Defra is the UK government department responsible for safeguarding our natural environment, supporting our world-leading food and farming industry, and sustaining a thriving rural economy. Our broad remit means we play a major role in people's day-to-day life, from the food we eat, and the air we breathe, to the water we drink.

Digital, Data, Technology and Security (DDTS) is the trusted team for digital across the entire Defra Group.

We have around 1000 colleagues across DDTS and our ambition is to make it easier and faster than ever for people to interact with Defra. If you are ready to drive innovation and push boundaries, we want to hear from you. Join us and together we will create a great place for living, and a green and healthy future for all.

Find out more about DDTS:

Defra digital, data and technology blog

LinkedIn

Defra Jobs

This is a varied and rewarding role that combines 50% Personal Assistant (PA) support with 50% business support responsibilities across the Defra Group Security (DgS) Central Operations team.

As a key member of the DgS Central Operations team, you will provide dedicated PA support to senior leaders within Defra Group Security, ensuring the smooth and effective management of diaries, meetings, governance activities, stakeholder engagement and associated administrative support. You will play an important role in supporting senior decision-making by coordinating meetings, tracking actions, managing communications and helping to ensure business priorities are delivered efficiently.

You will also act as the Deputy Director's Personal Assistant, supporting the governance and coordination of senior-level security meetings, ensuring effective management of actions, reporting and stakeholder engagement across Defra Group Security and the Senior Leadership Team.

Alongside these PA responsibilities, you will provide essential support to the wider Security function, leading key people and business support activities across DgS. This includes supporting recruitment, wellbeing initiatives, workforce planning activities, internal communications, management information and reporting, and contributing to the delivery of business improvement projects.

The role acts as a central point of coordination across Defra Group Security, managing key communication channels, acting as content owner for the DgS SharePoint site, and overseeing several shared Security mailboxes managed by Central Operations. You will also assist in the planning and delivery of high-profile engagement activities, including the annual Security Conference and DgS Away Days, helping to strengthen collaboration and engagement across the directorate.

As part of the DgS Project Management Office (PMO), you will support the delivery of internal projects and continuous improvement initiatives, working closely with colleagues across Defra Group Security and wider Defra teams. This is an excellent opportunity for someone who enjoys working in a fast-paced environment, building strong relationships, managing competing priorities and contributing to the successful delivery of corporate and operational objectives.

Please note for this role you will require SC Clearance. To gain SC clearance all applicants are required to have been a UK resident for a minimum of 5 years. If this requirement is not met, the individual will not be able to progress their application further.

Responsibilities:

• Provide dedicated PA support to our Deputy Director within Defra Group Security, including diary management, meeting coordination, governance activities, correspondence and stakeholder engagement.
• Ensuring the effective coordination of senior-level meetings, actions and governance processes.
• Assist in the coordination of DgS recruitment activity, working with hiring managers and corporate recruitment teams to support workforce planning and resourcing requirements.
• Assist in the delivery of wellbeing initiatives and campaigns that promote employee engagement, inclusion and a positive working environment across Defra Group Security.
• Help plan and deliver key DgS engagement events, including the annual Security Conference and internal DgS Away Days.
• Manage and maintain DgS internal communications, ensuring colleagues are informed of key business updates, activities and opportunities.
• Own and manage key Security communication channels, including responsibility for the DgS SharePoint site and oversight of designated Central Operations shared mailboxes.
• Produce management information and reports, supporting leadership teams with insights on workforce, recruitment, business activity and performance.
• Provide operational support across the Central Operations function, including assisting the Finance Lead as required with monitoring, reporting and administrative activities.
• Support the DgS Project Management Office (PMO) by contributing to the delivery of business improvement initiatives, projects and change activities.
• Act as a key point of contact for internal enquiries, responding to queries and directing requests appropriately.
• Liaise with teams across Defra Group Security to understand business requirements and coordinate Central Operations support where needed.
• Support and maintain effective business processes, identifying opportunities for continuous improvement and implementing changes to enhance efficiency and effectiveness.
• Attend and contribute to meetings, forums and networks across Defra, representing DgS and ensuring actions and opportunities are communicated and progressed.
• Provide administrative and operational support to the wider Central Operations team, assisting colleagues across workstreams as priorities dictate.
• Build and maintain effective relationships with internal and external stakeholders to support the successful delivery of DgS objectives.

Skills and Experience:

We are looking for a highly organised and proactive individual who can manage a varied workload, provide excellent PA support to our senior leader, and build effective relationships across a wide range of stakeholders. The successful candidate will demonstrate:

• Experience of providing Personal Assistant, Executive Support, operational, business support or project support services within a complex organisation by undertaking diary management, meeting coordination, governance activities and stakeholder engagement.
• Strong organisational skills, with the ability to manage competing priorities and deliver high-quality outputs to tight deadlines.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to develop and deliver clear communications for a range of audiences.
• Experience of managing digital collaboration tools and communication channels, including SharePoint sites, shared mailboxes and intranet content.
• Experience of responding to enquiries, managing requests and providing a high standard of customer service.
• An ability to work independently, use initiative, sound judgement and take ownership of tasks while contributing effectively as part of a wider team.

Selection process

The Civil Service marks each element of the selection process on a merit basis. You can visit the gov.uk website for further information on the Civil Service rating scale.

Ensure you have tailored your CV and Personal Statement to the 'skills and experience' section of the job advert by providing examples on how you are suitable for the role using the STAR method .

Please ensure you demonstrate clearly, within your personal statement, how you meet these requirements, as the information you provide will form a key part when the panel is scoring your application.

For further information on STAR, you can check out our Hints and Tips document.

Application process

As part of the application process, you will be assessed on your experience . This will be evaluated by looking at your CV and personal statement, so please provide the following and ensure your experience is clearly demonstrated:

A CV

A 500 word Personal Statement: Referring to the 'skills and experience' sections of the job advert, please demonstrate how you are suitable for the role by providing relevant examples.

Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application ...