CPS 360x180

Senior Personal Assistant

West Midlands

Salary Banding B1

 

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is delighted to advertise the exciting opportunity to join CPS West Midlands as a Senior Personal Assistant.

The successful candidate will be joining a team of three other Senior Personal Assistants who are responsible for providing administrative support to the Chief Crown Prosecutor, Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutors and Area Business Manager. You will be allocated to one member of the Senior Management team, however may be required to support other Senior Personal Assistants and Senior Managers as required.

You will be at the very heart of the CPS West Midlands and help facilitate their work in delivering justice. In this role, you will be given the opportunity to liaise with stakeholders across the business, as well as external contacts such as the Police.  The successful candidate must be highly organised and have strong communication skills, both written and verbal. The main duties will include taking minutes, responding to correspondence on behalf of Senior Managers and provide general admin support as required. This is a stretching and varied role and every day in the job is different

This post is to be based in the Birmingham office, and will require travel on occasion.

Role Purpose

What are we offering?

At the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), we are responsible for delivering justice through the independent and effective prosecution of crime. As such we employ almost 6,000 individuals who think objectively, act professionally, show the upmost respect for others and continually strive for excellence.

We are looking for individuals who are committed to public service and making a difference in people’s lives. We want our colleagues to be able to work more flexibly and more collaboratively, exploring new and innovative ways to improve the way we provide services.

Committed to professional growth, the CPS provides all their staff with clear progression pathways and a diverse range of learning and development opportunities, to progress your career in a supportive environment. Other benefits include wellbeing support, flexible working opportunities, access to employee savings including high street retailer offers and discounts and 25 days leave, rising to 30 days after 5 years’ service.

What does the role entail?

The purpose of this role is to provide administrative support to senior managers  through the supply of relevant briefings and organisational backup to ensure that  they are fully prepared to carry out their allocated duties. They will also be liaising  with CPS officials and other government departments and agencies on a range of  issues as required. They will be providing advice to senior managers as to the  protocols and approaches to be taken on various organisational and procedural  issues. Lastly, they will be acting as the main liaison point for the senior manager  (and their team as the occasion demands) with other government departments,  agencies, various external organisations and the public.

Role Responsibilities

What are my key responsibilities?

  • To monitor the senior manager’s correspondence, ensuring that appropriate and timely action is taken to resolve issues, respond to enquiries and requests, and in general maintain business continuity
  • To monitor and co-ordinate Parliamentary Questions, Parliamentary Enquiries and Parliamentary Correspondence, adhering to strict deadlines
  • To ensure that the time the senior manager has in the office is maximised, coordinated and managed effectively
  • To proactively provide secretariat support for management meetings with internal or external parties; request and devise agenda items (for manager’s approval) through liaison with relevant parties and own knowledge of business priorities; prepare and distribute briefing papers/packs; take minutes at such meetings and produce a formal written record.
  • To ensure that the minutes are circulated, and that action points are followed up and completed in accordance with agreed set deadlines
  • To build and maintain relationships and foster partnerships with key stakeholders within the Criminal Justice System, other government departments and agencies and relevant external organisations in order to facilitate cross- departmental/organisational collaboration
  • To act as a filter to the senior manager’s email box, reading and making recommendations on their behalf, providing an executive summary where appropriate or a suggested course of action