Executive Assistant to Director Climate Change and Sustainability

134319

£27,200

For staff with a permanent duty station in London, this position will attract the relevant London weighting

Permanent

MOD - Head Office & Corporate Services - Climate Change and Sustainability Team.

Secretarial

Flexible working, Full-time, Job share, Part-time

1

London; there is the option for some limited homeworking, but regular attendance in London (most weeks) will be required

The UK is leading in the world’s response to climate change. As part of this response the Ministry of Defence has an important contribution to make to the growing national and international effort. To match this ever-growing interest and urgency we are establishing a new Climate Change and Sustainability (CCS) Directorate at the heart of Defence, dedicated to responding to climate change and embedding sustainability further and more broadly across the enterprise. The Directorate will be responsible for a range of topics from the adaptation of military technologies through to climate security, enhancing defence wide sustainability activities and the delivery of Greening Government Commitments. This role represents an opportunity to be at the start of that new Directorate, vastly expanding our work on this exciting and crucial topic, which is already significantly influencing everything we do.

The climate challenge promises to fundamentally impact the way we live, fight, partner and do business. A strategic approach – setting out the long-term ambition and Defence’s initial action plan – has just been published, where you can find out more:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ministry-of-defence-climate-change-and-sustainability-strategic-approach

In setting up this new team, we will also be committing from the outset to building an equal-opportunities, open and inclusive place to work. We understand the importance of life outside the workplace, and welcome applications from individuals with backgrounds traditionally under-represented in Defence.

This position is advertised at 36/37 hours per week terms and conditions of service dependent. A reserve list will be held for 12 months of candidates who are found to be suitable for other similar EA roles in MOD.

This vacancy is in the Climate Change and Sustainability (CCS) Directorate. The CCS Team will own the department’s position and approach for tackling climate change and embedding sustainability. They will:

Develop and own Defence’s position and coherence of activities on CCS.

Advise Ministers, Military and Civilian leadership as the Department’s subject matter experts on CCS.

Represent Defence’s CCS position and activities to others within Defence, across and outside Government and internationally.

Ensure we have the right policies to support capability developments that meets our CCS goals.

Further embed sustainability into Defence’s strategies, policies and processes.

An outward-facing directorate that engages with partners across Government, Industry, Academia and Internationally is critical to the success of the MOD strategic approach. You will play a pivotal role in ensuring the Director Climate Change and Sustainability makes effective use of their time

Support the wider CCS Directorate.

Please note: exact responsibilities of roles in this team will evolve in response to wider policy and international challenges, directorate needs as well as the interests, aptitude and initiative of the post-holder.

Responsibilities

You will be responsible for:

Planning and managing appointments for the Director of CC&S as key team members using your own judgement to prioritise appointments;

Understanding meeting priorities and dealing with clashes, organising deputies where necessary;

Reviewing emails, preparing meeting papers, obtaining background papers, briefing notes primarily for the Director of CCS;

Ensuring the Director or their representative has the correct advice and briefings for meetings;

Organising and setting agendas for internal team meetings capturing and tracking activity accordingly;

Maintain and track an overview of the Directorate’s key stakeholders for governance, keeping lists, and working with other Private Offices on meetings and reporting;

Track actions, progress and follow-up from governance forums, on strategy implementation, make cross links and keep the rest of the Directorate involved and updated;

Ensure good governance and run the key meetings for the Directorate helping to influence how governance and engagement is run across the Department;

Supporting the wider directorate on information management, planning key meetings, approvals for business cases and routine reporting;

There may be an opportunity to project manage components of strategy delivery and this focus will be confirmed as the Directorate matures; and

You may be required to pick up additional duties and small projects which may also include supporting key events depending on business needs

Essential Criteria

To be successful in this role, we are looking for someone who:

Will be highly organised with the ability to manage competing priorities and deliver them at pace to a high standard;

Should be confident in dealing with senior people and possess good written and verbal communication skills;

Excellent organisation and prioritisation skills;

An ability to develop and maintain strong and effective working relationships within and outside the department; you must be able to work well with a wide range of people;

While no formal qualifications are expected experience as an PA or EA would be desirable; however, evidence of having the necessary skills in a different environment will be considered; and

A knowledge of Defence or CCS is not essential an interest and willingness to learn is required.

Desirable Criteria

Experience in diary management, note taking and/or minutes;

Experience in the capturing and management of Directorate and/or meeting actions; and

The role may present opportunities to take on extra responsibilities and deliver small scale projects within the team so you should be a self-starter with drive and energy.

Personal Attributes & Skills

We would be particularly interested in hearing from you if you:

• Enjoy working in a fast paced, stimulating environment;
• Can effectively manage competing priorities and find solutions to problems under pressure in order to help the Director to deliver effectively;
• An excellent team player who enjoys working with people;
• Have strong communication skills;
• Can develop positive working relationships with a variety of people including senior stakeholders;
• Can efficiently use Microsoft Office products such as Outlook, SharePoint and PowerPoint.

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

• Delivering at Pace
• Communicating and Influencing
• Working Together
• Making Effective Decisions
• Leadership