About the job

Job summary

Joining a mixed team of Service people, Civil Servants and Contractors, you will be responsible for supporting Defence staff of all ranks and grades in their administration, preparation and training prior to their employment in the UK’s Global Embassy Network.

Working as part of a Defence Section in a UK Embassy overseas is a privileged, specialised, and high-profile role. Our team ensures that individuals (and their family members) are trained and prepared to the highest standards so they can rise to the challenges of living and working overseas. You will play a crucial role in this and make a vast difference to our people ahead of one of the most exciting jobs Defence has to offer.

This position is advertised at 37 hours per week.

Strategic Command is going through a significant transformation programme which aims to improve the way the Command conducts its business and delivers for Defence and the nation. As a consequence of this, all posts within Strategic Command Headquarters and in time the wider organisation, are/will be subject to review and potential changes as we continuously improve across the period of the transformation programme. These changes may be minor or could be more substantive and will generate new opportunities.  Throughout, the Command’s transformation programme is committed to following the MOD’s framework on managing and supporting people through the change process and places an emphasis on early and open consultation and engagement with the Command’s personnel and Trade Unions.

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.

Job description

In this unique role you will manage many aspects of an individual’s pre-employment training, administration and personal preparation - from their initial selection and nomination to their deployment. This includes regular liaison with the FCDO, designing bespoke training programmes, and processing diplomatic passport applications.

Main responsibilities 

• Assist with the management of the nomination and selection process
• Produce and manage bespoke Personal Training Programmes
• Ensure the appropriate duty of care is afforded to personnel and their families throughout their preparation, highlighting risks and training shortfalls
• Manage the diplomatic aspects of preparation and move to post for personnel and their families
• Ascertain FCDO approval and security clearance 
• Support and collaborate with other MOD departments with general tasks relating to the selection and training of Defence Section personnel 
• Attend a weekly meeting and lead on providing an update for your nominations to ensure that all stakeholders are aware of any potential issues
• Ensure that all the training registers are kept up to date and any training amendments are dealt with in accordance with policy

It will be possible to work from home occasionally. 

Person specification

Must be highly organised and able to prioritise, work under pressure, and to meet strict deadlines.

Should be able to anticipate problems before they occur and identify solutions where necessary.

Ability to communicate with a wide variety of differently ranked/graded personnel.

Must be able to work within a team.

Excellent communication skills, both verbal and written.

Excellent IT skills, including word-processing and spreadsheets.

Must be able to display an appropriate customer service demeanour.

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 and Experience.

This recruitment process will consist of two parts:

1. A written application containing your experience (a CV and a Statement of Suitability (Personal Statement)) and 3 Behaviours drawn from the Civil Service Success Profiles.

Behaviours to be assessed at Application:

• Making Effective Decisions
• Working Together
• Managing a Quality Service

2. If your written application is successful, you will be invited to a face-to-face and or virtual via MS Teams interview where you will be tested against 4 Behaviours (the 3 from your application, plus 1 more at interview).

Behaviours to be assessed at Interview:

• Seeing the Big Picture

3. If a large number of applications are received, they will be assessed initially against the Leadership behaviour and your CV and Statement of Suitability (Personal Statement). You will then be assessed against the other criteria if you have met the minimum scores.

4. Behaviours are assessed individually with a 250-word statement. The application form will indicate which behaviour is being assessed. We are looking for evidence using the Situation, Task, Action, Result (STAR) methodology.

5. It is highly recommended you focus by providing one example for each behaviour. We would also advise you to use examples that best meet the criteria, even if they are a few years old, using the STAR methodology.

Situation: Briefly describe the background of the situation in which you found yourself.
Task: What you were required to do/chose to do.
Action: What actions you undertook to achieve the tasks. Make sure to use “I”, not “we” to explain how your actions led to results.
Result: Use facts and evidence to demonstrate the results that your actions produced. Explain whether it was a successful outcome, and if not, what you learned from the experience.

6. Please make sure you have consulted the HM Government ‘Success Profiles - Civil Service Behaviours’ document (available on Gov.uk) to ensure you have understood the relevant Behaviours at Level 2 for the appropriate grade.

7. Your experience will be assessed individually through your CV and a 350-500 word Statement of Suitability (Personal Statement).

PLEASE NOTE:

 

Sift & Interview: Provide some expectation of a timeline:

Sift to take place within 2 weeks of Advert closing (insert exact date if known)

Interviews likely to take place within 2 weeks of Sift (insert exact date if known)

This job role may be suitable for hybrid working, which is an informal, non-contractual and voluntary arrangement, blending a balance of attendance in the workplace (your permanent duty station which is based on business assessment of where the work is best done) and working from home as a personal choice (if the role is suitable for this).  If you are successful, any opportunities for hybrid working will be discussed with you prior to you taking up your post.

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.