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. 

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.  

Come and join the DBS community today! 

Job description

Who are we?
Defence Business Services (DBS), Armed Forces and Veterans Services (AF&VS) works with DBS delivery partners to provide a range of trusted and efficient services to both service personnel and veterans' communities including: Personnel support processes, Pay, Allowances, Pensions, the Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre and the MOD Medals Office. Our focus is on serving personnel and the Reserves (but also includes Pension development). Everything we do underpins the People Component of the Armed Forces' Operational Capability.

This position sits within the DBS Military Operations (Mil Ops) department of DBS AF&VS. DBS Mil Ops is responsible for the accuracy, timeliness and quality of Joint Personnel Administration (JPA), liaising with the single Services to ensure we remain customer-focussed, and inputs received from the Services are accurate. Working with the Delivery Partner’s JPA Centre, as part of a joint virtual global HR, DBS Mil Ops conducts root cause analysis of issues and develops Service Improvement Plans collaboratively with the Services and Defence Authority teams.

The HEO leads a team within the Debt Management (Recoveries and Write-Offs) (DM(R&WO)), with responsibility for providing a Military Services interface between DBS, its commercial partners and customers for casework concerning over-issues of Military Pay and Allowances, Bursaries, Armed Forces Pensions, Armed Forces Compensation Payments and War Pension Scheme Payments for all serving Military Personnel and Veterans.

What will the successful candidate be doing?  

You will work directly to the SEO Debt Management – Recoveries and Write-offs, have line management responsibility for four EO (this includes Line Management responsibility for our Teams in Glasgow and Norcross (near Blackpool) therefore some travel will be necessary, You will be responsible for all aspects of personnel casework involving the overpayments and undercharges of Military pay and allowances, bursaries, Armed Forces Pension Schemes, Armed Forces Compensation Scheme and War Pension Scheme, in accordance with specified limits of delegation.

You will have responsibility for authorising write-offs, where appropriate, of pay, allowances and pensions, ensuring HM Treasury guidelines are correctly applied through Managing Public Money (MPM) Regulations and to the debt management business and IT processes. Provide over-issue statistical data in accordance with Departmental requirements and ensure productivity measurements are achieved.

You will provide determinations in respect of casework, appeals and Ministerial Enquiries / Correspondence as required. Apply subject matter expertise to the analysis, specification and delivery of personnel and pay services in support of Debt Management. Maintain an up to date working knowledge of pay and pension policies and processes, and to advise on the interpretation of regulations. Maintain an up to date working knowledge of the commercial partner’s required service levels, as detailed within the Service Delivery Contract.

You will also be required to fulfil Line Management responsibilities in accordance with Departmental guidance and timetable, and to behave in accordance with Civil Service and DBS values and partnering principles.

The DM(R&WO) is presently going through a transitional change where it is developing new processes to meet the demands of the business. If you are:

• Looking for a challenge
• Looking to join a team that supports self-development and embraces continuous improvement
• A self-starter who has an eye for detail and can quickly analyse information
• Looking to develop your leadership and management skills
• Flexible and supportive of colleagues 

Then we want to hear from you.

Person specification

Who are we looking for?

The post requires a self-motivated individual with proven leadership skills and the ability to achieve results on their own initiative both individually and as part of a team, to challenging deadlines.

Essential: 

• Looking for a challenge
• Have proven Line Management experience.
• Experience in engaging with Stakeholders and SME’s at all levels.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills: ability to challenge, persuade and influence others
• Ability to analyse and to solve problems in creative, pragmatic ways.
• Responsive and positive approach to change and to changing demands.
• Strong organisational skills
• Ability to work under pressure.
• Strong leadership skills
• Strong Analytical skills. 
• The post holder is to be knowledgeable of Industry standard methods and tools (Word, Excel, etc.).
• Looking to join a team that supports self-development and embraces continuous improvement.
• Looking to develop your leadership and management skills.
• Flexible and supportive of colleagues 

Desirable: A broad understanding of:

• JPA, 
• Military pay and allowances, 
• Armed Forces Pensions processes
• Military Career Management
• Debt Management Experience.

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 your

Primary: Behaviour - Leadership, Secondary: Experience - Personal statement.  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
• Making Effective Decisions

Experience:  

• CV: including ~ Job history, Previous Skills & Experience 
• Personal Statement: ~ In no more than 500 words, Please provide information of how you meet the criteria set out in the job description. You may wish to further include examples of how you have tackled similar tasks or demonstrated the skills outlines in the job advert. 

At interview you will be assessed against the above behaviours

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: 

1. Behaviour - Leadership
2. Behaviour - Making Effective Decisions
3. Behaviour - Managing a Quality Service
4. Behaviour - Delivering at Pace

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

1. Behaviour - Leadership
2. Behaviour - Making Effective Decisions
3. Behaviour - Managing a Quality Service
4. Behaviour - Delivering at Pace
5. Experience - Personal statement
6. Experience - CV

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 to take place Late February 2024 

Interviews are currently taking place face to face Early March 2024

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. 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.  

To assist with your application please find attached -   

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

(26) UK Ministry of Defence: Life , LinkedIn 

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.