Diary Manager

Leeds, London
Job Summary
We are MHCLG
Do you have excellent organisational and prioritisation skills with the ability to manage your workload autonomously?
Are you able to deliver at pace with agility and flexibility? Do you have excellent attention to detail and coordination skills?
If so, we have exciting opportunities for Diary Managers to join teams at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), working directly with Ministers and Senior Officials in the heart of government - and we'd love to hear from you!
We are looking for enthusiastic, driven candidates to join Private Office as a Diary Manager to Ministers and Director Generals. The role requires excellent organisation and coordination, sound judgement, attention to detail and the confidence to challenge where needed.
At application and interview stage you will be asked to share a preference to work in Ministerial or Director General Private Offices. There are four positions available – two will be working in Ministerial Private Office based in London, one will be working in a Director General Private Office based in London and one will be working in a Director General Private Office based in Leeds or London.
Job Description
As the Diary Manager your responsibilities will include:
Working closely with the Minister or Director General and understanding their needs and priorities and ensuring their time is used strategically, efficiently and in line with departmental and governmental priorities
Supporting the smooth running of the diary, managing and prioritising conflicting requests for meetings.
Compiling and organising daily briefings for meetings and events to support private secretaries, including external visits
Managing invitations from external stakeholders, commissioning advice from policy officials as needed to help prioritise.
Building excellent relationships with other Private Secretaries from Ministers, SpAds and Director General offices, and policy colleagues across the department.
Organise any domestic and international travel arrangements, including flights, accommodation, transportation and itinerary planning.
Coordinating meetings, including booking rooms, managing logistics and liaising with other Private Offices, senior officials and external stakeholders.
Supporting further corporate and discrete pieces of office business as required.
As The Diary Manager Your Responsibilities Will Include
Working closely with the Minister or Director General and understanding their needs and priorities and ensuring their time is used strategically, efficiently and in line with departmental and governmental priorities
Supporting the smooth running of the diary, managing and prioritising conflicting requests for meetings.
Compiling and organising daily briefings for meetings and events to support private secretaries, including external visits
Managing invitations from external stakeholders, commissioning advice from policy officials as needed to help prioritise.
Building excellent relationships with other Private Secretaries from Ministers, SpAds and Director General offices, and policy colleagues across the department.
Organise any domestic and international travel arrangements, including flights, accommodation, transportation and itinerary planning.
Coordinating meetings, including booking rooms, managing logistics and liaising with other Private Offices, senior officials and external stakeholders.
Supporting further corporate and discrete pieces of office business as required.
Person specification
Proven ability to manage logistics and operations in a fast-paced, high-pressure environment.
Excellent organisational skills with strong attention to detail.
Sound judgement and ability to prioritise competing demands effectively, knowing when to escalate issues.
Strong communication and interpersonal skills, with confidence dealing with senior stakeholders.
High levels of discretion, integrity and professionalism.
Ability to remain calm, flexible and responsive under pressure, including outside normal working hours when required.
Strong team-working skills and a willingness to be flexible to meet business needs.
For Ministerial Office roles, a Private Secretary allowance is eligible.
Contact point for applicants
Name : Sara Ahmed (Director General Private Office) and Victoria Peace (Ministerial Private Office)
Email: sara.ahmed@communities.gov.uk ; victoria.peace@communities.gov.uk
Alongside your salary of £31,402, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government contributes £9,097 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).
At MHCLG we offer many benefits that range from tailored career pathways and flexible working to MyLifestyle Staff Benefits Scheme, Childcare Vouchers, and Cycle to Work Schemes. For more information, please click here.
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.
Selection process details
Application and Selection
The application process will be split into 2 stages, testing the following Success Profiles:
Behaviours , Experience , Strengths
Stage 1: Sift (CV & Cover Letter)
Experience: In your CV and covering letter (of no more than 500 words), please include:
Which role you are interested in; Ministerial (London based), DG (London based) or DG (London or Leeds based).
Why you are interested in the role.
How you meet the essential skills and experience required
Please ensure your CV does not contain any personally identifiable information.
We do not consider CV applications sent directly to our inbox. All applications must be submitted via the provided application link.
Important: Your CV and Cover Letter must be merged into a single document before uploading.
If you run into any technical problems when applying through Be Applied (for example, trouble logging in or submitting your application), their support team can help. Please contact them at hello@beapplied.com.
Stage 2: Interview
Behaviours: Working Together, Managing a Quality Service, Delivering at Pace
Strengths: The strength-based questions will require natural responses from the candidates
Sift and Interview Dates
Sifting is envisaged to take place the week commencing 19/10/26.
Interviews are envisaged to take place the week commencing 02/11/26 and are currently being held remotely via videocall. This could be subject to change.
Private Secretary Allowance
Employees appointed to eligible Private Secretary roles (Assistant Private Secretaries, Private Secretaries and Principal Private Secretaries) within Ministerial or Permanent Secretary offices are eligible for a Private Secretary allowance.
The allowance is currently 15% of basic salary and is payable in recognition of the additional responsibilities and working patterns associated with Private Office roles.
Disability Confident Scheme (DCS)
We are a Disability Confident employer.
We apply a fair and proportionate interview process for all candidates. In line with our commitment to the Disability Confident Scheme (DCS), we aim to progress candidates who apply under the Disability Confident Scheme and meet the required minimum selection criteria.
However, where high application volumes are received, progression to interview may be limited to those who best meet the role criteria. In these circumstances, the benchmark required to proceed to interview may be raised for all candidates.
How We Recruit
Find out more about our recruitment processes here.
Applying
Sifting
Interview
Interview Results & Feedback
Reserve List
Near Miss
Civil Service Grades
We are a DCS, RIS & GPTWV employer
Reasonable Adjustments
How To Apply
Find out everything you need to know before applying here.
You must review the following information from the MHCLG Career's Site before submitting your application. This step is essential to ensure your eligibility for the role and that your application is completed correctly.
Security Clearance Requirements
Civil Service Nationality Requirements
Right to Work
Civil Service Code and Recruitment Principles
CV Declaration
Sponsorships
Salary and Grade
Existing Civil Servants
Conflict of Interest
Location and Flexible Working
Internal Fraud Database
Appeal

Work arrangement
Yes