About the job
Job summary
The Ministry of Defence employs over 50,000 Civil Servants. Within that, the Army 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.
This permanent post is a fantastic opportunity for a Buddhist Lama to make an incredibly valuable impact to the UK army by providing pastoral, spiritual and moral support to members of the Brigade of Gurkhas and their families. In the role, you will become a valued member of a small and dynamic team, enabling those in the Brigade of Gurkhas, and other Buddhist members of the Armed Forces, to practice their religion throughout their time in Helles Barracks, Catterick Garrison.
As such, a good understanding of the various Nepali faiths, religious customs and culture is essential.
This position is advertised at 37 hours per week.
Job description
The successful candidate will be responsible for helping all those of the Buddhist faith - and, where applicable, those of other faiths - to practice their religious beliefs. This will include promoting Nepalese culture, customs, and traditions to members of the unit, and to Gurkha children who are being educated outside the national educational curriculum of Nepal.
You will also be responsible for assisting the Unit chain of command/HQ Brigade of Gurkhas in delivery of elements of the annual Individual Training Requirements covering moral understanding, values and standards. You may also be required on occasions to deploy on exercises/operational deployments within the UK and overseas to provide spiritual support to the Gurkhas serving personnel.
You will also be responsible for conducting all Buddhist religious services and rites for individual Gurkha families (including birth, death, and naming ceremonies); administering Buddhist oaths if Gurkhas are called upon to give evidence in court; providing appropriate facilities for worship; and serving the various needs of the whole Gurkha unit during key religious festivals and Nepalese national events throughout the year.
The role might also include visiting the sick at home or in hospital, and teaching or organising the teaching of Gurkha children about the culture, customs, traditions, history, and folklore of Nepal. For the benefit of those Gurkha children attending Local Education Authority or Services Childrens Schools, priority is to be given to teaching them both oral and written Nepali.
Person specification
ESSENTIAL REQUIREMENTS
You must be able to demonstrate:
* A good working knowledge and understanding of the various Nepali faiths, religious customs and culture is essential.
* You must be fully trained and qualified to perform all religious rites and ceremonies, in accordance with those prescribed in Buddhist texts, with at least 3 years experience as a practising Religious Teacher/Lama.
* You are committed to Buddhism and living to the moral standards of at least the Five Precepts, and that you regularly practice contemplative techniques or meditation.
* You are fluent in spoken and written Nepali and you have a high standard of fluency in English.
Other essential requirements:
* You must be an effective and confident communicator, with a proven ability to negotiate with, and influence, others.
* You must be a clear thinker and have developed problem solving and decision-making skills.
* You should have the ability to work as part of a team, but also independently without day-to-day supervision.
* You should be used to planning and organising work effectively, and be willing to adapt to changing circumstances.
* The demands of the post, and the organisation, are flexible and changing in nature, so applicants must be prepared to work irregular hours and in a multi-faith environment.
Desired experience:
* Ideally, you will have prior experience of working with vulnerable adults and children.
Qualifications
You must be fully trained and qualified to perform all religious rite and ceremonies in accordance with monastic education. This requires completion of advanced Buddhist studies and at least 3 years' of post-qualification experience. You must be an actively practising Religious Teacher or Lama.
Languages
You are fluent in spoken and written Nepali and you have a high standard of fluency in English.
Behaviours
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
* Leadership
* Making Effective Decisions
* Delivering at Pace
* Managing a Quality Service
* Communicating and Influencing
* Working Together
We only ask for evidence of these behaviours on your application form:
* Leadership
Benefits
Alongside your salary of 35,290, Ministry of Defence contributes 10,223 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.
The Army prides itself on being a supportive employer and where possible encourages flexible working, helping you to maintain a great work/life balance.
Other benefits for Army civil servants include:
*
o 25 days paid annual leave rising (1 day per year) to 30 days upon completion of 5 years service
o Highly competitive pension scheme
o Personal and professional development of skills
o Alternative working patterns for many roles
o Access to the Employee Assistance Programme, a free service that assists you with achieving a productive, healthy environment that is conducive to a healthy lifestyle.
o Enhanced parental and adoption leave
o Learning and Development
o Discover my Benefits
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 Notice sets out how we will use your personal data and your rights.
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:
Provide a CV detailing career history and all previous skills and experience.
Provide a Personal Statement demonstrating how you meet the essential criteria required as detailed in the Job Summary and Person Specification above, in no more than 500 words.
When choosing your Behaviour examples, please make sure you use real life scenarios that relate to your own experiences. Whilst technology may help to enhance your written submission, presenting the ideas of others or those generated by technology, could result in your application being rejected.
Application:
At application you will be assessed against the following:
* Behaviours: Leadership,
* Experience: CV and Personal Statement
At interview you will be assessed against the above along with the following:
* Behaviours: Making Effective Decisions, Delivering at Pace, Managing a Quality Service, Communicating and Influencing, Working Together.
* Experience: You will be asked about your skills and experience with regards to the essential and desirable criteria within the Person Specification.
Selection:
Application sifting is scheduled to take place within 5 working days of the advert closure date.
Interviews will take place within 2 weeks of sift at Helles Barracks, Catterick Garrison. A minimum of 2 full working days notice will be provided for interviews. We endeavour to stick to these dates, but these are subject to change around business needs.
Security:
Successful candidates must meet the security requirements of the post before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is:
Security Check and DBS
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: DBSCivPers-Resourcingteam3@mod.gov.uk .
As a result of the changes to the UK immigration rules which came in to 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. This role does not meet that category and we will not sponsor a visa. It 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.
Diversity and Inclusion
The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see theCivil 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 : Ms Suzi Bateson, RAO 2ITB
* Email : Suzi.Bateson328@mod.gov.uk
* Telephone : 03001524601
Recruitment team
* Email : DBSCivPers-Resourcingteam3@mod.gov.uk
Further information
Please ensure you read the attached candidate information document prior to completing your application. If you are dissatisfied with the service you have received from DBS, or believe that DBS has failed to follow the recruitment process in line with the Civil Service Commission principles of selection for appointment on merit on the basis of Fair and Open competition, you can raise a formal complaint by writing to DBS at the following address: Defence Business Services, Scanning Hub, Room 6124, Tomlinson House, Norcross Lane, Blackpool, FY5 3WP. If after raising your complaint with DBS you remain dissatisfied you can complain directly to the Civil Service Commission at the following address:, Civil Service commission, Room G/8, 1 Horse Guards Road, London, SW1A 2HQ Or by email:
info@csc.gov.uk.