About the job

Job summary

Established in 2020, the National Cyber Force (NCF) is responsible for operating in and through cyberspace to counter, disrupt, degrade and contest those who would do harm to the UK or its allies and to keep the country safe, protecting and promoting the UK's interest at home and abroad. The NCF is a defence and intelligence partnership, bringing together expertise, resources to deliver against a broad range of outcomes in the interest of national security, from the tactical through to the strategic. The NCF is establishing its future Headquarters in Salmesbury, Lancashire.

Our people are at the heart of everything we do. Our vision is to have an empowered, productive, personally and professionally fulfilled workforce. Whatever your role, we take your career and development seriously. We want to enable you to build a successful career with the Department and broader Civil Service. We are committed to understanding, respecting and representing as broad a range of views and backgrounds as we have in UK society. We that diverse perspectives and experiences are critical to an effective modern Civil Service.

This position is advertised at 37 hours per week. 

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. 

Job description

The successful candidate will be supported by a team of experts from each of the partner organisations and work alongside members of the People Ops Leadership Team.

Key to this role is overseeing NCF partner organisations interaction at a strategic level to align and encourage the creation of new policies and processes for cyber careers and professions. Key to this role will be delivering upon the NCF's workforce ambition in Salmesbury and broader organisational growth.

Responsibilities for the role will include;

• Leading the Workforce Delivery and Policy Team
• Developing and delivering the strategic, corporate workforce plan to inform and enable the multi-year strategic plan.
• Overseeing the development and implementation of cross-force people, policies and processes.
• Engaging and influencing senior stakeholders across Defence and the Intelligence community to ensure their approaches directly support the workforce requirements of the NCF.
• Act as an adviser to Comander NCF, Chief Operating Officer and Deputy Director People Capability- on workforce issues and brief senior internal stakeholders on HR polices, processes and issues as they arise.
• Oversee the use of HR data and understand how it can impact/influence decision making.
• Support the continued success of the team by mentoring, managing, leading and rewarding employees.

This position will be based in the North West from Spring 2025, dependant on progress of the new headquarters. As such, the incumbents permanent place of work will be the in the North West of England. As plans are finalised some flexibility will be required but we will work with you to ensure business and personal needs are balanced, where possible, whilst working within current policy.

Person specification

As the ideal candidate you will be a natural collaborator and have an eye for detail. You will be someone who can understand complex topics and consider potential benefits and challenges prior to their large scale implementation. Moreover, you will be comfortable introducing new ways of working and resolving challenges with multiple partners in a constructive way and using effective communication. You will be able to provide succinct advice and guidance to staff, acting s a credible challenger and critical friend.

Experience

• The ideal candidate will also have a background in HR/Strategic workforce planning and hold a CIPD associate qualification or higher.
• Experience of working with UKIC or in a national security context would be desirable
• Experience of leading cross-functional teams is essential
• Confidence in briefing, alongside strong written and verbal skills are essential
• Experience of working or leading within a HR context is desirable.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £57,670, Ministry of Defence contributes £15,570 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

Things you need to know

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours and 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: 500)  

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

• Leadership
• Delivery at Pace
• Seeing the Big Picture
• Communicating and Influencing
• Making Effective Decisions

The successful candidate must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed in Enhanced Developed Vetting, further details can be found below.

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 into 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.  

The role currently being advertised has not been assessed as business critical and 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 developed vetting (opens in a new window).

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

Nationality requirements

Open to UK nationals only.

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) 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 (opens in a new window). 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.