Job Description
Personal Assistant (Senior Personal Secretary) to Head of HR &
Transformation and Head of Strategy, Planning & Performance
Grade
EO
Location
Bristol
Reporting to
Head of HR & Transformation and Head of Strategy,
Planning & Performance
People, Communications & Engagement
Directorate
Role Purpose
To deliver a high quality professional administrative service to the Head of HR & Transformation and
Head of Strategy, Planning & Performance. The role involves close working with Executive Directors
and Senior Management from DVSA, DfT and its agencies, other Government Departments and
external suppliers. It is a demanding, varied and interesting role and requires someone who is flexible
and responsive. They must possess integrity and understand the need for, and exercise discretion and
confidentiality.
Main Duties
Duties include, but are not limited to:
Personal Assistant
Support to the Head of
HR & Transformation &
Head of Strategy,
Planning & Performance
 Pro-active management of managers’ email, responding to requests,
escalating issues, prioritising work, cascading information and tracking
deadlines. Flagging of urgent and priority items, and bringing these to
managers’ attention
 Pro-active management of managers’ diaries. Maintaining free space
in managers’ diaries, setting reminders for actions and responses, and
managing priorities and clashes. Adding reminders to calendar and
keeping time free for actions to be addressed.
 Pro-actively meeting with managers to discuss diary and agree priorities
and monitor workload.
 Identifying and monitoring actions ensuring updates are sought and
documented prior to meetings or as required. Draw to the managers’
attention to any outstanding actions either on themselves or members
of their team.
 Plan ahead for weekly meetings. Proactive use of Skype for Business
and teleconferencing where possible to reduce travel and time
commitments.
 Preparation of hard copy papers in advance of meetings, and
destruction of old papers having due regard to security classifications.
 Ensuring that all minutes, papers and correspondence are available for
meetings at least twenty-four hours in advance.
 Discuss and confirm travel arrangements with the managers. Compile
and provide briefing and maps for visit when necessary.
Job Description DVSA
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 File management, setting up and maintaining folders on shared drives,
and organising access to files and folders held elsewhere.
Provide efficient and
effective secretariat
services
 Develop and maintain effective administrative processes
 Dealing with post, phone calls and e-mails promptly; sending/giving
appropriate replies as needed, identifying what can be delegated and
forwarding to relevant member of staff.
Track all important
correspondence and bring to the attention of the managers where a
reply is outstanding and becoming urgent.
 Ensuring urgent/important correspondence is prioritised and brought to
the attention of the managers.
 Filing, providing filing lists as appropriate. Filing correspondence on at
least a weekly basis and sifting files to ensure that papers are kept to a
minimum.
 Creating an efficient bring forward system.
 Arranging meetings - including all domestic arrangements.
 Maintaining financial budgets highlighting any exceptions.
 Undertaking other administrative duties as required.
Required Qualifications, Skills, Experience and Competencies
Qualification
requirements
N/A
Skills and Experience
Professional or Agency
Specific Framework
N/A
Essential
 Experience in a PA role supporting executive level managers
 Highly organised and responsive to changing demands. Willing to work outside the remit of the role
and able to establish and maintain good relationships at all levels
 Excellent time management skills and ability to meet deadlines
 In-depth Diary Management experience
 Advanced user of Microsoft Office products (i.e. Word & Excel) and email
 Able to draft documents, letters, reports and minutes accurately and concisely at appropriate level
 Able to extract accurate, concise summaries from complex information
Desirable
 Direct experience as Personal or Executive Assistant to a Director or Senior Manager
Competencies (behaviours)
Competency title 1
Delivering at Pace:
- Take ownership of problems in their own area of responsibility.
- Remain positive and focused on achieving outcomes despite
setbacks.
- Set and achieve challenging goals and monitor quality.
Competency title 2
Making Effective Decisions:
- Monitor the storage of critical data and customer information to
support decision making and conduct regular reviews to ensure it is
stored securely, accurately, confidentially and responsibly.
- Speak with the relevant people in order to obtain the most accurate
information and get advice when unsure of how to proceed.
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Competency title 3
Competency title 4
Competency title 5
Competency title 6
Examine complex information and obtain further information to make
accurate decisions.
Managing a Quality Service:
- Work with team to set priorities, create clear plans and manage all
work to meet the needs of the customer and the business.
- Keep internal teams, customers and delivery partners fully informed of
plans and possibilities.
- Promote adherence to relevant policies, procedures, regulations and
legislation, including security, equality and diversity and health and
safety.
Leading and Communicating:
- Express ideas effectively, both orally and in writing, and with
sensitivity and respect for others.
- Display enthusiasm around goals and activities – adopting a positive
approach when interacting with others.
- Confidently handle challenging conversations or interviews
Collaborating and Partnering:
- Proactively seek information, resources and support from others
outside own immediate team in order to help achieve results.
- Listen attentively to others and check their understanding by asking
questions.
- Readily identify opportunities to share knowledge, information and
learning and make progress by working with colleagues.
Changing and Improving:
- Take initiative to suggest ideas for improvements, sharing this
feedback with others in a constructive manner.
- Conduct regular reviews of what and who is required to make a
project/activity successful and make on-going improvements.
- Understand and apply technology to achieve efficient and effective
business and personal results.
Please refer to the Civil Service Competency Framework Level 2
Any Other requirements
N/A
Further Information
For further information please email [email protected].
Job Description DVSA
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