Assistant Private Secretary

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) sits at the heart of the criminal justice system, working with partners to help keep the public safe. We deal with criminal cases at every level – including burglary, terrorism, domestic abuse and multi-million-pound fraud cases. We also work across borders to tackle cybercrime, human trafficking and drugs smuggling, and use our powers to confiscate the proceeds of crime at home and abroad.

Private Office is being restructured to ensure that the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Chief Operating Officer (COO) or Director General Legal Delivery (DGLD) have the right support. As Assistant Private Secretary you lead a team supporting one of these principals. Using sound judgement, political awareness and strong stakeholder engagement, you ensure that their principal is well briefed, has effective diary management, is well supported, and is able to focus on strategic priorities. You report to the Head of Private Office and will work closely with the other Private Secretaries supporting and ensuring link up to the other two principals in the team.

You are also required to build strong and effective relationships internally (with corporate functions and in operational/legal roles) and externally (within Whitehall, particularly the AGO, and other operational partners). This will ensure accurate and timely information and advice is provided to the DPP, COO and/or DGLD, and ensure effective communication of their decisions, views, priorities, and objectives to the rest of the CPS. You support a service which ensure the DPP, COO, and DGLD remain visible and connected with CPS staff.

The Crown Prosecution Service is based in England and Wales. If you’re applying for this role and live in Scotland or Northern Ireland, you must let us know when accepting this offer as you need permission to work from your home address if hybrid working is part of your role. There’s no guarantee that we will grant this approval.

You must be aged 16 or over at the point of starting in this role. The expected start date is approximately 8–12 weeks after the application closing date. Candidates are expected to commence employment as soon as possible following the expiry of their notice period. Requests for significantly later start dates may not be accommodated.

As part of this role, you are expected to undertake direct line management responsibilities.

Please note there will be some travel to accompany senior leaders on visits or meetings.

If you’re a current Crown Prosecution Service employee, you remain based at your permanent office location throughout the post. You’re expected to travel to the temporary office at least 40% of your contracted hours over a four-week period – travel and subsistence may be applicable. If you have any questions, please contact Daisy.gabriel1@cps.gov.uk

Your roles and responsibilities:

• to provide high‑quality strategic advice and be alert to activities or emerging issues with the principal’s portfolio, to support to drive forward the principal’s priorities.
• to coordinate and prioritise the workflow into and out of the principal’s inbox, ensuring timely and appropriate action.
• build effective relationships across the CPS, government departments and external organisations to maintain awareness of the wider operating context.
• build and maintain strong working relationships with internal teams and external partners to ensure flow of information to/from Private Office and ensure the principal has the information needed to make robust decisions or interventions.
• to ensure high quality briefings, documentation and administrative support, involving the right people, identifying risks, and resolving issues efficiently to ensure the principal is fully prepared for meetings and visits.
• lead and develop direct reports, setting clear objectives and managing performance, attendance and welfare.
• to proactively manage and coordinate the principal’s time and resource, working closely with diary secretaries and Assistant Private Secretaries to maintain a coherent forward look and highlight pressure points.

A copy of the full job description is attached.

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Strengths and Experience.

Recruitment process

The recruitment process consists of an online application, assessment and interview. These are expected to take place on the week commencing 21st September 2026 at 102 Petty France, London SW1H 9EA.

A member of our recruitment team will be in touch with guidance. If you have any queries about this, contact daisy.gabriel1@cps.gov.uk.

You should keep this date free or notify us if you're not available. We'll make every effort to accommodate your date preferences but we can't guarantee it.

Assessment

We ask you to complete an assessment as part of the recruitment process for this role. We will provide details immediately before your interview.

Behaviours

You are asked to complete a statement of no more than 250 words for each of the following behaviours, setting out how you consider your personal skills, qualities and experience match the specified behaviours and requirements:

• managing a quality service - Lead Behaviour
• delivering at pace
• seeing the big picture

You also need to demonstrate the Crown Prosecution Service or Civil Service values.

The panel has the right to assess the lead behaviour ‘Managing a quality service’ first. If the standard on this behaviour isn’t met, the other behaviours won’t be considered and your application won’t progress. The panel also has the right to raise the minimum standard pass mark. The panel may also refer to the lead behaviour at the interview stage to determine merit order.

Interview

We use behaviours to help us understand your experience, to see if you're a good fit for the role. You are assessed against HEO level in the Civil Service success profiles behaviours framework. We are assessing four behaviours at interview:

• managing a quality service – interview and assessment
• seeing the big picture – interview
• communicating and Influecing – interview
• delivering at pace - Interview

CV

You’re not required to upload your CV. However, when submitting your application there is a ‘CV section’. You are required to provide information about your employment and/or academic history for the past three years. The CV section will be used as supporting evidence, it won’t be assessed.

It’s your responsibility to provide the specified information in the requested format to ensure that you're considered for the post.

If you're unable to cover three years through employment or academic history, you must provide a character reference for clearance purposes.

Strengths

Strengths are tested at interview stage - the strengths tested are not shared before the interview.

Other

This is a full-time post. We do consider requests for flexible, part-time working and job share, always considering the operational needs of the department.

Please note that the CPS is unable to offer visa sponsorship. Therefore, if you require visa sponsorship to work in the UK, you will not meet the eligibility criteria for this role.

Clearance

If successful, you are required to secure a Security Check clearance, for which you must have a current valid UK address.

If successfully appointed, we ask you to complete a character enquiry form, nationality and immigration questionnaire, (and national security vetting form if SC/DV).

If you're a Crown Prosecution Service member of staff, you won’t need to do a Disclosure and Barring Service check as you already hold this clearance.

The job you’re applying for is covered by Article 3(a) of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975, consequently Section 4(2) of that Act doesn’t apply. You’re required to disclose all previous convictions and cautions including spent convictions. Failing to make a full declaration will result in withdrawing your offer of employment if our checks reveal convictions that haven’t been disclosed.

To be cleared to Security Check clearance level, you have to be able to meet the residency requirement in the Cabinet Office guidance. For the Crown Prosecution Service, this is three years within the last five years

Reserve list

If you're recommended by the selection panel but not appointed to the current vacancy, you’re put on a reserve list for 12 months. You may be offered another Assistant Private Secretary post in the CPS if a vacancy comes up during this period. We may also approach candidates on the waiting list to fill other roles that require similar knowledge and experience.

Fraud check

The Crown Prosecution Service provides a Fair Processing Notice to all new applicants after they’ve been successful at interview. These candidates are informed that, as one aspect of pre-employment screening, their personal details – name, National Insurance number and date of birth – are checked against the Internal Fraud Database. We won't employ anyone included on the database unless they can demonstrate exceptional circumstances.

The Strategic Resourcing team in the Crown Prosecution Service will, on behalf of the vacancy holder, inform applicants when they are refused employment because of their inclusion in the Internal Fraud Database.

Civil Service Commission

If you’re dissatisfied with the recruitment process and wish to make a complaint, please contact Strategic.Resourcing@cps.gov.uk with your concerns.

If you remain dissatisfied and wish to make a further complaint, please click on the following link to the Civil Service Commission complaints page Recruitment Complaints - Civil Service Commission

Civil Service Commission Recruitment Principles can be found at https://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk/recruitment/

Details of the Civil Service Nationality Rules are located at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nationality-rules

Candidates are subject to UK immigration requirements. For the most up-to-date information on the requirements of working in the UK, please go to the UK Visas and Immigration website at https://www.gov.uk/browse/visas-immigration/work-visas

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.