22866 - Private Office Apprentice

£22,232 - £22,456
1
London
London
NIO 1 HORSE GUARDS ROAD, LONDON, SW1A 2HQ, SW1A 2HQ
AO
E
Apprenticeship
For a period of up to 18 months
Full Time
Administration / Corporate Support

DEPARTMENT:

NORTHERN IRELAND OFFICE

POST VACANT:

Private Office Apprentice

LOCATION:

1 Horse Guards Road, London

DURATION:

18 months Fixed Term Contract

APPLICATIONS INVITED FROM:

This is an Apprentice role at Band E studying for Level 3 Business Administration

GUARANTEED INTERVIEW SCHEME:

The Northern Ireland Office operates the Guaranteed Interview Scheme, details of which are attached to the application form for this post.

PLEASE NOTE:

All candidates are expected to demonstrate how they meet the essential and desirable criteria in the additional information section, as well as each competence. Please complete your application form as requested via the recruitment portal, but do not submit a CV.

CLOSING DATE:

Thursday 13 December 2018

BACKGROUND:

The NIO is a small, friendly department with about 160 staff in offices in London and Belfast. We are looking to recruit a flexible and enthusiastic person who will enjoy a busy working environment with a variety of challenges. Good organisational skills and a “can do” approach will be vital. The successful Apprentice will find a supportive team focused on delivering excellence to Ministers and providing all team members with developmental opportunities. Occasionally there may be a requirement to work beyond regular hours but this will be agreed in advance and compensated by time off in lieu. There may be occasional travel to Belfast.

The NIO’s Private Office is a supportive, busy and energetic place to work. It is a critical bridge between communicating ministerial decisions and priorities to the department, and understanding what the department wants from Private Office in order to provide the best possible service to Ministers.

To deliver this, we are seeking to recruit an Apprentice who will provide essential administrative support for both the Secretary of State and the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State. This post reports to the Deputy Private Secretary to the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.

The Northern Ireland Office strives to be an inclusive employer and is recognised by its staff and externally as being an employer where Diversity and Inclusion are valued.

We were accredited as a Disability Confident Leader in autumn 2017.

In March 2018 we won the award for Best Employer for Diversity & Equality in Northern Ireland (small employer category) in a Gala Award ceremony hosted by Legal-Island, a multi-award winning workplace compliance company based in Northern Ireland.

We have an active D&I network supporting colleagues through D&I Advocates.

We want all our people to feel valued for who they are and we are confident that you will find the NIO a warm, welcoming and inclusive place to work.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

  • Printing and preparing documents for the Ministerial red boxes
  • Scanning Ministerial comments, saving in the specialist records management software and updating tracking systems
  • Taking public calls
  • Work flexibly to support wider Private Office team
  • Participate in team meetings, including discussions about process improvements
  • Use Outlook, Word and Google Sheets
  • Liaise with key interlocutors in the department, including finance, policy teams and the executive support team

ESSENTIAL CRITERIA:               

  • Excellent communication, written and oral.
  • Strong organisational and planning skills and a willingness to work flexibly.
  • Evidence of showing initiative to deliver an excellent service.

QUALIFICATIONS:

  • 5 GCSE’s at Grade 4/5 or Grade C and above- Maths and English at Grade 4/5 or Grade C and above essential

COMPETENCIES:

The personal competencies required are consistent with the competency framework for the Band E. For this post the candidate will be expected to demonstrate some or all of the following key competencies:

Seeing the Big Picture:

  • Understand what is required of them in their role and how this contributes to team and departmental priorities
  • Consider how their own job links with and impacts on colleagues and others in partner organisations

Changing and Improving:

  • Review working practices and come up with ideas to improve the way things are done
  • Respond effectively to emergencies

Leading and Communicating:

  • Put forward their own views in a clear and constructive manner, choosing an appropriate communication method, e.g. email/telephone/face to face
  • Write clearly in plain, simple language and check work for spelling and grammar, learning from previous inaccuracies

Collaborating and Partnering:

  • Proactively contribute to the work of the whole team
  • Seek help when needed in order to complete own work effectively

Delivering at Pace:

  • Work in an organised manner using own knowledge and expertise to deliver on time and to standard
  • Take responsibility for the quality of own work and keep manager informed of how the work is progressing

For the essential and desirable criteria, please use the ‘Additional Experience and Skills’ section of the online application form to set out your evidence of meeting this requirement. Do not use this space to duplicate the evidence of how you meet the competences, as this information should be provided at the ‘Competence Questions’ section of the online application form.

SECURITY CLEARANCE:

Security clearance to SC level will be required for this post.                                                                

ELIGIBILITY SIFT:

An eligibility sift will be carried out on the basis of the information contained in the application form. It is therefore important that all applicants demonstrate in their application how and to what extent their competences are relevant to the above criteria. Those candidates who do not clearly demonstrate that they meet the experience and competences will not be invited to interview.                                             

PAY AND ALLOWANCES:

The successful candidate will adopt the terms and conditions of the NIO for the length of their appointment.

Neither Detached Duty terms nor relocation costs will apply to this post.

OTHER BENEFITS:

The NIO offers a pleasant, modern work environment which allows consideration of a range of flexible working arrangements which support a good work/ life balance. These include flexible/ alternative working patterns, part-time and job-share options.

FURTHER INFORMATION:

Further information about the post may be obtained from Una Dumigan, on telephone number 0207 210 0206 or e-mail to una.dumigan@nio.gov.uk

APPLICATIONS:

You can apply for this post through the Civil Service website at: civilservice.gov.uk. Once logged onto the site go to the civil service jobs page and then search for jobs in the Northern Ireland Office where the application form can be found.

Additional information received after the closing date will not be considered. Failure to provide sufficient information in support of an application prior to the closing date will not be considered as grounds for an appeal if an applicant is not short listed for interview.

Applicants who, because of disability, need assistance in completing the application form should contact MoJ Shared Services on 0845 010 3512.

All applications for employment are considered strictly on the basis of merit.

This job description should not be taken as constituting conditions of employment.

Further information on civil service careers can be found at  www.civil-service-careers.gov.uk


Working Arrangements & Further Information

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

Generous allowances for paid holiday starting at 25 days per year, and rising as your service increases. 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.

Support

  • A range of ‘Family Friendly’ policies such as opportunities to work reduced hours or job share.
  • Access to flexible benefits such as salary sacrifice arrangements for childcare vouchers, and voluntary benefits such as retail vouchers and discounts on a range of goods and services.
  • Paid paternity, adoption and maternity leave.
  • Free annual sight tests for employees who use computer screens.

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.

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.

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equality of opportunity.

There is a guaranteed interview scheme (GIS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

Interview dates to be confirmed

13/12/2018, 23:55 hours.

Closing Date: 13th December 2018 at 23.55 hours

If you require any assistance please call 0845 241 5359 (Monday to Friday 8am - 6pm) or e mail Moj-recruitment-vetting-enquiries@sscl.gse.gov.uk Please quote the job reference.

Security Clearance (SC)

To apply for roles in MOJ you will need to confirm your employment history for at least 3 years prior to the date of application so that pre-employment checks (BPSS) can be undertaken. If you have spent significant time abroad (a total of 6 months in the past 3 years) you would be required to give a reasonable account of the reasons why. 

For some roles you will be required to successfully complete National Security Vetting at Counter Terrorism (CTC), Security Clearance (SC) or Developed Vetting (DV) level as a condition of appointment. To meet CTC/SC/DV requirements you will normally need to have been resident in the UK for at least 3/5/10 years prior to the date of application (The level of checks that are required are stated in the advert).

If you do not meet the above requirements, you may still be considered if, for example:

  • You've been serving overseas with HM Forces or in some other official capacity as a representative of HM Government
  • You were studying abroad
  • You were living overseas with parents

In such cases you will need to be able to provide referee cover for the period(s) of residence overseas. The duration of overseas residence and the country of abode will also be taken into account.

Candidate Information

You may be required to provide statements describing your skills and experience relevant to each of the selection criteria. We recommend that you structure any examples as Situation, Task, Action and Result. For more information about the recruitment process and answers to general queries, please click the below link which will direct you to our Candidate Information Page.

Link: https://justicejobs.tal.net/vx/candidate/cms/About%20the%20MOJ

In the event of a large number of applications, we reserve the right to undertake the following processes:


  • An automated online test where a benchmark must be passed to progress;
  • A sift on the lead selection criteria. If this happens, the lead criteria will be the first one listed in the advert.

During the selection process, you may be asked to undertake an additional assessment (such as written test). If this is applicable you will be notified of this when you are invited to interview.



if you feel that your application has not been treated in line with the Civil Service Recruitment Principles, please contact SSCL (Moj-recruitment-vetting-enquiries@gov.sscl.com) in the first instance
Seeing the Big Picture
Changing and Improving
Leading and Communicating
Collaborating and Partnering
Delivering at Pace
As noted in the Job description. Please use the 'Role specific Qualifications' section to indicate how you meet the essential criteria

We have provided detail of the assessment stages and areas being assessed to help you prepare for completing your application form, and to advise of what will be assessed following this, if you successfully pass the application stage.


Application form stage assessments

Interview stage assessments

There is 1 interview stage for this vacancy.

A Great Place to Work for Veterans

The "Making the Civil Service a Great Place to work for veterans" initiative includes a guaranteed interview scheme to those who meet the minimum criteria to provide eligible former members of the Armed Forces with opportunities to secure rewarding jobs. Allowing veterans to continue to serve their country, and to bring highly skilled individuals with a broad range of experience into the Civil Service in an environment, which recognises and values your previous service in the Armed Forces.
For further details about the initiative and eligibility requirements visit : https://www.gov.uk/government/news/making-the-civil-service-a-great-place-to-work-for-veterans

Redeployment Interview Scheme

Civil Service departments are expected to explore redeployment opportunities before making an individual redundant. The MoJ are committed, as part of the Redeployment Interview Scheme, to providing opportunities to those who are 'at risk of redundancy'.

MoJ are able to offer an interview to eligible candidates who meet the minimum selection criteria, except in a limited number of campaigns. Candidate's will not be eligible for the Redeployment Interview Scheme if they are applying on promotion.

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

· UK nationals

· nationals of the Republic of Ireland

· nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK

· nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window) https://www.gov.uk/settled-status-eu-citizens-families

· nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)

· individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020

· Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window) https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nationality-rules

This Vacancy is closed to applications.