About the job

Job summary

Are you a dedicated person who is passionate about making a difference?

Would you like to work for the Ministry of Defence? 

Defence Business Services (DBS) is one of the largest shared service organisations in Europe that provides a wide range of corporate services, to over 1.2 million end users, including serving and past military and families, as well as MoD civil servants and industry. DBS delivers large scale administration and smaller specialist services to enable the wider MOD to focus on its core aims, maintaining the UK’s Defence and Security. Services include Human Resources, Pay, Veterans, Finance and Procurement. 
 
•    Our Vision - To support UK defence customers with outstanding service every time.

•    Our Mission – Together we will proudly support Defence, continuously improving and delivering flexible, timely, sustainable and value for money services that underpin the whole force and enhance operational capability. 

DBS is committed to creating a great place to work for all our colleagues. We are building an inclusive culture and respectful environment that reflects the diversity of the society. 

We want to maximise the potential of everyone who chooses to work for us through opportunities to develop your skills and experience. We also offer a range of flexible working patterns and support to make a fulfilling career accessible to you and offer a Civil Service pension with an average employer contribution of 27%. Where your role permits, we support a blended working approach alternatively known as hybrid working.

Come and join the DBS community today! 

Job description

The position advertised is part time hours (20 hours) on a permanent basis.

The Apprentice Management Office (AMO) is responsible for supporting central government targets to increase the overall number of apprentices within the Ministry of Defence (MOD). An amendment to the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009 was passed through Parliament which imposes a legislative target on public sector bodies to have 2.3% of their workforce in England as apprenticeship starts every year. For the MOD, based on the size of the existing workforce, the 2.3% target translates into approximately 1000 apprentices each year. The role involves working with HR colleagues in London, Heads of Professions, MOD Depts, Apprenticeship Providers and Apprentices in order to meet annual targets.

Main responsibility:

•    The management of apprentice schemes across MOD.
•    Conduct the sifting process of applications for those schemes for which responsibility is held.
•    Seek endorsement from Top Level Budgets (TLBs) Focal Points on the successful applicants.
•    Ensure all appointment action is taken for successful applicants.
•    Support and advise individual apprentices and their line managers on issues arising from the apprenticeship.
•    Initiate termination of individuals from the schemes if required.
•    Initiate and maintain sound working relationships with the Learning Providers for the schemes which responsibility is held.
•    Attend relationship meetings with Learning Providers.
•    Ensure that all data required from all other Scheme Managers in MOD Main, DE&S, Trading Funds and Agencies is correct, compliant and returned to allow for response to the Cabinet Office.

MOD are setting the expectation that all office-based civil servants will be required to spend a minimum of 60% of their working time in an office or out on official business.

Person specification

Essential Experience:

• Experience of operational delivery working in a high volume, fast paced environment.

• Ability to balance competing stakeholder interests, evidence of having developed strong and sustainable business relationships with service users and the ability to engage at all levels.

• Effective data management and analysis, maintaining accurate records and providing meaningful management reports.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £35,290, Ministry of Defence contributes £9,528 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.

Please ensure that at the application and interview stages of the campaign you review the Success Profiles Framework to assist you in the demonstration of your skills and experience.

Your suitability for the role will be assessed using the Success Profile elements that have been chosen for this campaign. Each element will be scored accordingly, and the successful candidate will be appointed on merit.

Applications will be sifted on all Success Profile elements, but in the event of a high number of applications, an initial sift will be conducted on the Managing a Quality Service behaviour

In this instance the remaining elements will be tested at interview.

At application stage you will be assessed against the following:

Behaviours: 
•    Leadership
•    Managing a Quality Service
•    Delivering at Pace

Experience: 
Personal Statement (Essential Experience) 

At interview you will be assessed against the above, PLUS the following:

Behaviours: 
•    Changing and Improving
•    Communicating and Influencing
•    Working Together

In the rare case where individuals have exact matching scores, the order of merit will be determined based on the behaviour scores at interview in the following order:

•    Managing a Quality Service
•    Communicating and Influencing
•    Leadership

If candidate scores are still exact, the merit order will then be determined on the sift score in the below order or priority:

•    Delivering at Pace
 
•    Personal Statement

We want to offer opportunities to all who are successful at interview for our roles, but this isn’t always possible, so we do hold candidates on an active reserve list for 12 months. 

Application sifting is scheduled to take place on week commencing: TBC

Interviews are currently taking place in Abbey Wood and will be conducted on week commencing: TBC

A minimum of 2 full working days’ notice will be provided for interviews. We endeavour to stick to these dates, but these are subject to change around business needs.

To assist with your application please find attached below: 

1.     DBS Candidate Information Guide - Working for Defence Business Services - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Disability Confident Scheme 

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: DBS-EnhancedRecruitmentTeam@mod.gov.uk  

MOD Recruitment Satisfaction Survey – we may contact you regarding your experience to help us improve our customer satisfaction. The survey is voluntary and anonymous. You may however be given the opportunity to provide additional information to help us improve our service which includes the collection of some personal data as defined by the United Kingdom General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR). The MOD Privacy Notice sets out how we will use your personal data and your rights.

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.