Assistant Private Secretary and Diary Manager to National Director, Educati

at  Office for Standards in Education Childrens Services and Skills

WE ARE RECRUITING FOR AN ASSISTANT PRIVATE SECRETARY AND DIARY MANAGER TO JOIN OUR EDUCATION DIRECTORATE EXECUTIVE SUPPORT TEAM.

As the Assistant Private Secretary and Diary Manager, you will play a pivotal role in supporting the National Director for Education to deliver on an exciting portfolio of work. This position will involve managing the complex and fast-moving diary of the ND, providing administrative support, and facilitating effective communication and coordination across Ofsted and with external stakeholders.
This role offers an exciting opportunity to work at the heart of Ofsted, ensuring the smooth running of the National Director’s brief and contributing to the delivery of Ofsted’s mission. This role is varied, stimulating and challenging and will see you working in fast-paced and dynamic environment.
This role will be dynamic and fast-paced, no two days will be the same. If you want to be at the heart of UK education policy, ensuring every child and adult learner has access to the highest levels of education and support then this role is for you.
As part of your application, you will be required to write a 750-word covering letter. Take this opportunity to highlight how your skills and experience fit the job description and to also show us why you want to work for Ofsted.
If you want to discuss this role please reach out to Louis Hunt-Cole, Private Secretary to the National Director for Education to set up a chat.
This is a fantastic opportunity to further your experience in Ofsted’s well-established team. The post holder will work with high-achieving professionals at all levels, surrounded by a friendly and supportive team. They will have access to amazing benefits, such as flexible working hours, the Civil Service Pension Scheme, and 32.5 days annual leave + 8 bank holidays. We offer a hybrid working model, so you may also choose to spend a proportion of time working from home.

JOB DESCRIPTION

Please refer to the job specification for further information about the role.

TECHNICAL SKILLS

We’ll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:

• Experience of diary management and exceptional organisation skills with strong planning and prioritisation skills. (Personal statement)
• Experience of working pro-actively in a fast-moving position in a similar office or environment. (Personal statement)
• Excellent written and oral communication skills. (Personal statement)
• Experience of building positive and effective relationships with internal and external stakeholders and team members. (Interview)
• Understanding of the internal and external environments and their impact on the work. (Interview)

Benefits
Alongside your salary of £39,714, Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills contributes £11,505 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.
Full details of the benefits available can be found in our Ofsted Offer brochure.
Ofsted is devoted to equality, diversity and inclusion. Within our Ofsted Strategy 2023-2027 we have stated that we will improve the representation of under-represented groups across the organisation and publish our progress on this annually. We are always looking to expand on our diverse workforce by recruiting candidates from varied backgrounds and differing experiences. We are proud to be a Disability Confident – Leader, we continually engage with our 5 staff networks for protected characteristics, and highlight the work of our Equalities, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Group. We ensure all candidates are treated with fair and open competition, with all appointments being made on merit and we use our Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) to provide assurance to all candidates of this.
Things you need to know

WHEN WRITING YOUR PERSONAL STATEMENT, PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU USE REAL LIFE SCENARIOS THAT RELATE TO YOUR OWN EXPERIENCES.

You will also be asked to provide information within the “Employer/Activity History” section of the application form. This information is equivalent to the information you would provide on a CV setting out your career history (this will be used in the sifting process).

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)

Administration / Corporate Support
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