www.judiciary.gov.uk.

The President of the Family Division is supported by a Private Office, which forms part of the Judicial Office and is based at the Royal Courts of Justice. The Private Office provides administrative, legal, operational and policy support to the PFD and the High Court Judges of the Family Division. The Private Office supports the PFD in his pastoral responsibilities, in resolving issues, driving the PFD’s strategic priorities and in providing support and guidance to leadership judges.

The post-holder will be required to work collaboratively as part of a small team, and should be prepared to support the highly cohesive work environment.

Main activities/responsibilities:

The successful candidate will be required to undertake the following duties and responsibilities (the following list is not exhaustive):

• Act as a principal member of the PFD’s Private Office by managing his diary, in conjunction with other members of the Private Office.
• Organising and prioritising routine work of the PFD and the office, dealing with requests promptly.
• Organise meetings, including travel arrangements, booking rooms and issuing calendar invitations.
• Planning the sequencing and rhythm of the PFD’s engagement with senior judiciary, government Ministers and other interested parties.
• Commissioning agenda items, collating and supporting the relevant member of the Private Office.
• Monitoring attendance and coordination/circulation of papers.
• Ensuring effective preparation for meetings and daily workloads, printing papers when necessary,
• Working in partnership with the PFD’s clerks, to diarise and arrange hearings and ceremonial duties.
• Attend meetings as required to take minutes and record action points.
• Using efficient procedures to track and monitor action points from meetings supporting the Deputy Private Secretary to ensure these are followed up and resolved using appropriate means of escalation.
• Screen and filter telephone calls, enquiries, event invitations and requests, handling them directly or referring them to an appropriate source,
• Maintain the team’s mailbox account and respond to queries in a timely manner, directing them to the relevant team lead where necessary.
• Proactively and consistently maintain accurate records to support effective engagement with the judiciary, e.g., Outlook distribution lists.
• Undertaking ad hoc requests as required to support the PFD, High Court Judges of the Family Division and the Private Office, when necessary in accordance with business priorities, reorganising own workload where necessary, managing conflicting priorities often with tight deadlines.

All of the tasks undertaken by the Executive Assistant will require a strong working relationship with a variety of people, including the senior judiciary, colleagues in MOJ/HMCTS and external stakeholders in the legal industry and family justice system.

Person Specification:

Given the close working with very senior members of the judiciary, senior officials across Government, and a wide range of other stakeholders, the post holder will be expected to be able to communicate exceptionally clearly, both orally and in writing. The successful candidate must be able to demonstrate excellent organisational and inter-personal skills, whilst managing a very busy inbox. The role is fast-paced, challenging, and varied, offering significant scope for personal development and stretch. The post-holder will be required to manage conflicting priorities diplomatically but robustly and will be required to work collaboratively as part of a small team, drawing links with colleagues across the Judicial Office and HMCTS as necessary. The ability to build and maintain resilient relationships against shifting priorities and a demanding workload is important.

The support provided by Judicial Private Offices involves working before and after court. Regular in office working, as well as some early mornings and late evenings can be expected, though every effort will be made to accommodate flexibility where necessary. the post holder will be required to work in a flexible way and undertake any other duties reasonably requested by line management which are commensurate with the grade and level of responsibility of this post.

Essential specifications:

• Ability to produce work which is clear and concise;
• Effectively engage with the relevant people to obtain the most accurate information and get advice when unsure of how to proceed;
• Foster effective working relationships with a wide range of colleagues and stakeholders within and outside of Judicial Office, its various private offices, and those in MoJ/HMCTS, demonstrating good team working and communication skills.

Essential Criteria:

To be successful in this role, you should have/be working towards the following:

• Skilled in the Microsoft office suite (specifically Excel, Word, Outlook and PowerPoint).
• Experience of diary management and arranging meetings / preparing papers.
• A strong communicator, able to communicate messages clearly to a range of audiences at all levels – both verbally and in writing.
• Strong organisational skills and ability to prioritise work.
• The ability to build productive working relationships quickly and to engender confidence with colleagues and stakeholders;
• Experience of managing conflicting priorities in a fast paced, constantly changing work environment to achieve successful outcomes;
• Be proactive and prepared to take initiative.

Overview

Please refer to the contract of employment for terms and conditions.

The post will be based in the Royal Courts of Justice, Strand, London, WC2A 2LL.

It should be noted that the nature of this post will require the post-holder to work longer hours on some occasions, and to support early and late meetings and although flexible working will be accommodated when possible, the post holder will be expected to be based in the office for the majority of judicial term.

Application

To apply for this role please provide a 500 word statement of suitability and examples of the following:

• Delivering at Pace
• Communicating and Influencing
• Working Together

Salary

£29,664 - £31,200

Additional Information

Working Arrangements & Further Information

The MoJ offers Hybrid Working arrangements where business need allows. This is an informal, non-contractual form of flexible working that blends working from your base location, different MoJ sites and / or from home (please be aware that this role can only be worked in the UK and not overseas). Some roles will not be suitable for Hybrid Working. Similarly, Hybrid Working will not suit everyone’s circumstances. Arrangements will be discussed and agreed with the successful candidate(s) and subject to regular review.

For nationally advertised roles, the successful candidate(s) will be appointed to a MoJ office location, which may include their nearest Justice Collaboration Centre or Justice Satellite Office. This will be discussed and agreed on the completion of pre-employment checks.

Some of MoJ’s terms and conditions of service are changing as part of Civil Service reform. The changes will apply to staff joining MoJ who are new to the Civil Service. Staff joining MoJ from other civil service employers will transfer onto the new MoJ terms if they are already on ‘modernised’ terms in their current post or onto ‘unmodernised’ MoJ terms if they are on ‘unmodernised’ terms at their current post. Details will be available if an offer is made.

Flexible working hours

The Ministry of Justice offers a flexible working system in many offices.

Benefits

The MoJ offers a range of benefits:

Annual Leave

Annual leave is 25 days on appointment and will increase to 30 days after five years’ service.

There is also a scheme to allow qualifying staff to buy or sell up to three days leave each year. Additional paid time off for public holidays and 1 privilege day. Leave for part-time and job share posts will be calculated on a pro-rata basis.

Pension

The Civil Service offers a choice of pension schemes, giving you the flexibility to choose the pension that suits you best.

Training

The Ministry of Justice is committed to staff development and offers an extensive range of training and development opportunities.

Networks

The opportunity to join employee-run networks that have been established to provide advice and support and to enable the views of employees from minority groups to be expressed direct to senior management. There are currently networks for employees of minority ethnic origin, employees with disabilities, employees with caring responsibilities, women employees, and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender employees.

Support

• A range of ‘Family Friendly’ policies such as opportunities to work reduced hours or job share.
• Access to flexible benefits such as voluntary benefits, retail vouchers and discounts on a range of goods and services.
• For moves to or from another employer or moves across the Civil Service this can have implications on your eligibility to carry on claiming childcare vouchers. You may however be eligible for alternative government childcare support schemes, including Tax Free Childcare. More information can be found on GOV.UK or Childcare Choices. You can determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/.
• Paid paternity, adoption and maternity leave.
• Free annual sight tests for employees who use computer screens.

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code 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. Should you feel that the recruitment process has breached the recruitment principles you are able to raise a formal complaint in the following order

• To Shared Service Connected Ltd (0845 241 5358 (Monday to Friday 8am – 6pm) or e mail [email protected]);
• To Ministry of Justice Resourcing team ([email protected]);
• To the Civil Service Commission (details available here)

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As a Disability Confident employer, MoJ are committed to providing everyone with the opportunity to demonstrate their skills, talent and abilities, by making adjustments throughout all elements of the recruitment process and in the workplace. MoJ are able to offer an interview to disabled candidates who meet the minimum selection criteria, except in a limited number of campaigns.

You will be able to request reasonable adjustments to the recruitment process within the application form. If you need additional help completing the application form, please contact the SSCL Recruitment Enquiries Team.

We encourage applications from people from all backgrounds and aim to have a workforce that represents the wider society that we serve. We pride ourselves on being an employer of choice. We champion diversity, inclusion and wellbeing and aim to create a workplace where everyone feels valued and a sense of belonging. To find out more about how we do this visit: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice/about/equality-and-diversity.