About the job

Job summary

• Are you seeking a varied career in business support?
• Do you have an excellent attention to detail?

If so, the Business Administration Level 3 Apprenticeship is for you.

Join Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) to launch your business operations career and become part of the support behind the science.

You will share our values collaboration, innovation and impact which are at the heart of everything we do. You don’t need to be scientific or technical to shine…instead you will have the opportunity to pro-actively offer suggestions to improve processes and enjoy on the job learning.

Starting your journey in a cohort of like-minded individuals you will become part of the Optimisation and Development Group (ODG) within Operations. Being supported by your friendly Team Leader you will experience a variety of work to develop skills in:

• Business administration
• Project management
• Scheduling and
• Process management

Your current situation?

You may have never worked in an office, you may be finishing sixth form, leaving the armed forces, looking for a career change or not enjoying your current studies. No matter what your current situation is, if you are at least 18 years old you can become part of our Business Operations cohort starting in September 2024.

What’s next?

Once you have completed your apprenticeship, if you have demonstrated the required behaviours, we will support you in applying for a permanent position at Dstl, or with another apprenticeship. Your career may lead to roles in project support and ultimately project management.

Job description

In this role you will:

• Lern the essential support operations provide to the hands on science and technology delivery within Dstl.
• Develop your skills in record and document production
• Suggest ways to improve processes and find solutions
• Work on tasks independently and within a team
• Spend 20% of your time learning virtually with our training provider
• Use safe working practices ensuring that you and your colleagues report on any unsafe practices, no matter how big or small. You will follow safety guidelines, respecting and contributing to a strong Dstl safety culture.

A full list of responsibilities can be found in the attached job profile on CS Jobs

Person specification

We are looking for someone who has:

• Good communication skills – both verbal and written
• Willingness to adapt as business priorities change
• The ability to prioritise tasks and manage time effectively with support

A full list is available on CS Jobs

You will possess these essential skills:

• Familiarity with Microsoft packages including Word, PowerPoint, Outlook and Excel
• Willingness to learn and improve skills in Microsoft and other software packages

Concerned you don’t know enough on every Microsoft product but willing to learn? Please apply

Important Information

Our work in defence, security and intelligence requires our employees to be UK Nationals who are able to gain a high level of security clearance to undertake the projects we are involved in to protect us from security threats. For this reason, only UK Nationals will be able to apply for this role. If you are an international or dual-national candidate and you think you have the skills we need, please consider applying to any of our government, security or defence partners.

 This role will require full UK security clearance and you should have resided in the UK for the past 5 years. You must be at least 18 years old in September 2024 to undertake this apprenticeship.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £21,131, Defence Science and Technology Laboratory contributes £5,705 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.

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

We want you to have your best chance of success in our recruitment process, so If at any stage of the application process you would like help or assistance please contact the Dstl Recruitment Team dstlrecruitment@dstl.gov.uk and we will do all we can to support you.

Applications will be reviewed the week commencing 19th February 2024 and interview will take place from 4th March 2024.

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

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 (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.

This job is not open to candidates who hold a dual nationality.

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.