Private Secretary to the Senior Deputy Speaker

5th June 2023 at 17:00

Background

The post holder will work directly to the Senior Deputy Speaker, who chairs a number of domestic committees in the House and is spokesperson in the House for the Commission, the Services and Finance Committees and the Restoration and Renewal Client Board. The line manager is the Chief of Staff.

Main objective

To provide high quality support to the Senior Deputy Speaker and to lead his private office team.

Main responsibilities

The post holder will have line management of an HL6 Assistant Private Secretary (APS) and will oversee the work of an HL5 diary and correspondence manager. The post holder will ensure that the APS assists with all the responsibilities of the role as required.

Additional responsibilities

• Supporting the Senior Deputy Speaker in his parliamentary and wider representative duties;

• Overseeing the provision of accurate and timely written and oral advice/briefing, including the preparation of speeches, to the Senior Deputy Speaker for parliamentary questions, Chamber debates, select committee meetings and other meetings and engagements;

• Ensuring effective communication with Members of the House, including the Usual Channels, the Lord Speaker’s office, and senior officials, including attending meetings with the Senior Deputy Speaker and following up progress;

• Representing the Senior Deputy Speaker’s views to stakeholder offices across Parliament and negotiating with key stakeholders to progress the Senior Deputy Speaker’s priorities;

• Ensuring the Senior Deputy Speaker has timely and up-to-date information about key issues within his areas of responsibility;

• Managing the Senior Deputy Speaker’s workload, correspondence and overseeing his diary to ensure the efficient and effective use of his time and delivery of his duties and priorities;

• Manage the Assistant Private Secretary and delegating responsibilities where appropriate, providing oversight of work including of responses to Questions for Written Answer and providing development opportunities;

• Running of the private office including managing processes, administration and record management and ensuring resilience;

• Working with the Chief of Staff, other private secretaries and the clerks of internal committees to co-ordinate activities across the wider governance team to support effective working together through planning, consultation and coordination, and to increase resilience;

• Clerk to the Committee of Selection, liaising with the usual channels to manage the nomination of select committee rotations and ad hoc appointments, maintaining records of the appointment and rotation dates for all members of select committees, and responding to procedural queries.

• Contribute as appropriate to the Clerk of the Parliaments’ Office and wider Administration objectives, including office planning, meetings, risk management and business continuity planning.

• Lead on the administration of the Additional Support Group (ASG) by handling member inquiries, arranging ASG meetings and facilitating decisions on applications, and establishing processes.

Competencies

• Parliamentary knowledge - Good understanding of the business of the House of Lords including procedure in the Chamber and its governance processes
• Delivering quality work at pace – A high degree of initiative and organisational skills, with the ability to co-ordinate a wide range of work and to deliver results at pace
• Effective working relationships – The ability to develop and maintain close and effective working relationships, including with colleagues across Parliament, and with Members
• Communication skills – Effective oral communication skills, including the ability to deliver firm advice where required, and excellent drafting skills
• Professionalism and judgement – Good general political awareness and sound judgement
• Management – Ability to manage and develop an effective team