Strategic Secretariat
| Posting date: | 04 August 2025 |
|---|---|
| Salary: | £33,590 to £40,170 per year |
| Additional salary information: | National: £33,590 - £36,000 London: £37,480- £40,170 plus industry leading pension and benefits. For details of our pay on appointment policy, please see below under the heading ‘Salary’. |
| Hours: | Full time |
| Closing date: | 18 August 2025 |
| Location: | Newcastle-upon-Tyne |
| Company: | Government Recruitment Service |
| Job type: | Permanent |
| Job reference: | 420234/3 |
Summary
Defra is the UK government department responsible for safeguarding our natural environment, supporting our world-leading food and farming industry, and sustaining a thriving rural economy. Our broad remit means we play a major role in people's day-to-day life, from the food we eat, and the air we breathe, to the water we drink.LinkedIn
In this role you will enable the smooth running of the Chief Operating Officer’s Office by supporting with project management processes, co-ordination of business management actions and activities, and owning commissions and briefings.
You will be required to ensure the highly effective running of the DSET (Digital Strategy, Engagement and Transformation) function ,support the leadership team and continue to embed new matrix ways of working. This will include providing a secretariat function for key forums, as well as supporting the Chief Digital Officer to manage the high volume of commissions, briefings and meetings. This will also provide an independent assessment and confirmation that the digital transformation programme is on track, that it is being appropriately managed and that its activities and business rationale remain aligned to the organisation’s objectives.
This role will coordinate and manage urgent requests from senior corporate functions to ensure that they are coordinated and responded to by the appropriate persons in the DSET leadership or function as well as with other senior leaders across DDTS and Defra Strategic Change Director.
Digital, Data, Technology and Security (DDTS) is the trusted team for digital across the entire Defra Group.
We have around 1000 colleagues across DDTS and our ambition is to make it easier and faster than ever for people to interact with Defra. If you are ready to drive innovation and push boundaries, we want to hear from you. Join us and together we will create a great place for living, and a green and healthy future for all.
Find out more about DDTS:
Defra digital, data and technology blog
Defra Jobs
The role of the Strategic Secretariat covers a diverse range of activities including providing a high-quality service for your portfolio area, taking a key role in driving delivery and ensuring coherence across the senior leadership team.In this role you will enable the smooth running of the Chief Operating Officer’s Office by supporting with project management processes, co-ordination of business management actions and activities, and owning commissions and briefings.
You will be required to ensure the highly effective running of the DSET (Digital Strategy, Engagement and Transformation) function ,support the leadership team and continue to embed new matrix ways of working. This will include providing a secretariat function for key forums, as well as supporting the Chief Digital Officer to manage the high volume of commissions, briefings and meetings. This will also provide an independent assessment and confirmation that the digital transformation programme is on track, that it is being appropriately managed and that its activities and business rationale remain aligned to the organisation’s objectives.
This role will coordinate and manage urgent requests from senior corporate functions to ensure that they are coordinated and responded to by the appropriate persons in the DSET leadership or function as well as with other senior leaders across DDTS and Defra Strategic Change Director.
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