To apply for this post, please ensure you complete all sections of our online application form found at http://www.parliament.uk/about/working/jobs/

Job Description Job title Reference number Private Secretary to and the , and 1002 Black Rod Office Manager Office Grade Black Rod’s Department HL7 (existing post upgraded)

Starting Salary £36,500 per annum

Term This post is permanent.

Scope of the job Background The Lady Usher of the Black Rod is appointed by the Crown. Black Rod is Serjeant at Arms for the and Secretary to the Lord Great Chamberlain.

Black Rod’s Department is responsible, in close conjunction with the Parliamentary Security Director, for access, order in the House, Chambers and Committees and its outbuildings; for business resilience, incident management and other contingency planning; for organising major State, ceremonial and other events within the ; and on behalf of the Lord Great Chamberlain for the daily administration of Her Majesty’s residual estate in the Palace. There is very significant Member interaction and contact with external organisations notably the Royal Household, Cabinet Office and other Government departments. The role has significant Member and public exposure and works at the heart of Parliament.

Black Rod has a range of corporate, organizational and executive responsibilities and therefore requires a secretariat, led by the post holder, which can keep pace with fast moving events and daily changing priorities, and deliver consistently professional support as well as manage and deliver key delegated tasks.

The staff in Black Rod's Department comprises the Usher of the Black Rod, who is Black Rod’s Deputy; the Deputy Yeoman Usher and four staff in Black Rod’s Private Office including the Verger of the Chapel of St Mary Undercroft. As well as the office staff, to assist Black Rod in maintaining order within the House there are twenty-three Doorkeepers under the control of the Principal Doorkeeper

1 of 6 RESTRICTED ACCESS–TBC

Main objective The main objective of the role of PS to Black Rod is to manage the staff of Black Rod’s Private Office ensuring the delivery of a high level of executive support to Black Rod and to the Lord Great Chamberlain in connection with all of their duties which includes delivering on specific assigned tasks.

The post holder is required to have a detailed knowledge of the whole range of BR functions and areas of responsibility, so they can represent the office of Black Rod, and ensure delivery of these functions to a high standard through the work of those in the Private Office. The work of the office is high profile involving day to day business of the House as well as major State events within Parliament and strategic policy issues on an annual basis. There is a strong media and public interest in the work. Key internal and external relationships • Members of the House of Lords and House of Commons; Members of the House of Lords Management Board; Staff across the House of Lords Administration, the House of Commons and bicameral staff: Business Resilience Team; The Lord Great Chamberlain; Senior Officials in The Royal Households; Cabinet Office; Prime Minister’s Office; Ministerial Offices; Foreign and Commonwealth Office; Metropolitan Police; Westminster Abbey; Westminster City Council and members of the public.

Main responsibilities Line management and budgetary responsibilities Line management responsibility of a team of three support staff.

Other responsibilities of the post Executive Secretarial and Management Support to Black Rod and the Lord Great Chamberlain ▪ Point of contact and first responder, in Black Rod’s office, for planned events of varying scale, as well as the immediate management and resolution of daily unexpected, unplanned events, occurrences and their consequences in the House of Lords. ▪ Monitoring, managing, prioritising and drafting Black Rod’s correspondence and emails; researching issues; drafting papers; arranging appropriate attendance for and minuting Black Rod meetings, preparing agendas and circulating papers.

Management of Black Rod’s Private Office ▪ Management of three Private Office staff including ensuring staff delivery of their responsibilities to a high standard. Management of staff also includes appraisals, staff development, supervision (including of Chapel operation), allocation and monitoring of workloads. Managing sickness, absence and leave requests, pay changes and staff compliments including the compilation of staff duty rotas. Training Liaison Officer for Black Rod’s Office identifying training and development opportunities and preparation of office learning plans. ▪ Responsible for co-ordination of the detailed security, media and protocol arrangements for routine events as well as State Opening of Parliament; other State occasions; major events in Parliament.

House of Lords job vacancy 2 of 6

▪ Editorial and coordinator responsibilities for the House of Lords plans for Parliament’s relocation contingencies and significant state occasions. ▪ First point of contact and liaison responsibilities with Members, Police, FCO, Royal Household and other external organisations and internal departments relating to participation in and disruption caused by Parliamentary events; immediate responder to occurrences and disruption; ▪ Responsible for being first point of contact with Members for advice and police liaison on malicious correspondence and threatening or abusive emails and letters making referrals to PLAIT, PSD and FTAC and monitoring progress. Resolving such issues where possible and taking responsibility for passing up those required ▪ Responsible for Drafting accurate and timely information notices and internal communications for Members and staff of both Houses, and information for external stakeholders as required. ▪ As Continuous Improvement Practitioner, identify areas for review to improve working practices.

Risks, Reports and Contingency Plans ▪ Responsible for accurately researching and drafting key documents such as the quarterly risk report and other business planning and reporting documents and act as Business Continuity Plan author, working to Black Rod as the owner. ▪ Responsible for effective management of the Incident Management Framework Rota which involves senior officials of both Houses. ▪ Responsible for managing the IT and documentation systems including the Information Asset Register and Register of Sensitive Information. Oversight of the transition from SPIRE to Office 365 and implementation of Skype for Business.

Other Duties ▪ Represent Black Rod as member of the Staff Communications Group, Incident Management Support Team, Training Liaison Officer Group, Digital Advocates Group, Visual Identity Group and Continuous Improvement Network.

Person specification The qualifications required for the post are: The post holder will be educated to “A” level standard or equivalent. Minimum 3 years PA Executive and secretarial experience with experience of working effectively with senior officials including those in in Parliament and in the Royal Household.

The knowledge, skills and experience required for the post are outlined below. Each element will be assessed in the examples you provide in your application form. Should you be shortlisted these areas will be assessed in more depth at interview and, if appropriate, in a test.

House of Lords job vacancy 3 of 6

Essential • Strong communications skills and the ability to represent Black Rod and the Office to a wide range of people and organisations internally and externally, including the Royal Household. • Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to deal with high profile contacts and politically complex interactions effectively, appropriately and sensitively. • Strong executive, PA and Office Management skills with experience of the full range of executive and secretarial skills. including minute taking and the ability to draft concisely and with clarity and excellent IT skills. • The ability to draft complex papers and documents with clarity and accuracy • The ability to understand and disseminate complex procedures and processes relating high profile projects and events such as Ceremonial Events and State Visits and to assist with planning and delivery. • Proven experience of delivering a high profile Private Office function through the management of a team which involves member interaction • Experience of contribution to, and a basic understanding of, Business Continuity Planning • A thorough knowledge of the working of the House and its Offices is required, together with good knowledge of the working of Parliament as a whole. • Tact, discretion and the ability to work quickly under intense pressure. Desirable • Experience of managing and motivating a team to deliver agreed objectives. • Experience of dealing with high profile external agencies or organisations (for example Ministerial Offices, Senior Officials at the Royal Household, Chief Executives of high profile public and private sector bodies; Westminster City Council etc). • An understanding and experience of budgeting procedures. • An understanding of Ceremonial and protocol matters • A good working knowledge of Black Rod’s Department and its responsibilities.

Terms and conditions

Salary and allowances The post is paid in accordance with House of Lords grade HL7 (£36,500 starting salary per annum). Pay increases usually depend on performance as assessed in annual appraisals. Salary is paid monthly by credit transfer.

Probation There is a probationary period of nine months.

Term and hours The post is permanent and is for 41 hours per week (including break-time).

House of Lords job vacancy 4 of 6

Consideration will be given to candidates who wish to work part-time or as part of a job share. If you are selected for interview please inform the panel of the days/hours you are available to work.

Benefits Interest-free season ticket loan; eye care vouchers; employee assistance programme; reasonably priced in-house gym; access to Safety, Health and Wellbeing service; membership of a Civil Service Pension Scheme (see below).

Pension The House of Lords participates in the Civil Service Pension Schemes. As an employee of the House, you will be entitled to join one of these highly competitive pension scheme arrangements.

Annual leave Annual leave entitlement is 30 days (increasing to 35 days after one year's service) plus public and bank holidays. In most offices annual leave may be taken only during periods when the House is in recess and must always be agreed in advance with the line manager and Head of Office.

Inclusion and Diversity The House of Lords Administration is committed to increasing diversity & maintaining an inclusive workplace culture. We welcome applications from all qualified candidates regardless of their ethnicity, race, gender, religious beliefs, sexual orientation, age, marital status or whether or not they have a disability. The Administration will also consider flexible working arrangements and reasonable adjustments.

Pre-appointment checks For external candidates, appointment depends on satisfactory references, health and security checks and where necessary proof of qualifications.

Baseline Security Standard The House of Lords (along with all government departments) has to comply with a Baseline Security Standard. The standard requires that we ascertain the identity of the applicant, their right to work in the UK (you must have normally resided in the UK for a minimum of 3 years out of the last 5 years), their employment or academic history over the last three years, and their address history over the last three years.

In addition, applicants are required to give a reasonable account of any significant recent periods of time (more than six months) spent abroad. Applicants who have been unemployed or self-employed for over six months in the last three years (whose last three years’ employment/academic history are not covered by references) will be asked to provide further documentation to prove their history.

Returning your completed application Please complete your online application by 23.55 on Sunday 4 November 2018.

House of Lords job vacancy 5 of 6

Please ensure that you attach your last appraisal as a PDF document to the “Your CV” section of your application form before submitting your application. Please also discuss your application with your Head of Office and your line manager before you submit your application.

Telephone enquiries If you wish to find out more information about this post, please contact on 0207 219 2919.

House of Lords job vacancy 6 of 6