Private Secretary to the Chair and Chief Executive

Equality and Human Rights Commission

Employment Type Full time We will consider part-time, flexible working, or job-share applications.
Location Hybrid · UK
Salary Up to £41,766 (GBP) plus £3,200 London Weighting Allowance. Salary will be pro-rata for part time hours.
Team Private Office
Seniority Mid-level
  • Closing: 11:00am, 22nd Dec 2023 GMT

Job Description

About us

We are Britain’s national equality regulator and a United Nations accredited ‘A status’ national human rights institution.

We uphold people’s rights without fear or favour. We use the full force of our legal powers to defend people from unfair or unequal treatment and to challenge breaches of the law. We advise on developing laws and provide guidance, training and support to enable compliance.

We bring people together to create change. We work with employers, governments and a wide range of organisations, to promote understanding of equality and human rights and we support them to make improvements in practice.

Our new strategy for 2022-25 gives us a strong platform to show that we will use our powers to protect and promote equality and human rights, and that we have identified the main challenges in society where we can make a difference in our role as a regulator.

Overview of the role and responsibilities

This is a fast-paced, complex, and fascinating job at the heart of the EHRC, working on high-profile, high-impact issues concerning equality and human rights in Britain.

The successful candidate will be joining at a critical time in the organisation’s multi-year change programme, supporting the Leadership Team and ensuring the Chair, CEO and Deputy CEO are well supported in their roles.

You will:

  • Lead a team of (currently two) administrative assistants, taking responsibility for the team’s planning and organisation and ensuring senior decision-makers are able to operate strategically and effectively, with high quality briefing and support.

  • Reporting to the Chief of Staff, coordinate briefings and advice from legal and policy experts to support the Leadership Team, Chair, CEO and Deputy CEO

  • Compile a twice-weekly box for the Chair, summarising issues for decision and to note.

  • Ensure effective and proactive diary management for the Chair, CEO and Deputy CEO and brief the senior team weekly on the EHRC’s corporate calendar.

  • Manage the Leadership Team’s secretariat function including drafting and circulating agendas, tracking actions and noting and sharing minutes.

  • Coordinate meetings with and responses to correspondence from a variety of stakeholders across government, different sectors, and civil society.

  • Collaborate with colleagues across the organisation to ensure deadlines are met, advice papers are of a high quality and received on time, and correspondence is appropriately managed.

  • Note and track actions from high-level meetings, to reflect decisions taken and conversations accurately.

  • Support the Chief of Staff to ensure the Chair’s, CEO’s and Deputy CEO’s perspectives are reflected in key policy and strategy development and operational delivery.

Knowledge, Skills and Experience

The full list of Knowledge, Skills and Experience required for the role can be found in the Candidate Pack.

Benefits

In addition to a competitive salary, we offer a range of benefits including flexible working patterns, 30 days annual leave plus 8 bank holidays (full time FTE), access to the Civil Service Pension Scheme and partnership pension schemes, and enhanced parental leave benefits. More information can be found in the candidate pack.

How to apply

You will be asked to provide:

  • Your Curriculum Vitae – we will use this to assess your suitability against the required experience, knowledge and skills for this role; and

  • Through our online application form, provide examples that demonstrate your suitability against the Core Skills as set out in the Candidate Pack.

If you encounter any problems with Applied or have a question about the recruitment process, please contact Becky Roberts, HR & Recruitment Officer, Becky.Roberts@equalityhumanrights.com  

Disability Confident Leader

As a Disability Confident Leader, the Equality and Human Rights Commission offers an interview for people with disabilities (as defined by the Equality Act 2010 and The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2004) and who meet the minimum criteria for this appointment.

Where high numbers of applications are received, the candidates that best meet the minimum criteria for the role may only be invited to interview. If you wish to apply for consideration under this scheme, please complete the appropriate section on the online application form. This will enable us to make the appropriate arrangements, if necessary.

If you require an alternative accessible version of the application form or wish to discuss your application or reasonable adjustment – please contact us by email at Becky.Roberts@equalityhumanrights.com or by telephone on 0161 829 8100

Diversity in our workforce

At the Commission, we are proud of our respectful workplace that values the contribution of all our staff, whatever their background.  We do not tolerate discrimination or harassment. Our recruitment decisions are based on fair, open competition, with appointment on merit. We welcome applications from everyone to ensure we achieve a balanced representation in our workforce in all grades.

Removing bias from the hiring process

Applications closed Fri 22nd Dec 2023

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Removing bias from the hiring process

  • Your application will be anonymously reviewed by our hiring team to ensure fairness
  • You’ll need a CV/résumé, but it’ll only be considered if you score well on the anonymous review

Applications closed Fri 22nd Dec 2023