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Home Working in government Personal Effectiveness Introduction to working in private office

Introduction to working in private office

Align your day-to-day work to your minister's strategic priorities OR provide high-quality, strategic support to your minister to help them achieve their priorities
Navigate any potential challenges you may face in acting as the bridge between ministers and the department
Collaborate with private office colleagues across government, based on networks and relationships built during the course

Overview

Off the shelf (OTS)

This 2 hour in-person course is aimed at civil servants working in private office for the first time. It will provide the foundational knowledge and skills you need to thrive working in private office. You will explore why ministers need a private office and what ministers' basic and strategic expectations are of you in your role. You will also examine what the department expects of private office and spend time exploring some of the challenges you might face in working with two different audiences and techniques you can use to resolve this to provide high quality support to both. You will have the opportunity to speak and meet with other new private office staff across government and share perspectives and experiences with each other. By the end of the session, you will be able to:

1) Describe why ministers need a private office.

2) Explain what ministers and the department need private office to do.

3) Identify the potential challenges you may face in working with two different audiences and generate techniques to manage any tensions and provide high quality support to both.

4) Build networks with private office colleagues from across government This course is based on extensive research and interviews with ministers reflecting on their experiences of working with their private offices, as well as in-depth experience with private offices across government over the years.