About the job

Job summary

Head Office provides the Department of State function and political and military strategic direction for the MOD. It is accommodated in Main Building, MOD’s flagship headquarters.

The Director Head Office business area, specifically within the Safety Security and Business Resilience (SSBR) business unit is responsible for overseeing the safety, security, and resilience of MOD Main Building, ensuring that staff within MOD Main Building can continue to deliver critical Defence outputs in all foreseeable circumstances.  

Working to the Grade 7, Policy, Governance and Assurance, two exciting new roles to strengthen our risk and assurance capability/function have been created.  The incumbents will be responsible for cohering, overseeing and managing the Head Office Security Risk and Assurance framework.  You will liaise with the wider team in security and resilience including key stakeholders across Head Office to ensure that related security and resilience risks are understood and proportionately managed, and where necessary escalated to the Principal Security Advisor, Head of Establishment and other key stakeholders.  You will contribute to the development of a Head Office Security and Resilience Risk Appetite Statement and support risk discussions at senior management boards. You will ensure the Head Office risk management process informs/the Departmental Quarterly Performance and Risk Reporting (QP&RR) process, liaising with both Directorate of Security and Resilience (DSR) and Cyber Defence and Risk (CyDR) functional teams as appropriate. 

A key part of the role is to support the development and implementation of a Head Office Security and Resilience Assurance programme, ensuring that Head Office has a robust assurance programme in place to inform the annual Head Office Security and Resilience Assurance Report. 

As these are new posts, you will have an opportunity to inform the future size, shape and responsibilities of the team.

You may be required to provide on call support in this role for which an allowance is payable.  

This position is advertised at 37 hours per week.

Job description

Responsibilities include:

• Contribute to the development of Head Office Security and Resilience Risk Appetite Statement.
• Cohere Head Office Security and Resilience Risk Registers, working with key stakeholders to ensure risks and issues are managed and controls remain effective.  Escalation of risks to the Principal Security Advisor and Head of Establishment as necessary. 
• Risk and Assurance focal point for Head Office including responsibility for any Departmental reporting requirements.
• Contribute to the development of a Head Office Security and Resilience Assurance programme.  Work alongside key stakeholders to ensure appropriate first, second- and third-line assurance is in place.
• Support Governance function through preparation of papers to senior Boards as appropriate.

The above is an outline of the responsibilities and activities within the role. It is not exhaustive and may vary over time with changes in organisational priorities.

Person specification

Essential

• You will have previous experience and knowledge of operational risk, developing operational requirements and risk control frameworks; this includes an understanding of Information security management systems and risk assessment methodologies or demonstrable equivalent experience.
• Previous experience in either Protective Security or Security Assurance is essential, in addition to a good working knowledge/understanding of risk management.
• DV clearance and access to STRAP (or ability to attain).
• Policy development and delivery experience.
• Good communication and interpersonal skills. Ability to tailor and vary communication style to suit the needs of a varied military, civil service and parliamentary audience. Communicate in a clear, concise and confident manner.
• Manage and prioritise workload balancing competing demands. 

Desirable

• Full membership of the Security Institute would be advantageous as would a professional security qualification.
• Possess or working towards a formal qualification in risk management.
• Knowledge of Government Security and Risk Management Policies.

 

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £43,080, Ministry of Defence contributes £11,631 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.

At application your CV (Candidates will be required to provide CV details to include job history; qualification details and previous skills and experience) and Personal Statement to provide a statement of suitability (word limit 1000) will be scored on how you meet the essential criteria for the role alongside the following two Civil Service Behaviours:

• Making Effective Decisions
• Communicating and Influencing

 At interview you will be tested on the following Civil Service Behaviours:  

• Changing and Improving
• Working Together
• Managing a Quality Service
• Leadership

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 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.