About the job

Summary

Join the People Concepts and Development Team (PCD)!

Are you creative, flexible, experienced in HR or talent/skills policy areas, and comfortable problem solving?

We’re looking for up to two project officers to join an innovative and creative team within the Chief of Defence People Directorate at the MOD.

Our area is focused on ensuring that Defence can access and acquire the skills we need now and in the future by building a more flexible, agile and diverse workforce. Our work is fundamental in helping to achieve the objectives set out within the Defence People Strategy, which seeks to deliver an adaptable and sustainable workforce; maximise the use of talent across the military and civilian workforce; and provide attractive offers that access and retain talent.

What’s the challenge?

We live in a more dangerous world in which threats to the UK, and our people and assets overseas, are evolving rapidly. From a People perspective, our outflow of skilled personnel currently outstrips the inflow. This shortfall is particularly acute in areas such as pilots, engineers, and cyber specialists where there is significant competition from the private sector.

The challenge for Defence is how to do we compete as an employer? How can we make a career more attractive? How can we make careers paths more transparent and interesting?

Still interested?

You should be!

As the team expands, this is a great opportunity to get involved with innovative projects from the outset.

What will you get from us?

You will be exposed to supporting a project, or a number of smaller projects that help us test an idea. This is a great opportunity to work with a wide range of stakeholders, and develop skills in areas such as project management, benefit realisation, communication, governance and risk.

You’ll work with a diverse, committed and energetic team of colleagues who all bring different skills and experience to the team, creating an environment of continual learning. You are likely to work with military colleagues, civil servants and consultants - of all grades and ranks.

Everyone in the team is valued for the special part they play and the individual contribution that they make. For that reason, we make sure that that ours is a warm and welcoming team environment. It’s really important to us.

Finally, you’ll be part of something special. You have the potential to positively effect the careers of military personnel and civil servants.

Job description

This position is advertised at 37 hours per week.

PCD is structured around three teams, each is led by a B1 Deputy Head:

• The Concepts Team, which seeks to identify innovative approaches to address some of the more complex People related issues within Defence and evaluate the evidence for the potential adoption of these approaches.

• The Delivery Team, which seeks to develop feasible concepts into projects that are then delivered and embedded into business as usual processes, measuring performance to ensure the identified People issues are being addressed.

• The Military Terms of Service Team, which seek to update military terms of service to ensure they continue to meet Defence requirements and are fit for modern ways of working.

We are looking for people to work on the Pan-Defence Skills framework (PDSF) project within the PCD Delivery Team. The PDSF, once fully implemented, will deliver a cohesive vehicle within which Defence can consider and meet the people capabilities required for the future, specifically enabling Defence to identify and respond to skills gaps more quickly and effectively than is currently the case.

We have completed the concept phase of the project and are now in the delivery phase. The post holders will work to deliver the project over the next 18 months and then transition into the business usual activity within another team. We’re recruiting for up to two posts who are policy or project and programme professionals, but depending on the applicants, we want to take a view on which post suits the individual and the team best.

Responsibilities

Depending on the stage of the project and priorities in the teams, Project Officers responsibilities will include the following:

• Supporting the Team Leader to manage all aspects of a significant work strands within the PDSF project one or more of the PCD work areas. This will include, engaging, directing and negotiating with colleagues, subject matter experts (SMEs) and stakeholders across Defence on elements of skills development, in line with the PDSF concept.

• Ensuring appropriate project governance, which may be through a bespoke working/ steering group, to resolve issues, agree the way forward or escalate areas of concern.

• Contributing in a timely manner to production and maintenance of project plans, dashboards, risks and other tasks, in line with MOD/Government policy, such that senior managers and stakeholders can assess the state of projects and have the opportunity to intervene in a timely manner, if required.

• Articulating (orally and in writing) a range of credible and actionable evidence-based policy options and strategies upon which senior boards/personnel can make decisions.

• Setting out resource requirements within a structured business case, engaging with finance and commercial staffs before seeking budget holder approval. Once resources are secured appropriate financial management will be required including forecasting, reporting and undertaking appropriate actions through the department’s financial system (CP&F).

• Designing and delivering communications by working with stakeholders and the Defence People Team Communications staffs to agree messaging, timing and method to support the aims of the project.

• Creating new and/or updating existing policies based on agreements reached with stakeholders and endorsed by the appropriate authority.

• Providing appropriate responses to requests received from outside of PCD, including Ministerial request, Parliamentary Questions and requests from other areas in defence, ensuring responses are cleared at the appropriate level.

• Looking beyond immediate areas of responsibility and developing the strategic vision to make linkages across the Defence People Team to ensure alignment of work and identify opportunities to work better across teams.

• Gathering and analysing data, drawing on relevant SMEs to test new concepts to derive practical future interventions.

• Working in line with wider departmental processes and procedures, including taking responsibility for input and completion of performance reporting procedures, mandatory training and, in conjunction with your line manager, your personal development.

You will be required to work in a flexible manner and other responsibilities may emerge, where you may be required to apply your skills to other tasks across the team. This will be agreed through discussion with your line manager.

Essential post holder attributes:

• Self-starting and able to work on your own initiative, you will be comfortable working through a new task independently;

• Used to working to challenging deadlines, and managing a range of priorities at the same time you will be organised and efficient with your time, able to prioritise and deliver quickly but to a high standard;

• Confident, bright minded professionals, you’ll be interested in what’s going on around you – even if you aren’t working on it directly;

• Able to bring experience from previous roles – you will be able to help us improve the way we do things;

• Prepared to jump into the project you won’t be afraid to ask questions. We all work closely together, so collaboration is key;

• Flexible and willing to apply your skills to a range of tasks across the team; and

• Keen to be a friendly, supportive and proactive member of the team.

Desirable post holder attributes:

• You will have experience of HR Management Information Systems, ideally JPA and MyHR.

• You will have experience of developing competency frameworks and related skills projects.

• You will have experience of managing projects and be familiar with best practice project management processes.

• You will have experience of complex organisations, and possibly experience of working in a talent/skills focused role.

Behaviours

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

• Changing and Improving
• Leadership
• Communicating and Influencing
• Working Together