Job Description

Main purpose of job:The Private Secretary is responsible for supporting the High Commissioner (HC) across their responsibilities, providing advice, quality control, managing workflows and keeping the HC abreast of emerging issues, risks and opportunities. It is a fast-paced, diverse and exciting role supporting the HC across a wide range of responsibilities in support of the UK\'s strategic priorities in Singapore.The HC receives many calls upon their time. It is your responsibility to help the HC and the High Commission teams to prioritise how this time is spent to best effect in support of HMG priorities. You will play an important role in collaborating with teams across the Mission to ensure the High Commissioner\'s meetings, events and visits are prepared well. With a vantage point across the HC\'s priorities and work, you will be able to spot opportunities and make connections to join up strands of work across the British High Commission (BHC).This role works directly with the HC within a small private office team also consisting of a Social Secretary and a Diary Manager. You will line manage the Social Secretary, Diary Manager and Residence Manager.This job requires strong organisational skills, discretion, good judgement, flexibility, proactivity, an ability to work collaboratively with staff at all levels, calmness under pressure, excellent communication skills and an ability to get things done.Roles and responsibilities1. Private Secretary: (60%)

• Oversee the HC\'s private office.
• Manage and oversee the flow of information and advice to the HC, working with teams and partners to ensure that the HC sees timely information on key issues, takes decisions on the most important and urgent questions, referring other issues to the right people.
• Prioritise and advise on requests for the HC\'s time, ensuring that it is spent effectively in delivery of the UK\'s strategic priorities.
• Maintain a strong network of contacts, internally and externally.
• Interact with teams as they develop strategic engagement plans for the High Commissioner and help ensure the plans are delivered.
• Liaise with internal and external stakeholders to commission briefings and speeches for the HC\'s engagements, ensuring they are received in a timely manner, produced to a high standard, and reflect the HC\'s priorities and style.
• Commission and draft formal letters on behalf of the HC.
• Ensure excellent communication flow/use of processes with the Residence and ensure the HC\'s Residence is used for events with due consideration to the HC\'s privacy, personal requirements and style.
• Support development and delivery of BHC\'s high level visits or events, as required and as capacity allows.
• Oversee the HC\'s travel and entertainment budget, planning and forecasting monthly.
• Act as the escalation point for the Diary Manager who leads scheduling on a day-to-day basis of HC\'s meetings.
• Act as cover when the Diary Manager is absent.

2. Corporate: (20%)

• Support High Commission governance, internal communications and corporate projects, as required.

3. Line Management: (20%)

• Line management of the Diary Manager, Social Secretary and Residence Manager, including managing hours and supporting their professional development. Countersigning officer for four staff.

Resources Managed

• HC Travel and Entertainment Budget.

Essential qualifications, skills and experience

• Experience of working with cross-functional teams
• Good IT skills - Outlook, Excel, Word, Teams, OneNote
• Good judgement and strategic awareness
• Flexible, adaptable and pro-active with good problem solving and organisational skills
• Good communication skills both written and oral English
• Ability to work confidently with people from diverse backgrounds.

Desirable qualifications, skills and experience

• Experience of working for government or senior business executive(s)
• Line Management experience
• Executive Assistant experience
• Policy experience

Required behavioursCommunicating and Influencing, Delivering at Pace, Making Effective Decisions, Working TogetherApplication deadline30 June 2024GradeExecutive Officer (EO)Type of PositionFull-time, TemporaryWorking hours per week37.5RegionAsia PacificCountry/TerritorySingaporeLocation (City)SingaporeType of PostBritish High CommissionNumber of vacancies1Salary CurrencySGDSalary5,211Start Date9 September 2024Other benefits and conditions of employmentNote: This is a maternity cover role. The contract will end on 30 April 2025.Benefits:We offer a competitive package, which includes basic salary of SGD 5,211 per month and a generous annual wage supplement (as part of total guaranteed remuneration) of an additional 2 months\' salary paid out in December each year, Central Provident Fund (CPF) payment in lieu for non-Permanent Resident foreign nationals, 23-days annual leave entitlement and a health insurance plan. The basic salary is non-negotiable.We have a generous leave offer including: 23 days annual leave, increasing to 25 after 5 years\' service, with the option to carry over up to 12 days into the subsequent leave year; 14 public holidays; generous maternity and paternity leave; and childcare leave. We encourage volunteerism and offer up to 3 days paid volunteer leave.We offer medical insurance to support staff with the high costs of healthcare in Singapore and periodic reimbursement for the cost of eye tests and replacement eye wear.Learning and development opportunities:We offer time and financial support for the successful candidate to take advantage of professional learning and development opportunities inside and outside of the organisation.The BHC has an active Learning & Development Committee which works hard to provide a comprehensive L&D offer. There is a wide range of options available for personal development including training courses, coaching and mentoring, job-shadowing, presentations and learning sets. Staff have access to a wide variety of online resources through the International Academy and Civil Service Learning. Staff are strongly encouraged to take advantage of all available opportunities.All new hires undertake a workplace induction and there are a number of mandatory e-learning courses that must be completed in order to pass probation.Working Patterns:Normal working hours are 37.5 per week: 8.30am to 5.00pm from Monday to Friday.British High Commission Singapore supports and promotes flexible working as a crucial part of our inclusive offering. Our current posture allows for staff to work from home for up to 40% of their working week, subject to line manager agreement.Other information:In addition to the duties which this job normally entails, you may from time to time be required to undertake additional or other duties as necessary to meet the needs of the High Commission, including playing a part in the corporate life of the mission and supporting any crisis response.No accommodation or relocation expenses are payable in connection with this position. You must have or be able to obtain a local work permit which we will sponsor.Staff recruited locally by the British High Commission are subject to terms and conditions of service according to local Singapore employment law.Employment offers are subject to successful clearance of pre-employment checks. Only short-listed applications will be called for personal interviews.The British High Commission is an equal opportunities employer and does not discriminate on grounds of ethnic origin, race, religious beliefs, age, disability, gender or sexual orientation. Our values of Collaboration, Opportunity, Respect and Excellence (CORE) are our guiding principles. We aspire to live our values consistently in order to make the British High Commission a great place to work where staff feel valued, supported and inspired to be their best. To learn more about the Commission, watch .Please note that all successful candidates will be expected to serve a minimum of 6 months in their new role before being eligible to apply for further positions within the British High Commission.Additional informationPlease note that the deadline for applications is 23:55 on the day mentioned in the above field \xe2\x80\x9cApplication deadline."Please be aware that the deadline for submitting applications is considered to be the time zone for the country where the vacancy has arisen.We advise you to allow enough time to complete and submit your full application since only applications completed and submitted before the deadline will be considered.All applicants are required to mandatorily fill the online application form completely including the employment and educational details, experience, professional skills and behaviour-based questions. We will be thoroughly reviewing the applications and incomplete form in any respect may not be considered while shortlisting for the next stage.Only shortlisted candidates for interview will be contacted. Interviewees will be assessed on the core behaviours/qualifications listed above. Unsuccessful candidates will be notified via the system in due time.Appointable candidates who were unsuccessful may be placed on a \'reserve list\'. If during the reserve period of 6 months the same or a largely similar role becomes available, that role may be offered to the second or subsequent candidate.For inclusivity and diversity, please remove the following personal information when uploading your CV: name, address, email address, age, date of birth, gender, and nationality.The start date mentioned in the job advert is a tentative start date and the successful candidate will be required to undergo security vetting procedures. Any offer of employment will be subject to the candidate achieving suitable clearances.Please be aware that you will only be able to apply to vacancies for Country Based Staff roles with the British Government through this official tal.net site (operated by Oleeo). Jobs may be advertised on third party websites, however our adverts will always link back to the official tal.net site. If you complete and send an application through any other site, we will not receive it.

HM Government