28802 - Business Manager

Purpose

The role of Business Manager is an exciting opportunity to join the Private Office in the Office of the Secretary of State for Wales. The post-holder will have direct exposure to the Secretary of State and the Parliamentary Under-Secretaries of State, whose work cuts across the whole of Whitehall. The role of the Department is to promote the best interests of Wales at the heart of the UK Government.

Correspondence Management is one of the core functions of any government Department. The Business Manager role is a vital part of the Private Office team and is responsible for the effective organisation of the Correspondence Unit, dealing with all incoming and outgoing correspondence for the department. This includes: letters from the public and external stakeholders, cross-government letters, event invitations, and letters to and from ministers. They will line manage two staff to deliver a timely and efficient correspondence service. The role requires the post-holder to interact with our most important customers namely Members of Parliament, Assembly Members, Senior Whitehall colleagues and other influential external stakeholders.

They will also be required to provide high-quality, efficient, and effective administrative support to the Private Secretary and Special Advisers.

This role provides an opportunity to gain real insight into cross-government working, and to work closely with Private Offices across Whitehall, including with Number 10, as well as with the Welsh Government. The post is rewarding, challenging and integral to the Department.

Responsibilities

Some of the tasks you will be responsible for include:

• Performance management of two staff including organising workloads and supporting their relevant learning and development needs.
• Managing the day-to-day running of the Correspondence Unit with its high volume of incoming and outgoing documentation including tracking the flow of interdepartmental write rounds and the handling of Freedom of Information Requests to relevant deadlines.
• Supporting the work of the Honours Secretariat by gathering evidence on potential nominations and drafting citations.
• Ensure the Department is sharing materials with the Special Advisers in a timely way.
• Monitoring the Special Adviser mailbox for upcoming briefings and submissions, relaying this to the Special Advisers as necessary.
• Supporting the Special Advisers to ensure that they are kept up to date on departmental work, especially in relation to correspondence.
• Providing assistance to the Special Advisers, such as booking travel/ accommodation and arranging payment of expenses as required.
• Providing support to the wider Private Office, including ministers’ teams, on an ad-hoc basis in order to respond to team pressures and requests.
• Our departmental values are Commitment, Collaboration, and Quality. These shape how we operate in a challenging, demanding and fast-paced environment which requires flexibility, transparency and professionalism.

Recruitment Process

This vacancy will use the Success Profiles Framework and you will therefore be expected to demonstrate the following elements at the various stages of the selection process as outlined below.

Person Specification

You are likely to be an experienced administrator who has worked in a service-focussed environment. You will have the confidence to deal with dignitaries and senior officials and be able to adjust your communication style as the situation demands. You may already be managing a small team or ready to step up to the line management challenge.

In the Personal Statement please evidence the following experience and abilities:

• Demonstrable experience of working in a service focussed environment where judgement has been needed when interfacing with important customers.
• Given the close proximity of working with Ministers you will need to evidence effective interpersonal skills with the ability to build rapport with important customers or stakeholders *
• Clear evidence of organisational capability *
• Your attention to detail and evidence of ensuring your work is accurate and precise
• Formal line management experience would be an advantage but is not essential
• Oral and written Welsh language skills would be an advantage but not essential.

Under each of the Behaviour sections of the application form, please provide specific examples that demonstrate competence at the EO level for the following three areas:

• Managing a Quality Service*
• Seeing the Big Picture*
• Delivering at Pace*

*Asterisked criteria above will be re-tested at interview.

All applications for employment are considered strictly based on merit. We will be recruiting through fair and open competition.

Additional Information

Please note that this is a permanent role initially offered on loan or a fixed term basis.  The status of substantive civil servants will be unaffected and will continue to hold a permanent contract within the civil service.

Office for the Secretary of State for Wales is not an employer in its own right.  Staff recruited to work at the OSSW will be employees of the Ministry of Justice who provide employment services to us.

This role requires SC level clearance. Candidates may therefore experience a delay if not cleared to this level before being unconditionally appointed to the post while the clearance process takes place.