About the job

Job summary

Dstl (the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory) works to maximise the impact of science and technology on the defence and security of the United Kingdom. In order to do this, in the Dstl People, we work alongside communities of people who use their skills to innovate and develop technologies which give our country the winning-edge. We work in niche areas which are sensitive, operationally critical and international in nature, working across defence with other governments and STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) partners.

Dstl is implementing a new strategy where we focus on delivering at pace and our people are supported to be the best they can be.  In this role you are a key part of that transformation, responsible for ensuring that our approach to learning and development is aligned to Dstl’s strategy allowing us to increase overall people capability and performance.

Dstl recognises the importance of diversity and inclusion as people from diverse backgrounds bring fresh ideas. We are committed to building an inclusive working environment in which each employee fulfils their potential and maximises their contribution.

We particularly welcome female and ethnic minority applicants and those from the LGBTQI community, as they are under-represented within Dstl at these levels.

Job description

Lead Dstl’s Learning and Development offer to ensure a cohesive and effective approach to learning interventions, closing capability gaps and providing exciting learning opportunities for our people.

In this role you will:

• Create and develop a Learning Strategy for the organisation
• Role model the values and behaviours of the organisation and be a values champion, both internally and externally
• Adopt an innovative approach to L&D activity, drive the delivery of the L&D strategy, delivering long term and immediate operational priorities identified in workforce plans
• Improve leadership and management capability through the design and delivery of leadership & management learning solutions working closely with the Leadership Development Lead
• Analyse learning needs and create an evaluation process that ensures the correct prioritisation and impact of the corporate training budget
• Be responsible for the design and delivery of mandatory training, prioritising safety and security

Please see full job description at the bottom of the page 

Person specification

We are looking for someone who has:

• Created and developed innovative Learning strategies
• The ability to provide specialist advice in Learning and Development, demonstrating expert knowledge
• Collaborated with stakeholders across a complex organisation to identify knowledge, skills, behaviours gaps and long term capability requirements, created a strategy of innovative solutions to address these gaps and an evaluation framework to demonstrate return on investment.
• Is a strong team player who can build effective working relationships, trust and credibility with senior leaders through provision of insightful advice that influences and shapes thinking and application
• Used evaluation approaches and people insights to inform, influence and continually improve development
• An ability to work at pace, with agility to respond to evolving demands
• Created internal and external stakeholder networks, engaging with, inspiring and influencing others at all levels to ensure the benefits of projects are realised and continuous improvement is embedded.

Leadership

As a leader in Defence you will help shape, role model and bring to life the ‘One Defence’ mindset that will enable us to deliver our vision and strategic objectives. Your leadership style must be inspiring, confident and empowering. Working at every level of our organisation to break down silos, unite teams and create a culture that is trusting, collaborative, innovative, diverse and inclusive. Enabling us to deliver with pace and agility through the skills, commitment and empowerment of our employees and military colleagues.

Important Information

Our work in defence, security and intelligence requires our employees to be UK Nationals who are able to gain a high level of security clearance to undertake the projects we are involved in to protect us from security threats. For this reason, only UK Nationals will be able to apply for this role. If you are an international or dual-national candidate, and you think you have the skills we need, please consider applying to any of our government, security or defence partners.

This role will require full UK security clearance and you should have resided in the UK for the past 5 years. For some roles Developed Vetting will also be required, in this case you should have resided in the UK for the past 10 years.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £44,667, Defence Science and Technology Laboratory contributes £12,060 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.We want you to have your best chance of success in our recruitment process, so If at any stage of the application process you would like help or assistance please contact the Dstl Recruitment Team dstlrecruitment@dstl.gov.uk and we will do all we can to support you.   

Sifting will take place on 11th January 2024 with interviews to be arranged from the 22nd January 2024

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

Open to UK nationals only.

This job is not open to candidates who hold a dual nationality.

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.