Christina Bainbridge - Assistant Private Secretary to Chris Leslie MP

''Hello private office, goodbye private life'' was what my colleague said to me on my first day as Assistant Private Secretary (APS) to Christopher Leslie MP - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for the Department for Constitutional Affairs and 12 hours days do seem to be the norm in Private Office.

Private office is made up of over 50 people who support 3 Junior Ministers and the Lord Chancellor. Essentially, the job of a private secretary is to support Ministers in order to deliver the Department's agenda and the Lord Chancellor's manifesto.

As an APS you need to be confident and have excellent inter-personal skills. Private Office is very busy and working effectively under pressure is key as you need to be prepared to make rapid decisions, prioritise (and re-prioritise!) and work closely in a small team. The APS can be called on to work both above and below their 'grade' and a willingness to 'muck in and get the job done' is essential. The job does sometimes require long hours but you do get to accompany the Minister on official business in the UK and abroad although this can sometimes be at weekends.

But after only a month in the role, I feel the pro's certainly outweigh the cons. No two days are the same working for a Government Minister. One morning you can be dealing with ministerial correspondence, casting a critical eye over an official's response to a letter from disgruntled constituent and the following afternoon you are sat in the box in the House of Commons listening to your Minister deliver a speech on a particularly high profile piece of policy.

Being an effective communicator is key to the role and APS's seek to facilitate communication at all levels throughout the Department, between Ministers, across Whitehall, with Parliament, with stakeholders and with the general public. In my role as APS I am 'all things to all people', a jack of all trades, knowing sufficient information about each of the different policy areas that I oversee. Having knowledge of how the mechanism of Government policy works and how Bill's progress through Parliament is advantageous and a healthy interest in politics is a must for this post.

I came into (the then) Lord Chancellor's Department in 2002 with a degree in Business Administration and was appointed as a Policy Adviser working on Tax Tribunals. I was responsible for organising training events for Magistrates and the people skills I gained from that post have been invaluable in my new role. APS's come from a diverse background and bring a variety of different skills and working in private office offers you a unique insight into the different areas of work that the Department has a responsibility to deliver.