About the job

Job summary

Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) is an Executive Agency of the Ministry of Defence providing specialist Science and Technology research, advice and analysis. We are innovative, impactful and collaborative, utilising world-class expertise to deliver high impact science and ground breaking technology for the defence, security and prosperity of the UK.

As Chief People Officer, you will play a significant role in transforming the workforce to support the implementation of Dstl’s new strategy and ambition to deliver greater impact at increased pace, focusing on our stakeholders’ most important challenges.

Are you are a HR leader confident in leading change at both significant scale and complexity? Then we would love to hear from you.

Job description

The current responsibilities of the role include:

• Leading on the organisation’s review of its operating model and organisation design and the implementation of a revised model and organisational structure. Readying the organisation for this change and ensuring the change management aspects are given full consideration; enhancing capability and setting the direction and expectations required of this capability, helping to develop a workforce that is more welcoming of change.
• Leading the organisation’s One Dstl programme aimed at developing a ‘One Dstl within One Defence’ mindset and driving loyalty to the organisation at large. Supporting the development of a much enhanced safety culture and safety practices.
• Acting as the HR Business Partner to the Chief Executive, supporting them in ensuring there is an effective set of incentives and appropriate performance management to drive delivery of strategy, safe operations and overall performance.
• Leading the development and implementation of Dstl People Strategy, placing people at the heart of delivering the new organisation strategy.
• Leading the development and implementation of Dstl Strategic Workforce Plan aligned to the Dstl S&T Capability Strategy, addressing future capability requirements across the whole organisation and aligned with direction from MOD, ensuring we have the skilled people across Dstl to ensure we deliver.
• Developing and implementing a strategic-level approach to talent management, ensuring key talent is identified, utilised and supported and that succession plans for key roles are current and credible.
• Provide strong leadership of Dstl’s People Division and its Senior Leadership Team and build an impactful team, with clear roles and responsibilities that work effectively together and with other areas of the organisation. Modernise and develop the organisation’s people practices and processes, with a focus on digitisation and the development of robust people data.
• Developing and implementing a Dstl Communications Strategy aligned to the Dstl Strategy and focused on driving a change in attitudes and behaviours among key stakeholder groups.
• Developing a business plan for the People Division, aligned to the Dstl Strategy and People Strategy that ensures individual efforts are aligned to strategic direction and that the capabilities required of the People Division also align.
• Representing Dstl and working closely with the Senior Civil Service HR Community within MOD and across the Civil Service.
• Being an Executive Director for Dstl, championing its vision, mission, strategy and values, and the delivery of wider Civil Service direction.
• Lead the wider organisation with Executive Team colleagues, including contributing to cross-organisational corporate initiatives and the management of Corporate-level risks.

Person specification

You must be able to demonstrate your experience and skills against the following essential criteria:

• An inspiring, confident and empowering leader who is able to provide visible, strong leadership that can motivate, engage and get the best out of diverse teams and develop staff at all levels.
• Proven experience in leading a significant HR function, shaping its direction and building high performing, high impact teams.
• Demonstrable ability to build a strong network of collaborative relationships with stakeholders across business areas with the ability to build confidence.
• Experience in Organisational Design, Change and/or Transformation to drive forward organisational change and improvement, in a complex or ambiguous environment to improve workforce productivity and efficiency whilst managing associated risk.
• Strong understanding of strategic workforce planning with the ability to build capability across an organisation to ensure it has the skills to deliver future strategies.
• Chartered Fellow or fully qualified member (Level 7) of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), equivalent professional qualification or HR knowledge or willing to work towards accreditation.

Benefits

• Learning and development tailored to your role
• An environment with flexible working options
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
• A Civil Service pension with an average employer contribution of 27%

Things you need to know

Selection process details

To apply for this post, you will need to complete the online application process accessed via the advertisement listed for this role. This should be completed no later than 23:55pm on Sunday 25th February 2024 and will involve providing the two documents outlined below via the Civil Service Jobs portal:

• A CV (no more than 2 pages) setting out your career history, with key responsibilities and achievements. Please ensure you have provided reasons for any gaps within the last two years.
• A Personal Statement (no more than 2 pages) explaining how your personal skills, qualities and experience provide evidence of your suitability for the role. 

Both documents are weighted equally in their scoring, so it's important to consider this when uploading your application. Failure to submit both documents will mean the panel only have limited information on which to assess your application against the criteria in the person specification. 

For further information about the role and full application process, please refer to the candidate pack attached below. If you wish to receive any material in a different format for accessibility, then please contact People-CivHR-SCSCandidateSupport@mod.gov.uk.

Dr Paul Hollinshead will be offering an online Q&A session on Wednesday 14th February 2024 14:00-14:45 to provide an overview of the role and welcome any questions you may have. Candidates can access the meeting by clicking here. Please note this is not part of the formal assessment process.

Security

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.