About the job

Job summary

HM Naval Base Devonport (HMNB(D)) and the wider Devonport site has evolved into one of the largest bases of its kind in Western Europe and is today, a key Defence asset as a main operating and support base for the Royal Navy. The unique opportunities offered within are varied, challenging and exciting in supporting the Royal Navy to generate and operate forces world-wide for today and ensuring that we are ready for tomorrow by developing and delivering the Naval Service of the future. 

The Naval Base provides an open, flexible and supportive work environment with Civil Servants and Armed Forces personnel working together across a wealth of interesting and challenging roles in a variety of disciplines from finance, legal services, personnel and HR, strategic and project planning through to contract management and media services.

The wider Devonport site, consists of HM Naval Base (Devonport) (MOD owned) and Devonport Royal Dockyard Limited (DRDL) (Babcock owned).  By its nature, the site is a highly complex environment where a myriad of strategic demands, commercial and financial arrangements combine to deliver Defence outputs. Key to the strategic planning and integration to ensure the Naval Base meets its outputs is the strategic level Devonport Portfolio Office (DPO).  This is a collaborative MOD and industry partner team who work together to shape the future of the  site to deliver best for defence outputs. The DPO is a newly formed and evolving capability working to Navy Command Director Submarines Portfolio.  This is an exciting time to be at the heart of shaping and influencing the future One Devonport to deliver the next generation of Submarines and wider Fleet.  You have the opportunity to shape this exciting new role.

This position is advertised at 37 hours per week.

Job description

1.  Accountable to the Devonport Portfolio Office (DPO) for the management and integration of the external programme of work that optimises city-wide activity and growth and strengthens the three-way partnership across the City Council, Industry Partner (Babcock) and the MOD.

2.  Working with the City and Industry Partner, develop a programme of work that translates the One Devonport Blueprint into strategic initiatives and opportunities that will positively influence civic drivers (economy, high value jobs, inclusive growth, civic pride and regeneration). This will involve shaping and managing a complex workload with multiple stakeholders and deadlines.

3.  In collaboration with our Industry Partner, work with workstream leads and change managers to ensure that all initiatives that impact or influence civic drivers are actively integrated and managed with timely and effective resolution or escalation of risks and issues.

4.  In collaboration with our Industry Partner, develop and manage the external stakeholder engagement plan and programme, ensuring a clear communication strategy is developed and tailored for respective audiences. Facilitate regular meetings as well as workshops, focus groups and other stakeholder engagement activities.

5.  Build strong relationships and partnerships across the multiple landscapes by understanding and managing the sensitivities around the different cultural and commercial drivers and as MOD Lead, balance those competing agendas to optimise outcomes for all stakeholders.

6.  In collaboration with the City and our Industry Partner, develop benchmarking, monitoring and reporting of information and assessment frameworks (landscape analysis, risk assessment, key performance indicators).

 7.  Working with the City and our Industry Partner, develop analytical and data-driven insights and plans to create the enabling conditions to meet the growing Defence and Industry demand for workforce skills, talent retention, supply chain procurement, transport networks and social value.

 8.  Provide support to the senior leadership teams within Plymouth City, Industry and Defence in establishing strategic priorities, goals and roadmaps, partnering with cross-functional teams to ensure alignment on strategic goals.

 9.  Support in the evaluation and presentation of insights through the development of shared tools and processes to deliver periodic briefings across the partnerships. Help to distil and present strategic insights and recommendations to the senior leadership teams and other stakeholders in a clear and actionable manner (including the use of presentations, reports and data visualisation tools).

10.  Leads on business change and improvement working closely with key stakeholders in providing communication strategies relating to business change across the Devonport site.

Person specification

• A strong leader with a proven track record of successfully and carefully managing change, collaborating with others to find solutions together.
• Relationship management expertise, able to build and maintain strong working relationships with internal and external stakeholders to maintain service and solve problems.
• A manager of people, able to create a team who feel empowered and valued. Look after staff and their well-being and able to deal with all HR functions, recruitment, performance, attendance and discipline.
• Excellent communication skills both oral and written. Able to staff and submit written work to a high standard including Business Cases; Project Initiation Documents; User Requirement Documents and Staff Reports.

Qualifications

• Minimum UK Regulated Qualification Framework – Level 6 qualification preferably or Business-related subject. OR
• Extensive experience of Business and/or Defence Portfolio or Programme Office leadership and management role.
• Experience in collaboratively working with senior leaders to identify and manage dependencies and risk to deliver an organisational level outcome.

Desirable

• Knowledge of local and/or national government, local economy and its policies and respective defence and industry landscape.

Memberships

• Chartered Member status with an appropriate Institute.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £57,670, Ministry of Defence contributes £15,570 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.

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours and Experience.

CV:  Candidates will be required to provide CV details to include job history, qualification details and previous skills/experience.  

 Personal Statement: Candidates will be required to provide a statement of suitability relevant to the role. (Word count 500)  

 Sift will be based on CV and Personal Statement, both should be tailored to the job advert.

 At Interview, you will be assessed against the following Success Profiles Behaviours:

• Seeing the Big Picture
• Making Effective Decisions
• Leadership 
• Communicating and Influencing

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: DBSCivPersResourcingteam3@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.