Assistant Private Secretary

Details

Reference number

475986

Salary

£37,615 - £39,885 + £3,150 RRA A Civil Service Pension with an employer contribution of 28.97% GBP

Job grade

Higher Executive Officer B2### Contract type

Temporary### Length of employment

12 months (with the possibility of extension)### Business area

CPS - HQ Private Office### Type of role

Operational Delivery

Other### Working pattern

Flexible working, Full-time, Job share, Part-time### Number of jobs available

1 Contents

• Location
• About the job
• Benefits
• Things you need to know
• Apply and further information Location

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LondonAbout the job

Job summary

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) sits at the heart of the criminal justice system, working with partners to help keep the public safe. We deal with criminal cases at every level – including burglary, terrorism, domestic abuse and multi-million-pound fraud cases. We also work across borders to tackle cybercrime, human trafficking and drugs smuggling, and use our powers to confiscate the proceeds of crime at home and abroad.

Private Office is being restructured to ensure that the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Chief Operating Officer (COO) or Director General Legal Delivery (DGLD) have the right support. As Assistant Private Secretary you lead a team supporting one of these principals. Using sound judgement, political awareness and strong stakeholder engagement, you ensure that their principal is well briefed, has effective diary management, is well supported, and is able to focus on strategic priorities. You report to the Head of Private Office and will work closely with the other Private Secretaries supporting and ensuring link up to the other two principals in the team.

You are also required to build strong and effective relationships internally (with corporate functions and in operational/legal roles) and externally (within Whitehall, particularly the AGO, and other operational partners). This will ensure accurate and timely information and advice is provided to the DPP, COO and/or DGLD, and ensure effective communication of their decisions, views, priorities, and objectives to the rest of the CPS. You support a service which ensure the DPP, COO, and DGLD remain visible and connected with CPS staff.

The Crown Prosecution Service is based in England and Wales. If you’re applying for this role and live in Scotland or Northern Ireland, you must let us know when accepting this offer as you need permission to work from your home address if hybrid working is part of your role. There’s no guarantee that we will grant this approval.

You must be aged 16 or over at the point of starting in this role. The expected start date is approximately 8–12 weeks after the application closing date. Candidates are expected to commence employment as soon as possible following the expiry of their notice period. Requests for significantly later start dates may not be accommodated.

As part of this role, you are expected to undertake direct line management responsibilities.

Please note there will be some travel to accompany senior leaders on visits or meetings.

If you’re a current Crown Prosecution Service employee, you remain based at your permanent office location throughout the post. You’re expected to travel to the temporary office at least 40% of your contracted hours over a four-week period – travel and subsistence may be applicable. If you have any questions, please contact Daisy.gabriel1@cps.gov.uk

Job description

Your roles and responsibilities:

• to provide high‑quality strategic advice and be alert to activities or emerging issues with the principal’s portfolio, to support to drive forward the principal’s priorities.
• to coordinate and prioritise the workflow into and out of the principal’s inbox, ensuring timely and appropriate action.
• build effective relationships across the CPS, government departments and external organisations to maintain awareness of the wider operating context.
• build and maintain strong working relationships with internal teams and external partners to ensure flow of information to/from Private Office and ensure the principal has the information needed to make robust decisions or interventions.
• to ensure high quality briefings, documentation and administrative support, involving the right people, identifying risks, and resolving issues efficiently to ensure the principal is fully prepared for meetings and visits.
• lead and develop direct reports, setting clear objectives and managing performance, attendance and welfare.
• to proactively manage and coordinate the principal’s time and resource, working closely with diary secretaries and Assistant Private Secretaries to maintain a coherent forward look and highlight pressure points.

A copy of the full job description is attached.

Person specification

To be eligible to apply, you need to:

• have an understanding of working with senior officials and/or Ministers

It is desirable that you have the below experience but this is not required to apply:

• building and maintaining productive relationships and effective networks with stakeholders across a department and externally.

Behaviours

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

• Managing a Quality Service
• Delivering at Pace
• Communicating and Influencing
• Seeing the Big Picture

We only ask for evidence of these behaviours on your application form:

• Managing a Quality Service
• Delivering at Pace
• Seeing the Big Picture Benefits

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Alongside your salary of £37,615, Crown Prosecution Service contributes £10,897 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides . Join the Crown Prosecution Service and find your purpose.

The Crown Prosecution Service is passionate about ensuring that we're a top performing organisation and a great place to work. We're a committed equal opportunities employer, creating a culture where you can bring your whole self to work, and individuality is truly appreciated.

This culture of inclusion is underpinned by our staff networks covering disability, faith and belief, LGBTQI+, race, social mobility alongside our mental health first aiders programme and wellbeing sessions.

The Crown Prosecution Service commits to offer its employees the following experience.

• You can do impactful, purposeful work that’s making a difference to your local communities.
• You are able to learn and grow, with access to the right opportunities and resources.
• We care about your wellbeing.
• We want you to feel valued, trusted and included.

We also offer the following range of benefits:

• Civil Service contributory pension of up to 28.9%
• 25 days’ leave, increasing to 30 days after 5 years
• £350 each year to spend on personal development
• lawyer training programme for all new prosecutors
• an extra privilege day to mark the King's birthday
• competitive maternity, paternity and parental leave
• flexible working including flexitime, and a family friendly approach to work
• Cycle2Work scheme, employee savings.

Diversity at the Crown Prosecution Service is about inclusion, embracing differences and ensuring our workforce truly reflects the communities we serve. We want you to feel that you belong and can thrive, whatever your background, identity or culture. As a Disability Confident employer, we're happy to support requests for reasonable adjustments and improve your recruitment experience. If you'd like any reasonable adjustments made to our recruitment process, let us know within your application or contact daisy.gabriel1@cps.gov.uk

We want to ensure our employees can thrive at work and home and offer a range of support to achieve a balance. This includes flexibility of working hours, flexibility to support caring responsibilities and a flexible approach to deployment. We offer a hybrid working policy. You must spend at least 40% of your contracted hours over a four-week period at court, in an office or another official workplace depending on business need and the kind of work you're doing.

The Crown Prosecution Service has fixed rates for its Higher Executive Officer grade – a developing rate (the starting salary) and a spot rate (the maximum salary). Applicants typically join us on the developing rate and, after completing a 18-month development period, move to the spot rate – this is subject to your line manager confirming that you’re performing the role to a satisfactory standard.

If you’re joining the Crown Prosecution Service on a lateral transfer from another government department, you should contact us about the impact on your salary and the implications of any time you’ve already spent at that grade before applying or accepting an employment offer. Your salary may be adjusted if your location changes when you join us. This adjustment also takes into account any existing allowances that may have previously been consolidated into your basic pay – there’s no guarantee that you can retain these when you transfer.

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.### Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles , and will assess your Behaviours, Strengths and Experience.Recruitment process

The recruitment process consists of an online application, assessment and interview. These are expected to take place on the week commencing 21st September 2026 at 102 Petty France, London SW1H 9EA.

A member of our recruitment team will be in touch with guidance. If you have any queries about this, contact daisy.gabriel1@cps.gov.uk.

You should keep this date free or notify us if you're not available. We'll make every effort to accommodate your date preferences but we can't guarantee it.

Assessment

We ask you to complete an assessment as part of the recruitment process for this role. We will provide details immediately before your interview.

Behaviours

You are asked to complete a statement of no more than 250 words for each of the following behaviours, setting out how you consider your personal skills, qualities and experience match the specified behaviours and requirements:

• managing a quality service - Lead Behaviour
• delivering at pace
• seeing the big picture

You also need to demonstrate the Crown Prosecution Service or Civil Service values.

The panel has the right to assess the lead behaviour ‘Managing a quality service’ first. If the standard on this behaviour isn’t met, the other behaviours won’t be considered and your application won’t progress. The panel also has the right to raise the minimum standard pass mark. The panel may also refer to the lead behaviour at the interview stage to determine merit order.

Interview

We use behaviours to help us understand your experience, to see if you're a good fit for the role. You are assessed against HEO level in the Civil Service success profiles behaviours framework. We are assessing four behaviours at interview:

• managing a quality service – interview and assessment
• seeing the big picture – interview
• communicating and Influecing – interview
• delivering at pace - Interview

CV

You’re not required to upload your CV. However, when submitting your application there is a ‘CV section’. You are required to provide information about your employment and/or academic history for the past three years. The CV section will be used as supporting evidence, it won’t be assessed.

It’s your responsibility to provide the specified information in the requested format to ensure that you're considered for the post.

If you're unable to cover three years through employment or academic history, you must provide a character reference for clearance purposes.

Strengths

Strengths are tested at interview stage - the strengths tested are not shared before the interview.

Other

This is a full-time post. We do consider requests for flexible, part-time working and job share, always considering the operational needs of the department.

Please note that the CPS is unable to offer visa sponsorship. Therefore, if you require visa sponsorship to work in the UK, you will not meet the eligibility criteria for this role.

Clearance

If successful, you are required to securea Security Check clearance, for which you must have a current valid UK address.

If successfully appointed, we ask you to complete a character enquiry form, nationality and immigration questionnaire, (and national security vetting form if SC/DV).

If you're a Crown Prosecution Service member of staff, you won’t need to do a Disclosure and Barring Service check as you already hold this clearance.

The job you’re applying for is covered by Article 3(a) of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975, consequently Section 4(2) of that Act doesn’t apply. Y****ou’re required to disclose all previous convictions and cautions including spent convictions. Failing to make a full declaration will result in withdrawing your offer of employment if our checks reveal convictions that haven’t been disclosed.

To be cleared to Security Checkclearance level, you have to be able to meet the residency requirement in the Cabinet Office guidance. For the Crown Prosecution Service, this is three years within the last five years

Reserve list

If you're recommended by the selection panel but not appointed to the current vacancy, you’re put on a reserve list for 12 months. You may be offered another Assistant Private Secretary post in the CPS if a vacancy comes up during this period. We may also approach candidates on the waiting list to fill other roles that require similar knowledge and experience.

Fraud check

The Crown Prosecution Service provides a Fair Processing Notice to all new applicants after they’ve been successful at interview. These candidates are informed that, as one aspect of pre-employment screening, their personal details – name, National Insurance number and date of birth – are checked against the Internal Fraud Database. We won't employ anyone included on the database unless they can demonstrate exceptional circumstances.

The Strategic Resourcing team in the Crown Prosecution Service will, on behalf of the vacancy holder, inform applicants when they are refused employment because of their inclusion in the Internal Fraud Database.

Civil Service Commission

If you’re dissatisfied with the recruitment process and wish to make a complaint, please contact Strategic.Resourcing@cps.gov.uk with your concerns.

If you remain dissatisfied and wish to make a further complaint, please click on the following link to the Civil Service Commission complaints page Recruitment Complaints - Civil Service Commission

Civil Service Commission Recruitment Principles can be found at https://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk/recruitment/

Details of the Civil Service Nationality Rules are located at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nationality\-rules

Candidates are subject to UK immigration requirements. For the most up-to-date information on the requirements of working in the UK, please go to the UK Visas and Immigration website at https://www.gov.uk/browse/visas\-immigration/work\-visas

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.### Security

Successful candidates must undergo a standard (or equivalent) criminal record check. Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check .

See our vetting charter . People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.### Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles . The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria. The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.### Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy .Apply and further information

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans initiative. Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.### Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

• Name : Daisy Gabriel
• Email : daisy.gabriel1@cps.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : strategic.resourcing@cps.gov.uk