Southwark, London (region), SE1 9HA
Job Summary
Private Secretary to Information Commissioner
Fixed term until 31 March
Full time / Part time
Salary: £55,591 - £62,974, with potential for further progression to £70,907 with our pay progression scheme.
Location: Hybrid
Contracted to our London office, however, we offer flexible home and office-based working opportunities. There will be times when you will be expected to attend the office to collaborate with colleagues or travel due to business need. Please note, from Autumn 2026 our head office will relocate from Wilmslow to Manchester city centre.
Secondment opportunities available
Why work for the ICO?
- Pay progression scheme.
- Hybrid and flexible working options.
- 25 days paid holiday per year, plus privilege and public holidays.
- Flexi leave (up to 26 additional days leave per year).
- Pension (employer contribution around 28.9%).
- Online discount scheme to save money at major supermarkets, retailers, gyms, restaurants, insurance providers and many more.
- Health Cash Plan.
- Fantastic development opportunities to learn and progress.
Further details can be found on the benefits section of our website .
About Us
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is the independent regulator of information rights. In a data-driven world, we provide advice, guidance, and support to organisations enabling compliance with their obligations, as well as protecting individuals and their personal data.
As an employer, we are passionate about making a positive difference to the lives and careers of our people, and we empower you to be curious, impactful, collaborative and respectful.
Job Description
As the Private Secretary you will be required to respond to matters on behalf of the Information Commissioner by working with the Executive Team (ET), senior leaders and managers across the ICO to ensure that actions are congruent with organisational strategy, policy lines and legislative requirements. This includes supporting the Information Commissioner, and, from time to time, the CEO and ET at an extensive range of events and business meetings with the primary objectives of ensuring each event achieves its strategic goal and effective links are maintained between attendees and the wider office. The role will therefore require a commitment to domestic and international travel in order to support these engagements.
You will ensure that the Information Commissioner is suitably prepared for business-critical meetings. Working closely with the Head of the Commissioner’s Private Office, the CEO’s Private Office and across other Private Offices to strategically plan engagements for the Information Commissioner, wider ET and SLT as required. This will require oversight of the production of high quality and incisive briefings, often at short notice, across a diverse range of complex and sometimes sensitive subject areas. You will also be required to manage projects on behalf of the Information Commissioner, reporting progress and ensuring actions are progressed.
Key Responsibilities:
- Provide a trusted source of advice for your Information Commissioner, CEO and ET, gaining and respecting their confidence and providing appropriate challenge.
- Identify issues that could impact on the successful delivery of organisational objectives and engage with relevant internal and external stakeholders to ensure that effective approaches are adopted.
- Advise on wider political, constitutional and organisational considerations and keep abreast of key developments and issues in the wider environment as relevant to the ICO.
- Liaise with senior external stakeholders across a diverse range of public and private sectors, plus international stakeholders as required.
- Advise and make recommendations to your Information Commissioner and ICO senior management, exercising good judgement and independent decision making, often working on problems and issues as they arise.
- Deliver accurate and concise briefing papers, written reports and presentations based on information gathered from across the ICO, often involving in depth analysis and/or interpretation and application of policy and regulatory methodology relating to complex issues.
- Oversee the delivery of key external meetings and events for the Information Commissioner, providing in-person support for domestic and overseas engagements as required.
- Support the development of submissions made by senior managers and assist in enabling them to provide appropriate advice to enable strategic decision making.
- Support the communication of your Information Commissioner’s views and decisions sensitively and diplomatically where appropriate both internally and externally.
- Where required, communicate with senior, high profile external stakeholders, including the media, MPs and government departments in order to influence and promote the ICO’s agenda.
- Working autonomously to deliver cross department, Information Commissionerate wide corporate projects which contribute to the ICO’s overall strategy using independent decision making skills.
- Keep up to date with developments across ICO directorates and functions, have a breadth of knowledge across the work of the ICO and work closely with members of ICO’s ET, SLT and non-executive directors.
As the Private Secretary you will be required to respond to matters on behalf of the Information Commissioner by working with the Executive Team (ET), senior leaders and managers across the ICO to ensure that actions are congruent with organisational strategy, policy lines and legislative requirements. This includes supporting the Information Commissioner, and, from time to time, the CEO and ET at an extensive range of events and business meetings with the primary objectives of ensuring each event achieves its strategic goal and effective links are maintained between attendees and the wider office. The role will therefore require a commitment to domestic and international travel in order to support these engagements.
You will ensure that the Information Commissioner is suitably prepared for business-critical meetings. Working closely with the Head of the Commissioner’s Private Office, the CEO’s Private Office and across other Private Offices to strategically plan engagements for the Information Commissioner, wider ET and SLT as required. This will require oversight of the production of high quality and incisive briefings, often at short notice, across a diverse range of complex and sometimes sensitive subject areas. You will also be required to manage projects on behalf of the Information Commissioner, reporting progress and ensuring actions are progressed.
Key Responsibilities:
- Provide a trusted source of advice for your Information Commissioner, CEO and ET, gaining and respecting their confidence and providing appropriate challenge.
- Identify issues that could impact on the successful delivery of organisational objectives and engage with relevant internal and external stakeholders to ensure that effective approaches are adopted.
- Advise on wider political, constitutional and organisational considerations and keep abreast of key developments and issues in the wider environment as relevant to the ICO.
- Liaise with senior external stakeholders across a diverse range of public and private sectors, plus international stakeholders as required.
- Advise and make recommendations to your Information Commissioner and ICO senior management, exercising good judgement and independent decision making, often working on problems and issues as they arise.
- Deliver accurate and concise briefing papers, written reports and presentations based on information gathered from across the ICO, often involving in depth analysis and/or interpretation and application of policy and regulatory methodology relating to complex issues.
- Oversee the delivery of key external meetings and events for the Information Commissioner, providing in-person support for domestic and overseas engagements as required.
- Support the development of submissions made by senior managers and assist in enabling them to provide appropriate advice to enable strategic decision making.
- Support the communication of your Information Commissioner’s views and decisions sensitively and diplomatically where appropriate both internally and externally.
- Where required, communicate with senior, high profile external stakeholders, including the media, MPs and government departments in order to influence and promote the ICO’s agenda.
- Working autonomously to deliver cross department, Information Commissionerate wide corporate projects which contribute to the ICO’s overall strategy using independent decision making skills.
- Keep up to date with developments across ICO directorates and functions, have a breadth of knowledge across the work of the ICO and work closely with members of ICO’s ET, SLT and non-executive directors.
Person specification
Essential Criteria Assessed At Application Stage:
- Substantial experience relevant to the role requirements, as described in the role responsibilities and person specification, and accumulated through any combination of academic or vocational qualifications or experience.
- Significant experience of working in a role supporting and advising senior leaders.
- Experience in successfully interpreting, summarising and communicating complex information quickly
- Experience of developing and delivering a strategy or strategic goal
- Substantial experience in a high level representational and negotiating role
Essential Criteria Assessed During Interview:
- Ability to track and deliver varied tasks at a fast pace to tight deadlines
- Excellent knowledge of the regulatory environment and he public sector generally including the democratic, political and organisational framework
- Excellent judgement and the ability to deal with a changing environment both on a day to day and long-term basis
- Excellent verbal and written communication and presentation skills
- Significant analytical skills with the ability to assimilate information from a diverse range of sources.
- Exceptional internal and external stakeholder management skills and an ability to influence and negotiate at all levels
- Good judgement, flexibility and a high level of resilience and diplomacy when handling sensitive and confidential issues.
- Excellent organisational skills, ability to prioritise and delegate
- Ability to seek out, manage and influence opportunities for continuous improvement and change
Alongside your salary of £55,591, Information Commissioner's Office contributes £16,104 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.
Please visit ico.jobs for full details, including salary and benefits.
Selection process details
Equality, diversity, and inclusion
The ICO is committed to promoting and enhancing equality, diversity, and inclusion. We are focused on developing a workforce that is representative of the communities we serve and together we are building an inclusive workplace where all of our colleagues have the opportunity to make a real difference. We are championing this through our Equality Diversity and Inclusion Board together with a number of staff networks. Read more about our commitment on our website.
Candidates with a disability who meet the minimum criteria for this vacancy will be invited to interview as part of the ICO’s commitment to the Disability Confident Scheme.
As part of the ICO’s commitment to our EDI objectives and creating a workplace that represents the communities and societies we serve, we guarantee an interview to candidates who declare they identify as belonging from an ethnic minority background and who meet the minimum criteria for this vacancy
If you are disabled or have an impairment and require an alternative application method, please email the HR team at
[email protected]Closing Date
Please submit your CV and cover letter detailing your suitability to the role by
23:59, 31 August
We reserve the right to close this vacancy before this date should we receive sufficient applications. Please apply as soon as possible to ensure your application is considered.
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
Security
Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.
People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.
Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.
People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.
Medical
Successful candidates will be expected to have a medical.
Nationality requirements
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)
Working for the Civil Service
The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.
We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).
The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.
The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.
We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).
The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.
Diversity and Inclusion
The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).
Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.
Contact point for applicants
Job Contact :
Recruitment team
Further information
https://ico.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/ICO/details/Private-Secretary_JR586-1
