About the job

Job summary

Queen Victoria School is an independent full-boarding school within Scottish Education. 

We are seeking a Geography Teacher (Maternity cover), from August 2024 until the end of June 2025.

The Teacher of Geography (Maternity) will be the sole teacher of the subject and will be responsible for teaching Geography in S1-S3 and then at National 4/5 Level in S4, Higher in S5/6 and, if possible, Environmental Science at S5/6 level.

This position is advertised at 35 hours per week.

Applicants should be experienced in delivering National 5 and Higher Geography within Scottish Education and must be registered with the General Teaching Council for Scotland ,GTCS (this is a statutory requirement).

Job description

Duties and Responsibilities of Teachers

The duties of all teachers include the following:

1. Teaching assigned classes and having good classroom management.
2. Assisting in the development of the Geography curriculum
3. Assessing, tracking/monitoring and reporting
4. Presentation of pupils for National Qualifications as required.
5. Supporting young people, as part of a team, on Safeguarding and wellbeing matters.
6. Willingness to contribute to boarding life.
7. All full-time, permanent QVS Teachers are also Boarding Tutors. This requires one duty evening per week of 4 hours and 8 weekend days per academic year (8 hours per day). Part-time and temporary teachers can apply to be Boarding Tutors. Boarding Tutors are paid an additional Boarding School Allowance.

If you need to contact Defence Business Services (DBS) regarding this vacancy, please indicate that your vacancy is being handled by Resourcing Team 1. 

If you experience any technical difficulties with the CS Jobs system, please contact the Support Team at candidate@support.oleeo.com 

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. 

This is a Fixed-term Appointment as a Teacher of Geography in the Queen Victoria School. Your responsibilities will be as described in this job advert. The reason why you are appointed for a fixed period is due Maternity cover. This post will therefore begin on your appointment and end 12 months after that date OR will end on 31/06/2025. You should be aware that when your Fixed-term Appointment at MOD comes to an end, arrangements will be made in line with the FTA policy. 

If you are a permanent MoD civil servant and are found successful for an advertised Fixed-term Appointment (FTA) you should move into the post under a Temporary Transfer (for up to a maximum of 3 years). At the end of the posting you will return to your previous MoD Business area. If this posting is at a higher grade, your promotion will be temporary, and you will return to your substantive grade at the end of the Temporary Transfer. If a Temporary Transfer cannot be agreed between all parties then a transfer on an FTA contract is possible, read the FTA and Change of Work Location in the UK policy for further information. 

If you are transferring to MoD from another government department (OGD) you should join the MoD on an inward loan. At the end of the loan you will return to your home (OGD) department. If a loan cannot be agreed between all parties then a transfer on an FTA contract is possible, read the FTA policy for further information

Person specification

Leading Learning, Raising attainment & Achievement, Supporting Learners, Working Together - see the attached Job Pack for details.

Benefits

As a QVS employee you will become a MOD Civil Servant. As a teacher, you will also be a member of the General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS). As such, you will be part of a forward-looking organisation with inclusive workplace policies and prides itself on being a supportive employer.

Other benefits for QVS/MOD Civil Servants and members of the GTCS include:

• Highly competitive salary (SNCT scale), SPPA pension scheme and other wider MOD benefits - Civilian Discover My Benefits (mod.gov.uk)
• Personal and professional development opportunities.
• Access to the Employee Assistance Programme (EAP), a free service that assists you with achieving a productive, healthy environment that is conducive to a healthy lifestyle.
• On campus car parking.
• Access to excellent sports facilities, including a multi-gym.
• Very favourable teacher/pupil ratio.

This post does not offer any assistance with relocation allowances.  

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.  

Please note: Interview travel expenses will not be reimbursed.  

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/   

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 Notice sets out how we will use your personal data and your rights. 

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 by 31st December 2022. 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.

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. 

Things you need to know

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Experience and Technical skills.

At sift, you will be assessed on your personal statement, CV and the 4 Technical Skills these being (Leading Learning, Raising Attainment and Achievement, Supporting Learners, Working Together).

At the interview you will be assessed on 4 Technical Skills and Experience outlined in the job advert. You will also be expected to show evidence of outstanding teaching and complete a subject/classroom-based task.

The sift will take place on 11th June 2024. Interview dates will be held on 18th/19th June 2024 .

DCS is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all the children and young people in our care and expect all applicants to share this commitment. We follow safe recruitment practices and hold ourselves to a high standard of effective recruiting practices with specific attention to child protection.

All appointments are subject to an interview, identity checks, criminal record checks and successful references. Where possible references are taken up before interview.

Successful candidates must undergo a Disclosure Scotland and Criminal Record Check.

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.

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 Notice sets out how we will  use your personal data and your rights.

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

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check. 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) (opens in a new window)
• 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 (opens in a new window)

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.