1. Rajiv Gauba served for five years as Cabinet Secretary making him longest serving cabinet secretary in history his tenure as the Cabinet Secretary of India has been extended 4 times by 1 year durations by the Appointment Committee of the Cabinet which is chaired by the Prime Minister of India.
Rajiv Gauba worked as Deputy Development Commissioner in the predominantly tribal Dumka district.
Rajiv Gauba had a tenure of nearly six years as district magistrate and collector first in Nalanda, then Muzaffarpur and in Gaya.
In 1996, Rajiv Gauba moved on deputation to the Government of India, first being posted as Director in Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
Rajiv Gauba was later appointed the Private Secretary to the then Raksha Mantri Mr George Fernandes.
Rajiv Gauba returned to the Union Government in 2009 as Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change where he set up the National Mission on Clean Ganga.
Later as Additional Secretary in Ministry of Home Affairs, Rajiv Gauba was the architect of National Action Plan to combat Left Wing Extremism which has helped to significantly contain this major internal security challenge.
Rajiv Gauba was appointed the Chief Secretary of the Government of Jharkhand by the Chief Minister of Jharkhand on 20 January 2015.
Rajiv Gauba spearheaded a number of initiatives, the most notable among them being tackling this problem through a combination of proactive policing, and developmental outreach.
Rajiv Gauba left the state when he was appointed as a Secretary in the Government of India.
Rajiv Gauba was appointed as the Union Urban Development Secretary by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet on 1 April 2016.
One of the major projects under Rajiv Gauba was the massive redevelopment project of seven general pool residential accommodations in India's capital city New Delhi which sought to renew then 12,970 existing homes with 25,667 dwelling units, at an estimated project cost of INR 32,835 crores.
Rajiv Gauba served as an officer on special duty in the rank of secretary, till Mehrishi's retirement, he formally took charge on 31 August 2017.
Rajiv Gauba is credited for significantly rationalizing the weapons and equipment procurement process for Central Armed Police Forces, removing bulging procedural layers and empowering Commandant level officers with financial powers.
Rajiv Gauba handed over charge of Home Secretary to Ajay Kumar Bhalla on 22 August 2019.
Rajiv Gauba took over as Cabinet Secretary from Pradeep Kumar Sinha on 30 August 2019 and served there till 30 August 2024.
In March 2025, Rajiv Gauba was appointed as a full-time member of NITI Aayog, India's premier think tank.