Deputy Principal Private Secretary

We are seeking a talented and motivated individual to fill the role of Deputy Principal Private Secretary (DPPS) at the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. This exciting, varied, and challenging role puts you at the heart of decision-making in the department, providing continuous interaction with Ministers, senior colleagues, and external stakeholders.

The successful candidate will be responsible for:

• Leading and inspiring multiple teams crossing functional boundaries in a stretching environment
• Co-leading the Secretary of State's office, working closely with private secretaries to support them in advancing SoS priorities and their own personal development
• Driving priority projects for the Secretary of State, bringing together private offices, the political team, and departmental teams to deliver high-quality outcomes
• Ensuring that the day-to-day operations of the SpAds office and correspondence teams are delivered efficiently
• Acting as a senior advisor to the Secretary of State, and helping them navigate strategic choices about energy and net zero
• Deputising for the PPS as the leader of the group, and representing private office and Secretary of State within the department and across Whitehall
• Providing strong corporate leadership, including sponsoring a corporate workstream responding to the people survey results

The ideal candidate will have:

• The ability to work under pressure and in high-stakes scenarios to deliver advice and service to ministers effectively
• Strong leadership and management skills, able to inspire busy teams to perform in challenging and constantly changing circumstances
• Excellent interpersonal, written, and oral communication skills, able to communicate complex issues succinctly to busy ministers and senior officials
• An ability to process new information rapidly, distill it down to the key points, and challenge poor-quality analysis and reasoning
• Excellent judgement, being able to offer ministers advice on finely balanced decisions
• Decisive decision-maker, able to take judgement calls in a busy, fast-paced, and often uncertain and ambiguous environment
• Ability to collaborate to achieve ministerial objectives, through working with very senior departmental stakeholders, special advisers, and counterparts across Whitehall

We offer a competitive salary of £77,735 - £87,080 per year, along with a range of benefits including:

• A culture of flexible working, such as job sharing, homeworking, and compressed hours
• Automatic enrolment into the Civil Service Pension Scheme, with an employer contribution of 28.97%
• A minimum of 25 days of paid annual leave, increasing by 1 day per year up to a maximum of 30
• Access to a range of retail, travel, and lifestyle employee discounts