Executive Assistant

Do you want to work on one or the most exciting transformation projects in the public sector?

The Defence Housing Service (DHS) is being created through the Armed Forces Bill to deliver a step-change in housing for the UK’s Armed Forces and their families following the publication of the Defence Housing Strategy on 3 November 2025, which marked the most significant change to Armed Forces housing in over 50 years. DHS will bring a dedicated focus to improving the homes, communities and lived experience of Service personnel, placing families firmly at the heart of everything it does.

This is one of the most ambitious housing transformation programmes in the UK today. Backed by a £9.2 billion investment, DHS will modernise tens of thousands of homes, introduce a more proactive and customer-focused approach to maintenance, and unlock new opportunities to develop housing on Defence land. DHS will have the focus and agility to deliver change at pace, combining public service values with greater flexibility to build the skills, systems and partnerships needed for the future.

This is a rare opportunity to be part of shaping its culture, influencing how it works, and helping deliver lasting improvements for Service families across the UK.

The Defence Housing team is currently part of the Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO), who respond to the evolving needs of our military personnel, and the ways in which they live, work, train and deploy. We are proud to be the expert partner Defence needs for all their infrastructure requirements. From large scale infrastructure projects such as runways for the F35 fighter jets to net carbon-zero accommodation for our Service families, our activities focus relentlessly on our customers, and our outputs are unique in the UK and across the globe!

DIO , What we deliver every day.

The future delivery model for this team is currently under review and may change as part of potential organisational developments. This could include the team or function transferring to a different employer or organisational structure in the future. Should activities transfer out of the Ministry of Defence existing employees transferring with those activities will maintain the same, or substantially the same, terms and conditions of employment.

Are you organised, proactive and enjoy supporting a busy team to achieve great results?

You’ll provide high-quality executive, secretarial and administrative support to the Director of Accommodation while coordinating the day-to-day business management of the function. You'll play a key role in ensuring services are delivered efficiently and professionally, helping to maintain the reputation and external profile of the Accommodation function. Working closely with senior leaders and stakeholders, you'll also provide secretariat support and contribute to the wider Executive Support Team, helping to ensure the smooth and effective running of the business.

What you'll be doing

Provide proactive administrative and executive support to a Senior Official, including diary management, meeting coordination, travel arrangements, and correspondence management.

Ensure actions are tracked and followed up, information is shared appropriately, and administrative processes such as travel, subsistence and flexible working claims are completed accurately.

Deliver high-quality secretariat support by preparing correspondence, gathering information, drafting routine responses, and producing clear records of meetings, decisions and actions.

Act as a point of contact for Freedom of Information requests and other business enquiries, coordinating timely responses where required.

Arrange cost-effective travel and accommodation in line with policy, while processing invoices and maintaining hospitality and financial records, including Government Procurement Cards and fuel cards.

Work collaboratively across the Directorate to provide a professional and customer-focused service, supporting colleagues, responding to enquiries, and assisting with visitor management and meeting arrangements.

Contribute to continuous improvement by identifying opportunities to enhance processes, share good practice, and improve the overall service provided to customers and stakeholders.

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 and Experience.

Your application will go through the following stages of assessment:

At sift stage, applicants will be required to provide:

• A CV in the Job History section, ensuring it clearly demonstrates how you meet the essential criteria outlined in the person specification. We encourage you to use specific evidence from your experience to illustrate your suitability for the role.
• A personal statement (no more than 500 words) providing specific examples of how you meet the two most critical criteria for the role. Further guidance is given within the Personal Statement section of the application.

Applications will be assessed against the essential criteria, with each criterion scored on a scale of 1 to 7. An overall score will then be calculated using the average of all criterion scores. To progress beyond the sift stage, applicants must achieve a minimum score of 4 on every essential criterion. This means that even if your overall average score is 4 or higher, you will not progress if you score below 4 on any individual essential criterion.

Please note that, in the event of a high volume of applications, the selection panel reserves the right to increase the overall pass mark.

At interview, you will be assessed against the following Behaviours:

Behaviour #1: Managing a Quality Service

Behaviour #2: Working Together

Behaviour #3: Making Effective Decisions

Behaviour #4: Communicating and Influencing

In the event of a tied score at interview, the order of merit will be distinguished based on the ranking of the assessed behaviours above.

We will try and offer as much flexibility as we can, but it may not be possible to offer alternative dates for interviews or assessments.

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