Job summary
The Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Civil Service is the most senior civil servant in the UK and the principal official adviser to the Prime Minister and Cabinet. As the Prime Minister's principal official adviser, the Cabinet Secretary supports the Prime Minister and his Cabinet to deliver the Government�s mission-driven programme; pursue reforms that make government work better; create a more united democracy; and, strengthen and secure the United Kingdom at home and abroad.��
The Cabinet Secretary oversees the processes for collective agreement, the propriety and ethics systems, effective inter-departmental working and works closely with colleagues, particularly across the Prime Minister�s Office, Cabinet Office and HM Treasury.��
As Head of the Civil Service, the Cabinet Secretary is the leader of the profession as well as a large and complex organisation driving delivery of public services and supporting the Government of the day to develop and implement its policies.� There are currently around 500,000 civil servants working in over 40 departments across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.� There are also 12 cross-Government functions and numerous arms� length bodies across the public sector that are a critical part of the Government�s delivery systems.
The Cabinet Secretary is responsible for leading reform and improvement in the Civil Service to ensure it has the capability and capacity to implement the new Government�s mission-led approach to governing the United Kingdom; making it more joined up, pushing power to communities and harnessing new technology to enable delivery of the Government�s five key Missions.
Job description
Responsibilities of the Cabinet Secretary are:
1. ensuring the effective implementation of the Government�s priorities and delivery of public services through departments. This includes providing advice to the Prime Minister and Cabinet on policy, propriety and the structure and operation of government, bringing departments together to deliver on cross cutting issues and unblocking problems where they arise;
2. as Head of the Civil Service, it also means ensuring that departments have the necessary capability and leadership through the recruitment, performance management and development of Permanent Secretaries. This includes upholding the Ministerial, Special Adviser and Civil Service codes;
3. supporting proper and effective government decision-making through the organisation and provision of advice to Cabinet and its sub-committees. The Cabinet Secretary attends all meetings of Cabinet and is responsible for the smooth running of Cabinet meetings and for preparing records of its discussions and decisions. This includes responsibility for advising the Prime Minister on all questions connected with the appointment and organisation of Cabinet committees;
4. leading an effective and politically impartial Civil Service that commands the confidence of Ministers and Parliament. This includes ensuring that the Civil Service is a modern, professional and digitally enabled organisation that leads the way in world class administration of government and delivery of modern public services. It also means representing the Civil Service in all forums including in Parliament;
5. overseeing the security and intelligence agencies and ensuring compliance with constitutional standards.� The Cabinet Secretary is Principal Accounting Officer for the Single Intelligence Account;
6. developing and maintaining a network of external stakeholders from across business, industry, civil society and the wider public sector in support of the Government�s wider priorities, and using this network to ensure that the Government and Civil Service is able to draw on external expertise and advice where necessary;
7. overseeing the Government�s relationships with the Royal Household and ensuring the proper functioning of the United Kingdom�s honours system; and,
8. maintaining strong relationships with overseas counterparts to ensure that the United Kingdom�s interests are well-served through these partnerships.�
Person specification
To succeed in this role, you will need to demonstrate these essential criteria:
9. the ability to secure the confidence of the Prime Minister and the Cabinet, developing and translating complex policy and strategy into successful and sustainable delivery in an environment of uncertainty;� ��
10. exceptional leadership skills with an ability to inspire a large and complex organisation and as a significant proportion of this will be leading through Permanent Secretaries of departments - commanding the confidence and respect of this group is critical to ensure they are working across boundaries and delivering the mission-led approach to government;
11. a sharp intellect combined with an understanding of the geopolitical and security challenges faced by the UK and what needs to be done to ensure the UK is both secure at home and strong abroad � now and for the years to come;
12. exceptional communication skills and high personal impact, and the ability to command credibility with senior politicians and colleagues across Whitehall. The ideal candidate will be able to tailor their communication style to enable them to work closely with senior politicians but also to deliver key messages to civil servants;
13. well-developed political sensitivity to secure the confidence of Ministers and key stakeholders and strong personal resilience to operate under high levels of scrutiny and sustained pressure;
14. a track record of working with others to deliver common goals and objectives, coupled with an ability to build deep collaborative partnerships across Whitehall, with arms-length bodies and third-party organisations;
15. strong commitment to the Civil Service values of impartiality, honesty, integrity and objectivity; and,
16. confident, inclusive and compassionate leadership skills, with a proven ability to enthuse and lead others through changes and an interest in talent and development to ensure we have the most skilled Civil Service to meet the demands of today and the future.
Benefits
Alongside your salary of �200,000, Cabinet Office contributes �57,940 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme.
17. A which provides an attractive pension, benefits for dependants and employer contributions of
18. 30 days of paid annual leave.