About the job

Job summary

The Ministry of Defence employs over 50,000 Civil Servants. Within that, the Army Top Level Budget (TLB) employs around 7,000 MOD Civil Servants located at over 300 locations. Ours is a diverse workforce, with roles ranging from trainers, human resources, teachers, and psychologists to storekeepers, financiers, project and programme managers, and policy secretariat staff. There are many different functions and professions delivering key outputs for the Army.  As such support to training future Army officers is vital.

The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst trains around 1,000 British Army and International officers a year. You would be working in the academic Faculty of Leadership, Security and Warfare, which provides a key intellectual element in an officer’s education. In the Faculty, you would be working alongside over 40 academics split into three departments: Communication and Applied Behavioural Science, Defence and International Affairs and War Studies. These departments, in partnership with the University of Reading and the Henley Business School, deliver the first year of either a MSc or BSc programme in Leadership and Strategic Studies as part of the Army Higher Education Pathway (AHEP).

The Communication and Applied Behavioural Science Department (CABS) is looking to recruit a lecturer into its team of dedicated and motivated academics. Do you have a background in leadership, behavioural or social sciences, with a passion for applying your expertise in real world settings to deliver high impact teaching that makes a difference? Are you keen to play an active role applying your knowledge to shape the British Army officers of the future? If so, the Faculty of Leadership, Warfare and Security at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst want to hear from you. We have an exciting opportunity for you to join our Department.  

We are passionate about Smarter Working and believe that a combination of flexible working practices, digital technology and modern workspaces will give you the opportunity to enjoy a healthy work-life balance, while ensuring you deliver your outcomes effectively and efficiently. We expect you to know where to be to have the most impact, balancing your individual needs with that of your team and organisation. However, recognising the benefits of face-to-face working, especially for new joiners, there is an expectation that you would be in the office at least 60% of the time.

This position is advertised at 37 hours per week.

Job description

This stimulating role will see you preparing and delivering teaching at both the undergraduate and postgraduate level. You will take a driving role in understanding how humans operate in the complex environment of modern warfare and the part that leadership, behavioural and social sciences play in preparing British Army officers with the agile attitude required to master this environment. The CABS syllabus is crafted to provide useful insights and practical techniques to aid personal leadership and awareness of others.

 

You will be working at Sandhurst, which is a world-renowned leadership academy, with a reputation for producing outstanding leaders. Sandhurst is the hub of a global network with connections and collaboration with prestigious academic organisations in the UK and globally. You would be offered the opportunity to take part in applied academic work on field training exercises across Europe and deliver academic courses to military audiences worldwide.

 

CABS encourage research in the disciplines of leadership, behavioural science, psychology, sociology, conflict resolution and defence studies.  The role is mainly a teaching one and you would lead and facilitate seminars of student syndicates, normally of around 12 students. You would therefore need to have a strong commitment to teaching, research energy and a desire to publish. Personal development is supported and encouraged. This would be individually tailored but might include support for doctoral studies, teaching qualifications, research sabbaticals and access to a first-class onsite library to assist research.

 

CABS recognises the importance of diversity and inclusion as people from diverse backgrounds bring fresh ideas. We are committed to building an inclusive working environment in which each employee fulfils their potential and maximises their contribution.

Person specification

Senior Lecturers in CABS are required to:

 

1. Deliver leadership, behavioural and social psychology teaching in an applied setting at postgraduate and/or undergraduate level, with the enthusiasm to further apply this in a military context.
2. Research relevant subjects and deliver publish outcomes.
3. Be Self-motivated to conduct both professional and personal administration.
4. Have excellent communication skills to perform additional academic support tasks; e.g. overseas lecturing, conferences and professional advice/workshops within      Defence.
5. Undertake continued professional development and a willingness to up-skill in emerging areas and to be prepared to work outside your immediate area of expertise.

 

Please note this is a civil service role. Within the civil service the role is at senior lecturer level, however anyone with the qualifications above are encouraged to apply.

 

Essential:

A post-graduate qualification in one of the following disciplines: Leadership and Management, Behavioural Science, Psychology, Sociology, Conflict Resolution/Conflict Studies, Defence/Military Studies.

If you do not have a PhD, a Masters in one of the above disciplines and equivalent experience is also acceptable. An example of experience equivalent to a PhD could be a relevant Masters qualification followed by a number of years’ post-graduate experience working in a leadership, behavioural or social sciences team, or a teaching/training role. We recognise there are several potential pathways to an academic career so welcome applications from people who might have developed their expertise from a variety of routes.

 

Desirable:

Teaching qualification, with a view to working towards a Level 7 qualification.

 

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £43,080, Ministry of Defence contributes £11,631 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.

At application and interview you will be assessed against the following behaviours:

• Changing and Improving
• Leadership
• Communicating and Influencing
• Working Together

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.

Candidates will be required to provide a statement of suitability (500 words)

You are advised to use the STAR process to illustrate your behaviours.

Sifting will take place WC 19th August.

Interviews will take place WC 9th September.

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. 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.