Job Description

Details

-----------


###

Reference number

399741
###

Salary

59,690
London locations may attract an allowance of 3,300 per annum.
A Civil Service Pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%
GBP
###

Job grade

Grade 7###

Contract type

Permanent###

Business area

MOD - Head Office & Corporate Services###

Type of role

Operational Delivery###

Working pattern

Flexible working, Full-time, Job share, Part-time, Compressed hours###

Number of jobs available

1

Contents

------------

Location About the job Benefits Things you need to know Apply and further information

Location

------------


City of Westminster, London (region), SW1A 2HB

About the job

-----------------

###

Job summary

The Infrastructure directorate

The Defence estate represents approximately 1.4% of the UK landmass and is one of the largest property portfolios in the UK. It is a critical enabler of Defence Capability and outputs. Managing the Defence Infrastructure Enterprise (which comprises airfields, barracks, naval bases, nuclear facilities, training areas, test ranges and housing) is a complex business which accounts for approximately 10% of the Defence budget.


As a public asset, our infrastructure must also deliver wider Governmental objectives. These include supporting economic growth, providing environmental stewardship of internationally significant landscapes, and allowing appropriate public use of the estate. 48% of the estate is over 50 years old. This impacts Defence outputs, capabilities and our ability to train our people to deliver readiness. This also affects recruitment and retention. Consequently, infrastructure is a high-profile area that is often in the news and attracts significant Ministerial interest.


Force Development sits at the heart of all the MOD's major capability and financial decisions, and is headed by the Deputy Chief of Defence Staff (Force Development). It is responsible for taking a pan-Departmental view of MOD's strategic balance of investment decisions. The Infrastructure team provides MOD's strategic planning and policy function for the Defence estate. It ensures infrastructure requirements support a coherent, balanced and affordable Defence Plan in accordance with strategic direction and that the Infrastructure Function operates coherently across Defence.


We are a friendly, diverse and inclusive directorate of just over 30 people. We are passionate about what we do. We work flexibly and we empower, develop and look after our people. This is an exciting time to join the team.

The role

The Chief of Staff role focuses on two areas. Firstly, driving the delivery of directorate priorities including directing team activity and acting as the gateway into, and out of, the Infrastructure directorate. You will also have oversight of drafting and overseeing the preparation of a broad range of briefs and high-level correspondence, drawing upon information and expertise across the whole Infrastructure team. Secondly, you hold responsibility for workforce planning, budget management and strategic planning. You will work closely with DCDS(FD)'s Chief of Staff, the Finance Business Partner and the HR Business Partner to respond to centrally commissioned taskers relating to workforce and finance, strategic planning and recruitment. The Chief of Staff manages a small team delivering business and information management support, and special projects.

###

Job description

The role will include, but is not limited to, the following responsibilities:

Driving cross-directorate priorities

Drive the delivery of directorate key outputs including management of directorate tasks and priority list & work programme. Infrastructure directorate 'front door'; triage and direct new/incoming work tasks. Secretary and member of 2 Senior Leadership Team meetings.
Act as directorate 'People Champion'.

Governance

Oversight of the secretariat responsibility of the two Infrastructure Function senior boards; the 3 Infrastructure Joint Committee and the 2Infrastructure Steering Group.

Lead drafter and primary editor for Ministerial briefs, submissions, 3

/4 external briefs and cross-government engagement

Responsible for producing initial drafts of high profile Ministerial and senior office briefings, for driving completion by the wider team SMEs, and for providing quality control ahead of 1/2sign-off. Coordinate and manage cross-government correspondence including Parliamentary Questions, Write Rounds and Treat Official.

Lead the Infrastructure Central

Team

Line manage (through direct reporting or matrix management) the Infrastructure central team of 1 x C1, 1 x C1 Fast Stream and 1 x D delivering:

Ministerial and Parliamentary business. Secretariat for the 3/2Infrastructure senior boards. Assist Director Infrastructure, DD Infrastructure and Hd DEO in senior stakeholder management. Business management, business plans and performance reporting, and business continuity. Information management and exploitation. External communications. Directorate standard operating procedures. Annual People Survey - analysis, empowerment action plan, implementation and monitoring progress. Fast Streamer and Civil Service recruitment. Secretariat support for Director Infrastructure. Management and accountability for the provision of training and induction across the directorate including mandatory training. Driving business improvement, acting on own authority to interpret policy and procedures set by MSHQ to ensure that all internal process and procedures are aligned to support Director Infrastructure in delivery of objectives.

Special Projects

Delivery of special projects as required by Director Infrastructure including:

Leading the empowerment agenda on behalf of Director Infrastructure. Away day coordination / whole team events.

This position is advertised at 37 hours per week.

###

Person specification

We are looking for a sharp, self-motivated, industrious and experienced professional. You will have the ability to think strategically and to assimilate, link and brief varied and diverse issues; preparing and directing work to directly support the Director and the two 1*s (Deputy Director Infrastructure and Head Defence Estate Optimisation). Far from just a coordination or business management role, this post requires someone with a keen and agile mind, focused on the delivery of core directorate outputs. It demands a strong communicator with polished written skills, strong stakeholder management skills and the ability to deliver high quality work at pace.


You will build strong relationships across the Military Strategic Headquarters (MSHQ), the National Armaments Director Group (NAD) and the Department of State (DoS) as well as the wider Defence community and other government departments. Excellent stakeholder engagement, communication and negotiation skills will help you manage wide-ranging stakeholder agreement, including securing senior military and SCS endorsement as required.

Skills and experience

It is essential that you have highly developed verbal and written communication skills including the ability to produce staff work with brevity, clarity, precision and impact. The post carries an important workload, concentrated on managing and communicating issues of Ministerial and cross-government importance.


Head Office experience is preferred by not essential. Outer Office, Secretarial and/or policy making experience would be highly beneficial.


The ability to work at pace, primarily alongside 2s, 1s, Deputy Heads and Assistant Heads as well as the ability to lead and develop subordinates are prerequisites.


Experience of Defence Infrastructure, and understanding of the Defence Operating Model, is desirable as is experience with business and information management processes and principles.

###

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:


Leadership Seeing the Big Picture Working Together Communicating and Influencing Making Effective Decisions

Benefits

------------


Alongside your salary of 59,690, Ministry of Defence contributes 17,292 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.
We understand the importance of life outside of work and our industry-leading flexible working practices, digital technology and modern workspaces will give you the opportunity to enjoy a healthy work-life balance. There is more information at the MOD Discover my Benefits page. Some of the many benefits you will receive include:

A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%. Flexible working policy. 25 days annual leave rising (1 day per year) to 30 days upon completion of 5 years' service. Ability to roll over up to 10 days annual leave per year. In addition to 8 public holidays per year your will also receive leave for HM The King's birthday. Minimum of 15 days Special Leave in a rolling 12-month period for volunteer military or emergency service reserve commitments. Special Paid Leave for volunteering up to 6 days per year. Enhanced parental and adoption leave. Employee Assistance Programme to support your wellbeing. Most sites have good travel links with free car parking; many also have facilities such as a Sports & Social Cub, gym and/or site shops.

Learning and Development

Access to thousands of training courses and industry qualifications through Civil Service Learning or other course providers. We encourage all team members to attend external conferences and events, developing their knowledge and sharing this across the team. We empower our staff through the way we work, providing them with the opportunity and motivation to develop professionally.

Where business needs allow, some roles may be suitable for a combination of office and home-based working. This is a non-contractual arrangement where all office-based employees will be expected to spend a minimum of 60% of their working time in office, subject to capacity and any required workplace adjustments. Requirements to attend other locations for official business, or work in another MOD office, will also count towards this level of attendance. Applicants can request further information regarding how this may work in their team from the Vacancy Holder (see advert for contact details). Defence Business Services cannot respond to any questions about working arrangements.


The post does not offer relocation expenses.


External recruits who join the MOD who are new to the Civil Service will be subject to a six-month probation period.

Please Note: Expenses incurred for travel to interviews will not be reimbursed.


Please be advised that the Department is conducting a review of all pay related allowances which could impact on those allowances that the post currently being advertised attracts.


Any move to MOD from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax-Free Childcare. Determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/.


The Ministry of Defence is committed to providing a safe and healthy working environment for its staff which includes educating them on the benefits of not smoking, protecting them from the harmful effects of second-hand smoke and supporting those who want to give up smoking. Under the Smoke-Free Working Environment policy, Smoking and the use of all tobacco products (including combustible and chewing tobacco products) will not be permitted anywhere in the Defence working environment however some exemptions are in place, please refer to local guidance. The policy is Whole Force and includes all Defence personnel, contractors, visitors and other non-MOD personnel. All applicants seeking, considering, or accepting employment with the Ministry of Defence should be aware of this policy and that it is already in place at a number of Defence Establishments.


MOD Recruitment Satisfaction Survey - We may contact you regarding your experience to help us improve our customer satisfaction. The survey is voluntary and anonymous. You may however be given the opportunity to provide additional information to help us improve our service which includes the collection of some personal data as defined by the United Kingdom General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR). The MOD Privacy Policy Notice sets out how we will use your personal data and your rights.

Things you need to know

---------------------------

###

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles , and will assess your Behaviours and Experience.
At sift, you will be assessed against the following Success Profiles:

Behaviours

Leadership (Lead Behaviour) Seeing the Big Picture Working Together Communicating and Influencing Making Effective Decisions

When choosing your Behaviour examples, please make sure you use real life scenarios that relate to your own experiences. Whilst technology may help to enhance your written submission, presenting the ideas of others or those generated by technology, could result in your application being rejected.

Experience

Candidates will be required to provide CV details to include job history; qualification details and previous skills and experience. Candidates will be required to provide a statement of suitability. (Word count: 750)

In the event of a high volume of applications the sift will be conducted on the lead behaviour (

Leadership

).


At interview, you will be assessed against the following Success Profiles:

Behaviours

Leadership Seeing the Big Picture Working Together Communicating and Influencing Making Effective Decisions

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equality of opportunity. There is a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria. If you need to advise us that you need additional help or reasonable adjustments for the recruitment process, please contact: DBSCivPers-Resourcingteam3@mod.gov.uk .


As a result of the changes to the UK immigration rules which came in to effect on 1 January 2021, the Ministry of Defence will only offer sponsorship for a skilled worker visa under the points based system, where a role has been deemed to be business critical. This role does not meet that category and we will not sponsor a visa. It is therefore NOT open to applications from those who will require sponsorship under the points based system.


Should you apply for this role and be found to require sponsorship, your application will be rejected and any provisional offer of employment withdrawn.







Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.###

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.
Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check .



See our vetting charter .
People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.###

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:


UK nationals nationals of the Republic of Ireland nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020 Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service
Further information on nationality requirements
###

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.



We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles .
The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.
The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.###

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy .

Apply and further information

---------------------------------


This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans initiative.
Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.###

Contact point for applicants

####

Job contact :

Name : Lauren Bray Email : Lauren.Bray107@mod.gov.uk
####

Recruitment team

Email : DBSCivPers-Resourcingteam3@mod.gov.uk ###

Further information

Please ensure you read the attached candidate information document prior to completing your application. If you are dissatisfied with the service you have received from DBS, or believe that DBS has failed to follow the recruitment process in line with the Civil Service Commission principles of selection for appointment on merit on the basis of Fair and Open competition, you can raise a formal complaint by writing to DBS at the following address: Defence Business Services, Scanning Hub, Room 6124, Tomlinson House, Norcross Lane, Blackpool, FY5 3WP. If after raising your complaint with DBS you remain dissatisfied you can complain directly to the Civil Service Commission at the following address: Civil Service commission, Room G/8, 1 Horse Guards Road, London, SW1A 2HQ Or by email: info@csc.gov.uk.