Head of Private Office
| Job Type | Contract |
| Location | Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds, London, Manchester, Nottingham, Norw |
| Area | Uk-wide, UK |
| Sector | Central Government |
| Salary | £550 Per Day |
| Start Date | September 15th, 2026 |
| Advertiser | Ashley Price |
| Job Ref | 7689-PSR1JP00105781 |
| IR35 | Inside |
| Security Clearance | SC |
- Description
- The Client:
A government client is looking for a Head of Private Office to join them on a 6 month contract. This position will be based in Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds, London, Manchester, Nottingham, Norwich or Swindon.
Job Summary:
The client is the largest property holder in government, with more than £2.1 billion in property assets and over 55% of the government’s office estate.
We are transforming the way the Civil Service works by creating great places to work, leading the largest commercial office programme in the UK, working towards halving carbon emissions from government offices, and achieving greater value for taxpayers. And we are looking for innovative, solutions-focused people to join our team.
To act as the strategic engine and trusted advisor to the Director and the guardian of the Directorate’s delivery. You are responsible for ensuring the Director’s priorities are driven forward, integrating business operations, advising on sensitive issues and ensuring consistent join up across the wider business ensuring digital tools are optimised across the organisation. This role requires you to provide independent advice, challenge assumptions and manage the interface between the director, their executive team and external stakeholders.
We are looking for an experienced Business Integrator who understands how a complex organisation functions and how digital tools can support these functions. You will bring broad experience in operations, strategy and finance to act as the Director’s Critical Friend.
This is a recruitment for multiple vacancies across our directorates - Strategy, Investment, capital projects, Workplace Services, finance and COO. Upon appointment, successful candidates will be mapped to the role that best aligns with their individual skills, experience, and professional strengths.
Key Responsibilities
Strategic advice and decision support
- Act as a sounding board and independent challenger to the Director. You are expected to provide input and challenge on complex issues, testing the Director's thinking before ideas are presented to ExCo or the Board.
- Provide high-quality, timely, and accurate advice on sensitive issues. You must anticipate how the Director's decisions will land with Ministers, the Permanent Secretary, and the CEO, navigating conflicting views and priorities on the Director's behalf.
- Operate with the trust of the Director. You will attend meetings and make decisions in their absence, ensuring the Directorate’s momentum is maintained without the Director needing to be in every room.
- Responsible for briefing the director on problems before they become crises, working with other heads of office to solve issues laterally.
- You will implement consistent and contemporary data collaboration tools across the directorate to facilitate agile cross directorate collaboration.
Strategic Alignment
- Understand, articulate and drive forward client priorities within the Directorate. Ensuring the strategic priorities are clearly translated into the Directorate’s plans.
- You act as the bridge, preventing the Directorate from operating in a silo.
- Act as the final quality gate for all submissions and papers. You ensure they meet the corporate standards.
- Maintain a 6-12 month forward look, anticipating emerging risks or cross-cutting issues that the Director and CEO’s office needs to be aware of, and briefing the team proactively.
Functional Leadership & Standards
- Implement the private office standards within your Directorate. This includes enforcing consistent processes for commissioning, correspondence, and reporting to ensure that the directorate operates with organisational and management excellence
- Work with the CEO’s Chief of Staff to manage resources across the wider function. If another area is under pressure, you facilitate the flexing of your office’s resources to support the wider agency.
- Lead the professional development of the Directorate’s support staff, ensuring the SEO and EOs have clear development plans and ensure staff are proactive.
Operational Delivery & Digital Optimisation
- Drive forward and improve the standard agility behind information gathering and report writing through the agency’s Digital Ecosystem within the Directorate. You ensure the Director and the support teams are utilising consistent and agreed AI tools, shared CRMs, and automated trackers to drive efficiency.
- Oversee the Directorate’s operational machinery, including budget management, workforce planning, and gift/hospitality compliance, ensuring full adherence to central governance.
- Leading any special projects the Director may wish for you to undertake on their behalf.
- Actively participate in business planning on behalf of the Director.
Stakeholder Management & Decision Making
- Act as the primary point of communication between the director and the wider agency, ensuring information moves smoothly and accurately.
- Represent the Director in internal working groups and with senior stakeholders. You are empowered to make decisions within parameters agreed with the Director.
- Actively collaborate with other Heads of Office to resolve friction between Directorates without needing to escalate to the Directors.
Person Specification
- We are looking for a digitally optimised and authoritative individual who thrives in a fast-paced environment to lead the private office of a Director. You will be a confident communicator capable of giving direction at all levels, managing the flow of complex commissions, and setting the standard in your directorate, utilising the latest AI and collaboration tools to ensure seamless information exchange across the agency
Essential criteria:
- Experience of evaluating the effectiveness of interventions and providing recommendations to senior leaders. You must be able to think beyond the immediate Directorate to the wider Government context.
- Credibility with senior stakeholders is essential.
- Experience of advising and influencing senior stakeholders despite having no direct line management over them.
- The ability to manage uncertainty and ambiguity, making logical decisions even when the path forward is not clear.
- experience working in a strategic or managerial role with a track record of connecting different parts of a business
- Experience of analysing and resolving complex challenges that span organisational boundaries
- A digital leader, demonstrably proficient in the use of AI tools, agents and contemporary collaboration software.
- Experience of working in a fast paced environment, including experience of diary management and meeting organisation.
- An unwavering commitment to ethical conduct.As the strategic advisor, you will be privy to the Director's most sensitive concerns; maintaining their trust is paramount.
- The willingness to speak truth to power—telling the Director what they need to hear, not just what they want to hear
- High levels of emotional intelligence and political acumen.
- Experience of leading a high performing team
- Knowledge and understanding of the wider civil service system
Desirable criteria:
- An understanding of the machinery of government
- Experience of Private Office
Desirable
- Project management - APM.
An active SC clearance is required for this role. At a minimum, candidates must be eligible and willing to undergo security clearance. Due to the short-term nature of the contract and the urgency of the requirement, the client may prioritise applicants who already hold active SC clearance and meet all essential criteria.
Our Company:
Malikshaw Interim & Executive is a specialist provider of talent management solutions helping our clients transform the delivery of our public services. As an Equal Opportunities Employer, we combine providing the best talent with delivering diverse, inclusive workforces and particularly encourage applications from candidates who are likely to be underrepresented. These include people from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds, disabled people, LGBTQI+ people, and women.
How to Apply:
Please apply through the link provided to send your application directly to the Recruiter managing this assignment.
If you qualify for any of the above, please notify us on your covering letter and your recruiter will confirm if the client is a member. We will then be in touch to discuss your suitability and arrange your Guaranteed Interview.
Should you require reasonable adjustments at any point during the recruitment process or if there is a more accessible way for us to communicate, please do let me know.
- Act as a sounding board and independent challenger to the Director. You are expected to provide input and challenge on complex issues, testing the Director's thinking before ideas are presented to ExCo or the Board.
