HR Private Secretary

About the role

The postholder will need to have a contractual base in Bristol, Exeter or Reading to support close, regular working with the HR COO. The role will also require regular in-person attendance and occasional travel between core locations to support meetings, priorities and wider leadership activity.

Responsibilities

• Lead the day-to-day management of the HR COO’s office, ensuring oversight of priorities and delivery
• Take overall responsibility for the smooth running of the HR COO’s office, ensuring priorities are clear, aligned to delivery objectives and delivered effectively
• Maintain a clear line of sight across the portfolio, proactively managing competing demands, resolving issues and ensuring the HR COO’s time and focus are used effectively
• Own governance for the HR COO, including forward planning, agendas and action tracking
• Establish and run a robust governance framework for the HR COO portfolio, ensuring a clear and effective rhythm of business
• This includes leading forward planning of key forums, shaping high quality agendas aligned to HR priorities, and maintaining rigorous tracking of actions, decisions and dependencies to ensure delivery and accountability
• Commission and quality assure briefings, submissions and reports
• Oversee the commissioning of all briefing and reporting products for the HR COO or on their behalf, working with teams across HR to ensure inputs are timely, accurate and aligned
• Provide strong quality assurance, challenging content where needed and ensuring outputs are concise, insightful, and support clear decision making
• Provide strategic advice, identify risks and support effective decision making
• Act as a trusted adviser to the HR COO, bringing together insight from across the HR function, Group Corporate Services and Defra Arm’s Length Bodies to inform thinking
• Anticipate emerging operational and people risks and issues, provide balanced and evidence-based advice, and support the HR COO to make informed, timely decisions across a complex and fast-moving portfolio
• Act as a key interface across HR, maintaining alignment and flow of information
• Build and maintain strong relationships across HR, GCS and the wider department, acting as a central point of coordination for the HR COO to ensure information flows effectively in both directions, enabling alignment, reducing duplication, and supporting a joined-up approach to delivery
• Drive high standards in governance, reporting and submission quality
• Set and uphold clear expectations for the quality of governance, reporting and submissions across the HR COO portfolio
• Embed consistent standards and ways of working, continuously improving processes to ensure outputs are clear and credible, and that governance operates efficiently and effectively
• Future-focused and innovative – Use AI and other emerging tools with confidence and judgement to enhance delivery, strengthen outputs and improve ways of working

Requirements

We are looking for a highly capable Private Secretary to support the HR Chief Operating Officer to drive effective delivery across their portfolio. You will be a confident and highly organized individual who brings sound judgment, strong written skills and the ability to build trusted relationships in a fast-paced, senior-facing environment.

• Experience working in a Private Office or similar environment
• Demonstrable experience of supporting senior leaders in a fast-paced environment, with the ability to manage competing demands, handle sensitive information and work with pace and discretion
• Comfortable operating with autonomy, anticipating needs and providing proactive support
• Excellent drafting, briefing and reporting skills
• Strong organizational skills and ability to manage competing priorities
• Able to stay organized and effective across a busy and changing workload, using sound prioritization and attention to detail to maintain momentum and quality under pressure
• Sound judgement and ability to operate at senior level
• Demonstrates good judgement, discretion and political awareness when working with senior stakeholders
• Able to navigate ambiguity, know when to act independently and when to seek direction, and operate with confidence and credibility
• Strong stakeholder engagement skills
• Able to build effective working relationships quickly and work collaboratively across teams and functions
• Confident engaging with a range of stakeholders and using good interpersonal skills to support alignment and progress
• Knowledge of HR or experience working in HR environments
• Understanding of HR functions and strategic priorities, or experience working in an HR context, with the ability to recognize people risks and implications for delivery

Qualifications

We are looking for a highly capable Private Secretary to support the HR Chief Operating Officer to drive effective delivery across their portfolio. You will be a confident and highly organized individual who brings sound judgment, strong written skills and the ability to build trusted relationships in a fast-paced, senior-facing environment.

• Experience working in a Private Office or similar environment
• Demonstrable experience of supporting senior leaders in a fast-paced environment, with the ability to manage competing demands, handle sensitive information and work with pace and discretion
• Comfortable operating with autonomy, anticipating needs and providing proactive support
• Excellent drafting, briefing and reporting skills
• Strong organizational skills and ability to manage competing priorities
• Able to stay organized and effective across a busy and changing workload, using sound prioritization and attention to detail to maintain momentum and quality under pressure
• Sound judgement and ability to operate at senior level
• Demonstrates good judgement, discretion and political awareness when working with senior stakeholders
• Able to navigate ambiguity, know when to act independently and when to seek direction, and operate with confidence and credibility
• Strong stakeholder engagement skills
• Able to build effective working relationships quickly and work collaboratively across teams and functions
• Confident engaging with a range of stakeholders and using good interpersonal skills to support alignment and progress
• Knowledge of HR or experience working in HR environments
• Understanding of HR functions and strategic priorities, or experience working in an HR context, with the ability to recognize people risks and implications for delivery

Skills

We are looking for a highly capable Private Secretary to support the HR Chief Operating Officer to drive effective delivery across their portfolio. You will be a confident and highly organized individual who brings sound judgment, strong written skills and the ability to build trusted relationships in a fast-paced, senior-facing environment.

• Experience working in a Private Office or similar environment
• Demonstrable experience of supporting senior leaders in a fast-paced environment, with the ability to manage competing demands, handle sensitive information and work with pace and discretion
• Comfortable operating with autonomy, anticipating needs and providing proactive support
• Excellent drafting, briefing and reporting skills
• Strong organizational skills and ability to manage competing priorities
• Able to stay organized and effective across a busy and changing workload, using sound prioritization and attention to detail to maintain momentum and quality under pressure
• Sound judgement and ability to operate at senior level
• Demonstrates good judgement, discretion and political awareness when working with senior stakeholders
• Able to navigate ambiguity, know when to act independently and when to seek direction, and operate with confidence and credibility
• Strong stakeholder engagement skills
• Able to build effective working relationships quickly and work collaboratively across teams and functions
• Confident engaging with a range of stakeholders and using good interpersonal skills to support alignment and progress
• Knowledge of HR or experience working in HR environments
• Understanding of HR functions and strategic priorities, or experience working in an HR context, with the ability to recognize people risks and implications for delivery

Benefits

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs contributes £16,331 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme.

Pay

£56,375 per annum

Schedule

N/A