Contents Location About the job Benefits Things you need to know Apply and further information Location Dstl Porton Down, Salisbury, Wiltshire, SP4 0JQ Expected on-site attendance 60% or more. Travel to other Dstl sites and some travel to various MOD, Government and partner / supplier locations will be required. About the job Job summary Your new position as the Head of Technical Excellence and Knowledge Management is a pivotal role within Dstl, embodying and driving the ethos of technical excellence, ethical conduct, and effective knowledge management, throughout the organisation. You will ensure that all strategies and policies are adhered to across the organisation, assuring compliance and maintaining the high standards of excellence. This role is central to the organisation's commitment to technical excellence, ethical conduct, and effective knowledge management. 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. Job description Your new role will see you: Lead, shape, and oversee the development of technical quality and assurance (TQA), ethics, and knowledge management (KM) strategies, policies, and processes across Dstl. Implement strategies through close partnership with The Head of Science and Technology (S&T) Capability. Overseeing Dstls requirement for Research Governance, with the potential for developing a pan-lab research governance policy. Leading and managing a team of professionals, providing guidance, support, and performance management, you will foster an environment of continuous learning and improvement, ensuring work is carried out in a safe and secure manner. To succeed youll need an S&T background with knowledge of Defence S&T. Proficiency in the technical aspects relevant to Dstl's operations, including an understanding of the latest technologies, tools, and best practices is essential. Please see the attached Candidate Information Pack for a full job description Person specification Essential Criteria: Youll be a science & technology leader with the ability to embrace change, work with ambiguity and be able to adapt quickly to a dynamic environment, championing change across Dstl. You will understand operational issues and cope with large amounts of complex and detailed information to assimilate and inform decisions. Please see the candidate information pack attached below for the job description and essential criteria. 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. Behaviours We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process: Leadership Seeing the Big Picture Communicating and Influencing Changing and Improving We only ask for evidence of these behaviours on your application form: Leadership Benefits Benefits Dstls full range of great benefits can be found in the information pack which includes: Financial : An excellent pension scheme starting from 26% employer contribution ( find out more here ). In Year Rewarding Achievement bonuses and thank you vouchers. Rental deposit scheme and cycle to work scheme. Flexible working : Options include alternative working patterns such as; compressed hours (e.g. working a 4 day week/ 9 day fortnight), job shares and annualised hours (agreed number of hours per annum paid monthly i.e. working term-time only). Working hours: Flexibility around your working day (e.g. start time, finish time). Ability to bank hours in a 12 month reference period including the ability to accrue and use 3 days per calendar month. Where you work: Depending on your role, blended working may be available including remote working to suit you and your team. This can be discussed at interview. Annual leave: 25 days pro rata (rising to 30 after 5 years) plus 8 public holidays with the ability to buy/sell 5 additional days per annum. Family: Maternity, adoption or shared parental leave of up to 26 weeks with full pay, an additional 13 weeks statutory pay and a further 13 weeks unpaid Learning and Development: Dstl encourages and supports charterships, accreditations and provides employees access to fully funded apprenticeships up to level 7 (Masters Degree). Dstl will pay for 2 memberships with relevant bodies/institutions. Employees also have access to Civil Service Learning. Facilities: Onsite parking, EV Charging points, restaurants, cafés and gyms. Alongside your salary Defence Science and Technology Laboratory contributes a minimum of £22,666 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. The sift will take place on Thursday 6th February and will assess your leadership and/or proven experience of at least one of the following: S&T ethics, research integrity and research governance/ Technical quality and assurance processes/ Knowledge management from your submitted CV, Personal Statement and Leadership Behaviour Statement. Candidates who are invited to interview will be required to complete a leadership assessment (expected to take place on/or 13th, 14th, 17th, 18th, 19th February) involving psychometrics and a leadership behaviours interview with an external partner. Interviews will take place on 28th February or 3rd March and will assess your technical skills that are relevant to the essential criteria and behaviours. 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 dstlrecruitmentdstl.gov.uk and we will do all we can to support you. 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. Diversity and Inclusion The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window). Apply and further information This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative. Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records. Contact point for applicants Job contact : Name : Dstl Recruitment Email : dstlrecruitmentdstl.gov.uk Recruitment team Email : dstlrecruitmentdstl.gov.uk Further information Should you wish to raise a formal complaint about the Dstl recruitment process you should email dstlrecruitmentdstl.gov.uk stating the nature of the issue. We will respond within 5 working days. Attachments Hd_Tech_Ex_KM_Candidate_Info_Pack Opens in new window (pdf, 6606kB) Share this page Print Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn GMail