Army - Staff Officer Military Secretariat

at  Ministry of Defence

JOB SUMMARY

he Ministry of Defence employs over 50,000 Civil Servants. Within that, the Army Top Level Budget (TLB) employs around 7,000 MOD Civil Servants located at over 300 locations. Ours is a diverse workforce, with roles ranging from trainers, human resources, teachers, and psychologists to storekeepers, financiers, project and programme managers, and policy secretariat staff. There are many different functions and professions delivering key outputs for the Army. As such using data to aid understanding of our workforce is vital.
Headquarters 102 Operational Sustainment Brigade (102 OSB) provides a light, agile force designed, in war, to receive both troops and equipment into the theatre of operations, organise their forward movement to the battle area along a line of communication of up to 750 km, then logistically sustain the fighting formations and finally redeploy the force back to the UK base or on to subsequent operations. HQ 102 OSB is a Combat Service Support Brigade which is the parent HQ for both Regular and Reserve Units across the UK, with over 2500 serving personnel in specialities of logistics, engineering and medicine.
HQ 102 OSB is looking for an outgoing and motivated individual, with strong inter-personal skills and an eye for detail, to be part of an innovative and high-performing team with a focus on providing outstanding customer service.
The vacant post is a full-time position and advertised at 37 hours per week.

JOB DESCRIPTION

As the Staff Officer Level 2 Military Secretariat (SO2 MS) you will be the lead on MS aspects within the Brigade (Bde), providing advice and guidance to the Bde Commander (Comd) and subordinate Units, ensuring all policy updates are shared and understood by our subordinate Units.

BEHAVIOURS

We’ll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Seeing the Big Picture
• Changing and Improving
• Managing a Quality Service
• Delivering at Pace

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £36,530, Ministry of Defence contributes £10,582 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

• Learning and development tailored to your role
• An environment with flexible working options
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
• A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

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.
The post does not offer relocation expenses.
External recruits who join the MOD who are new to the Civil Service will be subject to a six-month probation period.
Please Note: Expenses incurred for travel to interviews will not be reimbursed.
Please be advised that the Department is conducting a review of all pay related allowances which could impact on those allowances that the post currently being advertised attracts.
Any move to MOD from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax-Free Childcare. Determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/.
The Ministry of Defence is committed to providing a safe and healthy working environment for its staff which includes educating them on the benefits of not smoking, protecting them from the harmful effects of second-hand smoke and supporting those who want to give up smoking. Under the Smoke-Free Working Environment policy, Smoking and the use of all tobacco products (including combustible and chewing tobacco products) will not be permitted anywhere in the Defence working environment however some exemptions are in place, please refer to local guidance. The policy is Whole Force and includes all Defence personnel, contractors, visitors and other non-MOD personnel. All applicants seeking, considering, or accepting employment with the Ministry of Defence should be aware of this policy and that it is already in place at a number of Defence Establishments.
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 Policy Notice sets out how we will use your personal data and your rights.
Things you need to know

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)

YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES WILL BE:

• Lead Staff Officer for the Bde on State and Honours and Awards. Raise timetable for sub-mission into the HQ, undertake accuracy checks on nominations, provide feedback, setting up and secretary at Bde Assurance Board in order to ensure nominations are submitted into Division on time. Liaison with Unit MS Representatives to conduct checks and onward dissemination of Operational Honours and Awards received by personnel sitting both within the Bde and subordinate formations.
• Ownership and coordination of appraisals and grading boards within 102 OSB.
• Coordination and management of all Reserve Appraisals for Deputy Commander Reserves 102 OSB.
• Lead on the processing of Honorary Colonels, keeping track of correspondence between MS Honours Branch and Brigades for the appointment and extension of Honorary Colonels. Pass completed staff work for Bde Comd’s endorsement before staffing back to MS Honours.
• Assurance of detail held on the workforce establishment, undertaking liaison between MS and Org Branch on any matters arising from the checks.
• Lead for managing future staffing with-in the HQ, foreseeing and elevating risks of staff gaping to Bde Comd in a timely fashion.
• Lead for Assignment Order tracking and overseeing the updating of the Workforce Tracker to reflect upcoming changes in personnel.
• Ensure Pre-Employment Training Requirements are met or in hand.
• Custodian of Bde Job Specifications library. Work with rest of the team to ensure responsibilities are added to internal records systems, job Specs are retained accordingly and is compliant with extant policy.
• Lead for management of ATMS (the online job spec library).
• Line Manager for E1 MS Admin clerk.