General Management Support / PA

About HM Treasury

If you’re interested in making a difference to people’s lives across the country, the Treasury is the department for you! We sit at the centre of everything that the Government does and have provided advice on economic policy and decisions that affect the public finances throughout the country’s history. A Treasury career continues to offer an exciting opportunity to be part of the decision making that affects the whole of the UK.

Working at the heart of government, we collaborate with other departments to ensure public money is spent well and to drive strong and sustainable economic growth. Our work ranges from protecting customers through to the regulation of the financial sector, helping to reduce carbon emissions and creating a greener economy, supporting people across the country through the COVID 19 furlough scheme and Plan for Jobs as well as helping first time buyers buy their first home.

HM Treasury is proud of a diverse and inclusive work environment, committed to fairness and the promotion of equality of opportunity for all. We know that having a range of experiences, ways of working and thinking makes us a stronger organisation, better at developing policy that is reflective of the communities we serve. We embrace different views and experiences and value the fresh perspective that people from a variety of circumstances bring to the work we do. We welcome applications from candidates who have not previously worked for the Civil Service, mid- and late-career changers with transferrable skills, people from all backgrounds and circumstances regardless of disability, gender, age ethnicity, LGBT+ identity and socio-economic status.

The Darlington Economic Campus is a pioneering new cross-government hub which will bring people together across departments and public organisations to play an active role in the most important issues of the day.

HM Treasury in Darlington will be joined by the Department for International Trade, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, the Office for National Statistics, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, the Competition and Markets Authority, the Department for Education and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.

International Group

The International Group advises ministers on promoting and protecting the UK’s international economic interests, to ensure the UK thrives in an ever-changing global economy. We do this through our policy and operational work on a range of areas ranging from free trade agreements, climate change, countering illicit finance, financial sanctions to supporting developing countries and managing our relationship with Europe, US, and emerging markets.

We support the Chancellor and senior officials in building relationships with a wide range of external and international partners and represent the UK in a range of international organisations, such as the G7, the G20 and the International Monetary Fund as well as Multilateral Development Banks. We also analyse what is happening in the world economy, and control spending on international development. Although international travel is an important part of some roles, it is not required for every role in the group and will be specified if required.

About the Team

The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) has been operational since March 2016 and has quickly established itself as a world-leader in financial sanctions, a key area of financial, foreign and national security policy.

HM Treasury implements financial sanctions in the UK. OFSI, part of HM Treasury, fulfils this role on its behalf. It leads on the implementation of UN and UK financial sanctions and domestic terrorist asset freezing, providing a high-quality service to the private and charitable sectors, and guidance to help them follow the law. It works closely with law enforcement, intelligence agencies and strategic policy colleagues across Whitehall and beyond to help ensure that financial sanctions are accurately understood, implemented and enforced. OFSI has important partner relationships in the regulated financial services sector, the primary implementers of financial sanctions, and is an integral part of the sanctions community worldwide.

There are currently c.30 financial sanctions regimes, including sanctions relating to Russia, North Korea, Iran, Syria and Libya. Approximately 3000 individuals and entities are targets of sanctions. OFSI also implements domestic terrorist-asset freezes under the counter-terror legislation.

Robust enforcement of financial sanctions helps to maintain the integrity of and confidence in the UK financial sector, a priority for the PM and the Chancellor. OFSI has strong powers, including to impose monetary penalties. OFSI is in the front line in the fight against this serious crime.

OFSI is a diverse and friendly team of over 100 people, and we are growing, with multiple roles available across several specialist branches. We offer an outstanding environment to broaden your experience and develop new skills, whilst working on some of the highest profile international issues the UK faces. We support a good work-life balance and flexible working is encouraged.

You can read more about OFSI on our gov.uk pages: https://www.gov.uk/ofsi

Key Accountabilities

The role of General Management Support / PA at HM Treasury is varied and exciting and gives individuals a fantastic opportunity working at the heart of the Government, supporting an expanding and changing department. If you are organised, efficient, people-focused, flexible and enjoy a varied workload in which no two days will be the same, then we would love to hear from you.

The successful candidate will join the Governance and Strategy team which:

• Supports OFSI’s strategic planning and implementation, providing a programme management function
• Plans, develops, and implements professionalisation and learning and development programmes across OFSI
• Leads on strategic risk assessment, reporting, business planning and corporate reporting
• Leads on management information and performance monitoring for OFSI
• Provides secretariat services for the cross-Whitehall OFSI Governance Board.

Key responsibilities of the role will include, but are not limited to:

• Supporting Senior Management Team including organising meetings, coordinating away days and events.
• Providing administration support for Senior managers including producing accurate supporting documentation such as agendas, minutes and notes.
• Supporting OFSI staff and managers with onboarding of new staff.
• Maintaining effective working relationships with a variety of both internal and external stakeholders.
• Building strong, open and collaborative relationships with wider OFSI staff, providing wider support where required on areas such as team meetings, governance, management information, training, recruitment and performance management processes.
• Providing Personal Assistant cover to the director of OFSI and two deputy directors– which will include, but is not limited to;
• Managing the diaries of deputy directors – including arranging meetings, supporting visits, proactively addressing issues and supporting the DDs in being prepared for meetings.
• Providing proactive, comprehensive operational and administrative support to one Director and two Deputy Directors, including inbox and diary management, organising travel, arranging meetings and processing expenses.

Owing to the sensitive nature of these posts, successful candidates will need to undergo Security Check (SC) security clearance before starting in post.

While no previous sanctions experience is required for this role, successful candidates will be encouraged to develop an understanding of the UK’s financial sanctions framework and OFSI’s work, which they can then apply in their role.

Essential Criteria

Required Skills, Experience and Behaviours:

The below criteria will be assessed in your application form.

1. The lead criterion is: Managing a Quality Service - Deliver service objectives with professional excellence, expertise and efficiency, taking account of diverse customer needs.

If we receive large volumes of applications, we will conduct an initial sift on the first criterion only.

We will assess the below further criteria in your application form;

2. Working Together - The ability to build relationships with a diverse range of stakeholders to provide business support to the wider team.

3. Making Effective Decisions – Use evidence and knowledge to support accurate, expert decisions and advice. Carefully consider alternative options, implications, and risks of decisions. To use own initiative and good time management to make effective decisions under pressure.

Candidate Guidance on Completing your Application Form

Where will we assess success profiles across your application form.

• Behaviours - these will be assessed individually with a 250-word statement per behaviour. The application form will indicate which behaviour is being assessed each time you provide a statement, and we are ideally looking for an example using the below STAR method to demonstrate this behaviour in line with the full criteria stated

All elements of the success profiles will be linked to a defined criterion that demonstrates the behaviour, experience or technical skills. It is beneficial to ensure your answer focuses on the full criteria, and not just the related success profile, to give you the best chance or providing the evidence the panel wants to assess.

In your statements, it is best to focus on one example in each section to allow you to provide enough detail in your answer and use all the words you have been allocated. Examples from a range of roles across your application will demonstrate that you have the skills, experience and behaviours we are looking for. We would also advise you to use examples that best meet the criteria, even if it is a few years old.

How to Structure your Answer

Please use the STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result) approach when writing your application answers.

• Situation - Describe the situation you found yourself in and what happened.
• Task - The Hiring Manager will want to understand what you tried to achieve from the situation that you found yourself in.
• Action - What actions did you take and how did you do it. Make sure to use “I”, not “we” to explain how your actions lead to a result.
• Result - Use facts and statistics to demonstrate the results that your actions produced. Explain whether it was a successful outcome, and if not, what you learned from the experience.

Notes to Candidates

• Please refer to the candidate FAQ document which is a link on the job advert – this will provide you with guidance on completing the application form. Please contact hrrecruitment@hmtreasury.gov.uk if you have any issue accessing this document.
• At HM Treasury, to maximise diversity and inclusion within our workforce, we operate a fair, open and anonymous recruitment process. This means that the sift panel will only be able to assess you on the written evidence supplied in your application answers. They will not have access to personal information.
• You may be asked to provide some CV details during your application; however these will NOT be assessed during the process, but will be used to support discussions at interview – please ensure you put all information you would like to be scored against in your behaviour, experience and technical skill statements .
• You will be assessed on your skills, experience and behaviours through the online application form. When completing your application form, please outline how you meet the requirements as detailed in the ‘Essential Criteria ‘section of this job description. This will give you the best chance to provide the evidence that the panel wants to assess. More guidance can be found here – completing your application.
• If we receive a large number of applications, applications will be assessed initially against the lead criterion alone. You will then be assessed against the other criteria if you have met the minimum score on the first criterion.
• Find out more about how the Civil Service assesses candidates and uses Success Profiles to test skills, experience and behaviours in applications and interviews.
• Applications are not reviewed until the closing date has passed. You will be notified of the outcome of your application as soon as the recruitment panel has reviewed all the applications.

Support to Candidates

Candidate Guidance Support Session

We will be running an overview of Success Profiles and the STAR approach; top tips for the application and interview process and an opportunity to ask general questions around our recruitment practices. If you would like to join us, then use the link below to join the call at the right time.

04 April 2023 -12:30-13:15 Click here to join the meeting

Recruitment Timeline:

Closing date: 16th April 2023

Sift: w/c 17th April 2023

Interviews: w/c 24th April / 1st May 2023

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

• Managing a Quality Service
• Working Together
• Making Effective Decisions

• 25 days’ annual leave (rising to 30 after 5 years), plus 8 public holidays and the King's birthday (unless you have a legacy arrangement as an existing Civil Servant)
• Flexible working patterns (part-time, job-share, condensed hours)
• A Civil Service Pension which provides an attractive pension, benefits for dependants and average employer contributions of 27%
• Onsite restaurant and coffee bar. The London office also offers a gym, showers and prayer room
• Access to a cycle-to-work salary sacrifice scheme, season ticket advances and payroll giving
• Access to a retail discounts and cashback site
• A Rental Deposit Advance Scheme to help meet the total costs of deposits for privately rented homes
• A range of active staff networks, based around interests (e.g. analysts, music society, sports and social club) and diversity (e.g. women in the Treasury, ethnic minority network, LGBT* network, faith and belief network)

Flexible working arrangements:

HM Treasury views flexible working as essential in enabling us to recruit and retain talented people, ensuring that they are able to enjoy a long-lasting career with us. All employees have the right to apply for flexible working and there are a range of options available including; working from home, compressed hours and job sharing. Additionally, we operate flexitime systems, allowing employees to take up to an additional 2 days off each month, providing you work enough hours to meet business need.

We also offer a generous parental and adoption leave package.

At HM Treasury we have an incredibly broad remit; our work touches every citizen of the country. So, it’s important our employees come from the widest possible range of backgrounds, bringing us the widest possible range of perspectives and ways of thinking. We are committed to ensuring that all staff are able to realise their potential and achieve a healthy work-life balance.

Job contact :

Name :
OFSI Recruitment
Email :
ofsirecruitment@hmtreasury.gov.uk

Recruitment team :

Email :
hrrecruitment@hmtreasury.gov.uk