Contents Location About the job Benefits Things you need to know Apply and further information Location Bristol About the job Job summary Do you have experience of providing administrative support at director level? Are you someone with excellent time management skills? Can you be highly organised and responsive to changing demands? If so, wed love to hear from you Job description As the Personal Assistant to the Chief Executive you will need to deliver a high quality professional administrative service. You will act as a mentor to Personal Assistants supporting the Executive Team and coordinate activities across the Personal Assistant team to ensure consistency and quality. The role involves close-working with the offices of Ministers, Permanent Secretaries and Senior Civil Servants as well as Directors and senior management from DVSA. It is a demanding, varied and interesting role and requires someone who is pro-active, flexible and responsive. You must also possess high levels of integrity given the often highly confidential nature of the Chief Executives responsibilities. Responsibilities include, but are not limited to: Pro-actively manage the Chief Executives diary and travel arrangements, maintaining free space in the diary, setting reminders for actions and responses, and managing priorities and clashes. Adding reminders to calendar and keeping time free for actions to be addressed. Closely liaise with Corporate Office in making arrangements for all meetings between the Chief Executive and the Secretary of State, Ministers, Permanent Secretary, Select Committees and other Senior Government Officials. Liaise with Directors and senior management to ensure good quality information is available in advance of meetings, visits and presentations. Closely liaise with the Chair and Non-Executive Directors ensuring they have access to appropriate information where needed. Analyse papers and prepare them for the Chief Executives attention. Co-ordinate the workload of the PAs, ensuring cover is provided across all Directors at all times, taking account of annual leave, etc. Please see the Candidate Pack attached to this job advert for more information about the role and responsibilities. Person specification About you We are looking for someone with experience of providing administrative support at director level. Someone who can mentor and co-ordinate the work of others by utilising their experience. They must be highly organised and responsive to ever-changing demands, with the flexibility to work outside the remit of their role and able to establish and maintain excellent working relationships at all levels within the Civil Service and outside, such as industry / private sector organisations / trade and road safety organisations as well, which may well require a different approach and ways of working. Time management skills and the ability to meet deadlines is essential with prior experience of in-depth diary management. Advanced user knowledge of Microsoft Office 365 products (i.e. Word, Power point and email) is required for the role, as well as experience of drafting emails and letters accurately and concisely using these tools. The successful candidate will have high levels of integrity, particularly when dealing with highly confidential topics. They will be able to extract accurate, concise summaries from complex information. Additional Information Please take note that DVSA does not hold a UK Visa & Immigration (UKVI) Skilled Worker License sponsor and are unable to sponsor any individuals for Skilled Worker Sponsorship. This role will be based in Bristol, your presence at this location will form part of the working arrangements agreed with you. This role is suitable for hybrid working, and therefore a combination of workplace and home-based working can be accommodated subject to business requirements. Hybrid working is a non-contractual arrangement where employees have the flexibility to work remotely combined with a minimum of 60% of their working time a month at either their principal workplace (one of the locations cited in the advert) or, when required for business reasons, to carry out separate duties at alternative working locations or DVSA sites. There may be occasions where you are required to attend above the minimum expectation. For example, due to the nature of this role, you will be required to be extra flexible with your working and be available to go into office when the Chief Executive is in office. If you have questions regarding how hybrid working is practiced within the business area, or any reasonable adjustments or flexible working arrangements you may currently have or need in place if successful in your application, please contact the Vacancy Holder (see advert for contact details). Occasional travel with potential overnight stays may be required. Whilst we welcome applications from those looking to work with us on a part time basis, there is a business requirement, for the successful candidate to be able to work at least 35 hours per week over 5 days. The working days for this role will be Monday-Friday each week. About Us The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) helps keep Britain moving, safely and sustainably. We do this by helping people through a lifetime of safe and sustainable journeys, helping them keep their vehicles safe to drive, and protecting them from unsafe drivers and vehicles. Were working hard to: make roads safer. improve services for our customers. make road transport greener and healthier. harness the potential of technology and data. grow and level up the economy. To find out more about how we champion diversity and inclusion in the workplace and making DVSA a great place to work visit our Careers website. Behaviours We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process: Making Effective Decisions Developing Self and Others Working Together Managing a Quality Service Benefits Alongside your salary of £32,603, Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency contributes £9,445 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides. An environment with flexible working options where we encourage a great work-life balance. Generous Annual Leave - 25 days holiday, increasing by 1 each year of service, up to 30. 8 Bank Holidays plus an additional Privilege Day to mark the Kings birthday. Latest IT and Tech devices. A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity with a range of staff communities to support all our colleagues. Excellent learning and development tailored to your role including paid apprenticeships up to Masters level. Wide range of discounts schemes on high street names. Employee assistance program for health and wellbeing. Cycle to work scheme and Gym membership offers. For more information see visit our careers page. Things you need to know Selection process details This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours and Experience. How to Apply As part of the application process you will be asked to provide a CV and Personal Statement. Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form. Please tailor your CV and Personal Statement to evidence the following: Experience of providing administrative support at director level. Experience of mentoring/co-ordinating the work of others. In-depth Diary Management experience. Able to extract accurate, concise summaries from complex information. Your Personal Statement will be limited to a maximum of 1000 words. The selection process will be designed specifically for the role. As a result, your assessment will include: an interview. a written exercise. The sift is due to take place from 7th November 2024 Interviews/assessments are likely to be held from 3rd December 2024 This interview will be conducted face to face in Bristol, details of which will be provided to you should you be selected for interview. Well try to meet the dates weve set out in the advert. But there may be occasions when these dates will change. Well give you plenty of notice of any important dates. If you would like to find out more about what its like to work for DVSA and how to apply, we will be holding virtual sessions to find out more. Please click here to secure your place at one of our upcoming events. Youre encouraged to become familiar with the candidate pack attached, as you may be assessed against any of the criteria recorded within. The Department for Transport recruits using Success Profiles. For each role, we consider what you need to demonstrate to be successful. This gives us the best possible chance of finding the right person for the job, drives up performance and improves diversity and inclusivity. You can read more about Success Profiles here. Reasonable Adjustments As a Disability Confident Leader employer, we are committed to ensuring that the recruitment process is fair, accessible and allows all candidates to perform at their best. If a person with a visible or non-visible disability is substantially disadvantaged, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes. Complete the Assistance required section in the Additional requirements page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need during the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at an interview, or if youre deaf, a Language Service Professional. If you need a reasonable adjustment so that you can complete your application, you should contact Government Recruitment Service via dftrecruitment.grscabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs. Document Accessibility If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section. This job advert contains links to the DfT Careers website. Our website provides useful guidance and information that can support you during the application process. If you cannot access the information on our website for any reason, please email DRGCommsdft.gov.uk for assistance. Further Information For more information about how we hire, and for useful tips on submitting your application for this role, visit the How We Hire page of our DfT Careers website. You can find detailed information about the recruitment process and what to expect when applying for a role. Pre-employment Checking Applicants who are successful at interview will be, as part of pre-employment screening, subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database (IFD). This check will provide information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences. This check also applies to employees who resign or otherwise leave before being dismissed for fraud or dishonesty had their employment continued. Any applicants details held on the IFD will be refused employment. A candidate is not eligible to apply for a role within the Civil Service if the application is made within a 5-year period following a dismissal for carrying out internal fraud against government. Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment. Security Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check. People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks. Nationality requirements 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) 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) Working for the Civil Service The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) 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 (opens in a new window). The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria. The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy. Diversity and Inclusion The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window). Apply and further information This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative. The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window). Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records. Contact point for applicants Job contact : Name : Tanya Reay Email : tanya.reaydvsa.gov.uk Recruitment team Email : dftrecruitment.grscabinetoffice.gov.uk Further information If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles and you wish to make a complaint, in the first instance, you should contact Government Recruitment Services via email: dftrecruitment.grscabinetoffice.gov.uk If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Department, you can contact the Civil Service Commission: Visit the Civil Service Commission website Here Attachments Candidate Pack Opens in new window (pdf, 1148kB) Share this page Print Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn GMail