Business and Casework Support Officer

The Privy Council is the mechanism through which agreement is reached on items of Government business which, for historical or other reasons, fall to Ministers as Privy Counsellors rather than as Departmental Ministers.

The Privy Council meets at least nine times a year (often more) in the presence of The King, who gives his personal approval to all Orders in Council. Meetings are presided over by the Lord President of the Council, who is the Ministerial Head of the Office. Each meeting is unique and the business can vary widely from month to month.

The Privy Council Office is the Secretariat to the Privy Council. It is responsible for delivering all aspects of Privy Council business, including arrangements for Privy Council meetings; managing casework relating to the Privy Councils prerogative and statutory portfolio; and administrative formalities connected with all appointments of new Privy Counsellors; Ministerial appointments; Royal Charter matters; Royal Proclamations; the approval of Channel Islands legislation; and the appointment of High Sheriffs in England and Wales.

This is a unique opportunity to provide administrative support to a small team with working relationships across Government, the Royal Household and external partners.

As a Business and Casework Support Officer, you will lead on the work of digitising the Privy Council Offices paper records and assisting with the transfer of records to The National Archives; or the destruction of records that are no longer required. You will be required to provide administrative support with all other aspects of Privy Council work. This will include the organisation of regular Privy Council meetings, assisting with the nomination or appointment of High Sheriffs in England and Wales and management of the Privy Council Office enquiries mailbox, alongside continued records management support.

The role requires a very high degree of accuracy and attention to detail. The postholder will also need to be able to prioritise a busy workload efficiently and build effective working relationships between the Privy Council Office and our stakeholders, which include the Royal Household, Parliament and other government departments.

Your work will be overseen by a Casework Manager, but you will be expected to manage your workload effectively; and at times work without direct supervision.

Responsibilities

The below responsibilities are the main objectives of the post, however in line with business needs, the responsibilities may change and evolve over time to meet the needs of the Office.

1. Undertake a short-term project to ensure all the records of the Privy Council Office are digitised, including all our current and historic records.
2. Maintaining files and other records required by the Office, including creating folders and managing the electronic filing system. This will include Charter cases, the appointment of High Sheriffs and the regular Privy Council meetings.
3. Routine office management tasks, including answering routine emails; updating the Privy Council Office website and assisting with arrangements for internal and external meetings.
4. Managing the Privy Council Office enquiries mailbox, replying to standard enquiries and allocating other correspondence to members of the team as appropriate.
5. Admin support, as required, for other strands of work across the Privy Council Office portfolio, as directed by your line manager. This will include drafting correspondence, arranging business for Privy Council meetings and administrative support to Accession Council planning and preparation.

We are looking for a flexible, hard working individual with a keen eye for detail. Strong organisational skills are essential, as the post holder will have to balance and prioritise competing tasks on a daily basis, whilst ensuring the digitisation project will be completed on time. The successful candidate may also be engaging with stakeholders across Government and so excellent verbal and written communication skills are also essential.

Essential criteria

• Excellent IT skills, including a knowledge of Google Suite (including Google Drive) and Microsoft Office products .
• Experience of working independently and delivering work to a consistently high standard.
• Excellent attention to detail, confident proof-reading skills and the ability to multitask.
• Ability to build and maintain effective relationships with key stakeholders.
• Confident phone manner.

Desirable criteria

• Previous experience of records management work or experience in an administrative role.

Additional information:

A minimum 60% of your working time should be spent at your principal workplace. Although requirements to attend other locations for official business will also count towards this level of attendance.