As an Apprentice Directors Support Manager, you will be the first point of contact for the Director or Deputy Directors whilst working towards your level 3 business administration apprenticeship. You will: Provide effective lines of communication between the Director / Deputy Director, internal colleagues and external stakeholders. Ensure emails are well managed and responded to in a timely manner, filtering and redirecting as appropriate. Take ownership of tasks ensuring they are delivered on time and to a high standard, such as coordinating returns or setting agendas for meetings. You may also organise large team events. Manage requests for their time and attention, managing the need to respond to urgent requests and complete high priority work, such as ministerial advice. This requires building good rapport and maintaining supportive relationships. Develop professional relationships with and acting as a first point of contact for stakeholders within and outside the department who engage with the Director/Deputy Director. Anticipate and solve problems before they arise and liaise frequently with senior colleagues and external stakeholders. The varied role will include electronic diary and email management; running large events; drafting correspondence and briefing reports; producing presentations and providing administrative support. The successful candidate will have plenty of opportunities for further career and personal development and will dedicate 20% of their working week working towards their apprenticeship. Check out these vlogs on what is it like to start a career in the tech sector as part of a government apprenticeship scheme? and what to expect from a DWP apprenticeship. About the Apprenticeship. This is an excellent opportunity to gain a Level 3 apprenticeship in Business Administration. Part of this apprenticeship is to complete a level 2 English and Maths functional skills qualification. If you have already achieved GCSEs in English and Maths at Level 4 (grade C) or above, you will not need to complete functional skills. To be eligible to apply for the apprenticeship you need to meet the following criteria: Must have lived in the UK and/or EU for 3 years prior to apprenticeship start date. Not be undertaking another apprenticeship at the same time. The successful candidate(s) will be enrolled onto a Level 3 apprenticeship in Business Administration. At the enrolment state, the individual's eligibility will be checked by the training provider. Candidates need to make sure they do not have pre-existing qualifications at the same or higher level in a similar subject as the apprenticeship. If you are unsure of your eligibility, please review the content of the apprenticeship standard on the IfATE website: Business administrator / Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education ( https://www.instituteforapprenticeships.org/apprenticeship-standards/business-administrator-v1-0 ) and assess whether your previous learning has already covered much of this content. If it has, youre unlikely to be eligible for the apprenticeship. You will be given time out from your role to work on your apprenticeship. You must be committed to seeing through the apprenticeship and complete the qualification. This includes working a minimum of 30 hours per week to ensure you have enough time to complete the apprenticeship. Youll be supported by your line manager, skills coach, fellow apprentices on the programme and the vibrant and support community of Director Support Managers. You will have access to a variety of sources of encouragement to help you succeed. There is a lot to learn and do, so you need to be ready to be proactive, work hard and participate in the many opportunities you will be given to showcase your skills. Please list all your qualifications in the qualification section of the CV. Failure to meet any of the eligibility criteria or not listing your qualifications may results in you being withdrawn. We expect the apprenticeship to start from January 2025. Please ensure that you are available for this date. Person specification See selection process for further detail details. If you would like to learn more about the role, please contact Isaac.morrisondwp.gov.uk. Behaviours We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process: Communicating and Influencing Making Effective Decisions Technical skills We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process: Planning Benefits Alongside your salary, the Department for Work and Pensions contributes 28.97% towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides. We also have a broad benefits package built around your work-life balance which includes: Working patterns to support work/life balance such as job sharing, term-time working, flexi-time and compressed hours. Generous annual leave at least 23 days on entry, increasing up to 30 days over time (prorata for part time employees), plus 9 days public and privilege leave. Support for financial wellbeing, including interest-free season ticket loans for travel, a cycle to work scheme and an employee discount scheme. Health and wellbeing support including our Employee Assistance Programme for specialist advice and counselling and the opportunity to join HASSRA a first-class programme of competitions, activities and benefits for its members (subscription payable monthly). Family friendly policies including enhanced maternity and shared parental leave pay after 1 years continuous service. Funded learning and development to support progress in your role and career. This includes industry recognised qualifications and accreditations, coaching, mentoring and talent development programmes. An inclusive and diverse environment with opportunities to join professional and interpersonal networks including Womens Network, National Race Network, National Disability Network (THRIVE) and many more. This job role may be suitable for hybrid working, which is where an employee works part of the week in their DWP office and part of the week from home. This is a voluntary, non-contractual arrangement and your office will be your contractual place of work. The number of days that anyone will be able to work at home will be determined primarily by business need but personal circumstances and other relevant circumstances will also be taken into account. If you are successful, any opportunities for hybrid working, including whether a hybrid working arrangement is suitable for you, will be discussed with you prior to you taking up your post. Salary Information New entrants to the Civil Service will join on band minimum. Existing Civil Servants who secure a new role on lateral transfer should maintain their current salary. Existing Civil Servants who gain promotion may move to the bottom of the grade pay scale or 10% increase in salary whichever would be the greater. Things you need to know Selection process details This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Strengths, Experience and Technical skills. As part of the application process you will be asked to complete a CV. Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form. Stage 1: Application Your application will consist of four parts: 1. A Personal Details application form. 2. Civil Service Work Strengths Test. After submission of the first stage of your application you will be invited to complete the Civil Service Work Strengths Test. If you successfully pass the test, you will be invited to complete the final stages of the application. Please complete the online test as soon as possible (within 24-48 hours is recommended). The closing date for a fully completed application is 13/11/2024 at 23:55hrs. Please allow sufficient time to complete the online test and your full written application before the deadline. If you fail to complete the online test and full written application before the deadline your application will be withdrawn. Guidance for the test will be available when you are invited to take the test. The test is administered online and accessed via the Civil Service Jobs website. Following successful completion of thetest, you will then be asked to complete: 3. Your employment history detailing your responsibilities, skills, accomplishments, qualifications and relevant training. Please copy this information into the box field provided. 4. Behaviour and Technical statements (up to 250 words each). These include: Communicating and Influencing Making Effective Decisions Planning - Describe a time when you developed a plan? What did you consider and how did you ensure your plan was effective. An initial sift will be conducted using the Behaviour: Communicating and Influencing. Candidates who pass the initial sift will be progressed to a full sift. The sift panel will use the information in your employment history, Personal Statement, andTechnical statementto assess your experience, skills and knowledge. Important information You will be asked to complete your employment history any information that you would customarily share on a CV should therefore be entered onto the application form. Personal details that could be used to identify you including your name, contact details and address must be removed for your application to be considered. If your employment history, behaviour and technical statements contains any personal details your application will be withdrawn. Sift and interview dates to be confirmed. Stage 2: Interview If youre successful at sift stage you will be invited to a video interview via Microsoft Teams. There, you will be assessed against the following Behaviours and Technical Skill: Communicating and Influencing Making Effective Decisions Planning You will also be assessed on strengths. Interviews will take place from early-December 2024. Further information: Find out more about Working for DWP For Hints and Tips on completing your application visit Applying for jobs at DWP Digital. A reserve list may be held for a period of 3 months from which further appointments can be made. Reserve list candidates will be posted in merit order by location. The Civil Service values honesty and integrity and expects all candidates to abide by these principles. Please ensure that all examples provided in your application are taken directly from your own experience and that you describe the examples in your own words. Applications will be screened and if evidence of plagiarism or copying examples/answers from other sources is found, your application will be withdrawn. Internal DWP candidates may also face disciplinary action. Reasonable Adjustment At DWP we value diversity and inclusion and actively encourage and welcome applications from everyone, including those that are underrepresented in our workforce. We consider visible and non-visible disabilities, neurodiversity or learning differences, chronic medical conditions, or mental ill health. Examples include dyslexia, epilepsy, autism, chronic fatigue, or schizophrenia. If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should: Contact Government Recruitment Service via DigitalRecruitment.grscabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs. Complete the Reasonable Adjustments section in the Additional requirements page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or if youre deaf, a Language Service Professional. For further information on reasonable adjustments, terms and conditions and how we recruit visit the How We Recruit, page https://careers.dwp.gov.uk/how-we-recruit/ 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) .