About the job

Job summary

Cost Assurance Analysis Service (CAAS) are looking for enthusiastic, driven individuals to undertake an innovative 2-year development scheme, providing delegates with a strong background in estimating & its specialisms.

The Estimating Capability Development Scheme (ECDS) provides individuals with an excellent introduction into estimating. With a highly competitive starting salary, excellent benefits and dedicated, expert trainers, this scheme offers a supportive and structured career pathway into the Ministry of Defence (MOD) and its delivery agencies.

CAAS is an established, professional and independent organisation within the MOD, operating from 13 UK locations. It has a proud 100+ year track record of supporting cost management and its outputs are critical to providing independent cost assurance advice and analytics across Defence.

CAAS is the MOD’s source of independent costing advice and exists to support the Department’s decision making and delivery of value for money. This is achieved through providing a range of specialist cost estimating, cost engineering, efficiencies and benefits, and accountancy analysis products and services to MOD customers. CAAS is based predominantly at MOD Abbey Wood with additional regional hubs at or near to key Defence suppliers.

CAAS is forging a new Defence Nuclear Enterprise (DNE) facing team to start to implement processes for undertaking independent assurance of portfolio cost, risk and schedule artefacts. In addition, CAAS will support the inception of the DNE portfolio team to devise and implement cost, risk and schedule best practices, and build expertise across the portfolio to build a sustainable capability.

The DNE is the overall umbrella term used to describe the federation of organisations and arrangements that enables, maintains, and delivers the Continuous At Sea Deterrent (CASD) and submarine forces. These include the Defence Nuclear Organisation (DNO) and Royal Navy (RN), together with the delivery agencies — the Submarine Delivery Agency (SDA) and the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE), Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO), UK Strategic Command, Sheffield Forgemasters, our industry partners, and other government departments who in various ways support the shared mission. 

These positions are advertised at 37 hours per week.

Following completion of all pre-employment checks, successful candidates can expect to start around October 2024, when the scheme is scheduled to commence.

Job description

Successful candidates will be assigned a Permanent Duty Station (PDS) at one of the locations advertised. It is expected that all staff will work full time and be available for 8-10 weeks training at a venue in Bristol within the first 4-6 months of the scheme. After which, CAAS operate a blended hybrid working policy subject to business need. There is flexibility to split the working week, combining working at home and spending a minimum of 60% in the workplace unless exceptional circumstances apply.

Candidates will undertake study through classroom sessions, on the shoulder tuition with some self-directed learning, and will be assessed throughout the scheme. This will be followed by approximately 18 months where you will advance your capability by undertaking placements in various areas of the business. You will complete a variety of tasks to develop your skills to enable you to undertake projects independently.

Successful candidates will be required to pass a Knowledge Based Assessment (KBA) within the initial 6-month probationary period.

The 2-year pathway provides a balanced mix of work placements across CAAS, on the job training, mentoring, and formal training to become a practitioner, leading to a level of expertise that will position you well within the business to further your career in estimating.

At the end of the scheme, successful applicants will have the opportunity to be interviewed to demonstrate their competence at a Higher Executive Officer (HEO) level. If found successful, candidates will gain promotion to HEO and be deployed into a permanent role at this grade.

More information on CAAS and the scheme can be found within the Candidate Information Pack attached to this advert.

Person specification

Grade entry qualifications

To join us you will require either:

• A degree or HND in a Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics (STEM) based subject
• A higher national apprentice in a relevant STEM area
• Three A2 Level grades BBB or above in a STEM based subject

Essential

• Working knowledge of MS Excel
• At least one year’s relevant data analysis experience

Desirable

• Advanced MS Excel (use of formulas)
• Data analysis experience in a live environment

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £28,300, Ministry of Defence contributes £7,641 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, Experience and Technical skills.

Selection process details

• For your application to be considered, you must provide your CV ensuring it includes the following: 
  • Key Achievements 
  • Career History/Life Experience 
  • Applied Skills, Knowledge and Experience
  • Behaviours and Motivations

Candidates will be required to provide a statement of suitability. (250 words)

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

• communicating and influencing

• working together

If you are successful at the sift stage and invited for interview, you should be prepared to provide clear examples of difficult situations that you have dealt with and the results you achieved. Focus specifically on what you did and the impact you had on delivery. 

Sift is expected to complete during W/C 10th June with Interviews held face to face in either London,Bristol, Rosyth or Barrow.

Candidates progressed to interview will be expected to deliver a 10-minute verbal presentation in relation to estimating the cost of either a holiday, a house, or a wedding. This presentation should include how you planned against a budget, what options were considered, and any potential risks to your activity. This will be followed by a 5-minute Q&A session to cover estimating skills.

Presentations must be sent to CAAS-Cap-ECDS@mod.gov.uk no later than 48 hours before your interview slot.

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 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

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.