The 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. The British Army’s estate is complex, diverse and critical to ensuring UK Defence Outputs. Regional Command’s Infrastructure Branch, of which Regional Infrastructure Cell (RIC) South East (SE) is part, is responsible for programming and assuring the delivery of Facilities Management (FM) for Army establishments to ensure they remain capable of supporting service personnel. There are over 22,000 buildings within 500 locations, with 43% of them over 50 years old. In 2018 Defence reset how infrastructure is governed, and delegated control of the infrastructure budget to the Army. This gave rise to the RICs, providing the opportunity to bring positive change to the estate. This is a fantastic opportunity to join the Army’s Regional Infrastructure Cell for southeast England. We are looking for a liaison officer responsible for obtaining and evaluating establishment needs and priorities, to inform RIC planning and Balance of Investment decisions for a budget of £100M. Working closely with Army users, Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) staff and Headquarters Regional Command (HQ RC) you will positively impact the lives of our personnel. You will be well supported by the RIC Hard and Soft Facilities Management team. This position is advertised at 37 hours per week. Job description Regional Command’s Infrastructure Branch programmes and assures the delivery of £700 million of Facilities Management and projects for all Army establishments. RIC staff interact with the military users of the estate, with DIO, and with industry partners, fulfilling an Informed Customer role. As the Infrastructure Liaison Officer you responsibilities will include: Liaison with Heads of Establishment (HoE) and their representatives as well as Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) and their contracted Industry Partners (IP) Obtain and evaluate establishment needs and priorities, elevating to inform the Regional Infrastructure Cell to enable planning and Balance of Investment decisions Ensure the HoE, DIO, and IPs are informed of the Command Infrastructure Delivery Plan of scheduled and funded works approved for delivery Capture and inform establishment issues and risks elevating to the RIC those which cannot be resolved at local level Escalate breaches of service delivery performance where, after liaison with the establishment, DIO and IPs, resolution is not possible at local level Obtain establishment feedback on Hard and Soft FM service delivery satisfaction, informing the RIC of performance Provide subject matter expertise to Single Living Accommodation (SLA) grading boards Provide subject matter expertise to Site Infrastructure Monthly Meetings (SIMM) and Regional Infrastructure Basing Boards (RIBB) Provide information on local issues, risks and performance standards, for consolidation at RIC level, for further escalation or resolution Provide stakeholder communication to manage expectations, provide policy guidance or communicate policy change and support Regional Command Provide Line Management to the Executive Officer Liaison Officer South East England Person specification The successful candidate will be a confident, self-motivated individual who is a great teammate, hardworking and able to manage a complex and varied workload. As the Liaison Officer South East England, you will communicate effectively with diverse groups of people, within and outside the MoD, and across many grades and ranks. The role requires a working knowledge of MS Excel, and excellent people skills. You will adapt to changing priorities and be flexible in your approach to your responsibilities. You will be adept at collating and analysing information from a variety of sources, and at communicating it in the optimal form to influence others. Ideally you have experience of infrastructure delivery and project management but this can be learnt in role. A driving licence would also be advantageous for reaching many sites not easily accessible via Public Transport. Behaviours are more important than technical experience to the successful conduct of this post, and you will be able to gain higher-level knowledge and skills in Facilities Management while in role. The job lends itself to the Civil Service apprenticeship scheme, in particular the Facilities Management Level 3 and Level 4 qualifications. Behaviours We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process: Making Effective Decisions Communicating and Influencing Leadership Working Together Delivering at Pace We only ask for evidence of these behaviours on your application form: Making Effective Decisions 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. 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: 25 days paid annual leave rising (1 day per year) to 30 days upon completion of 5 years’ service Highly competitive pension scheme Personal and professional development of skills Alternative working patterns for many roles Access to the Employee Assistance Programme (EAP), a free service that assists you with achieving a productive, healthy environment that is conducive to a healthy lifestyle Enhanced parental and adoption leave 6 days special leave per year which can be used for volunteering activities Learning and Development We believe that everyone has the potential to make a difference and you will be supported to help you learn and advance in your career. This includes working towards membership of a professional body and/or undertaking a modern apprenticeship as part of your role. A modern apprenticeship is a combined package of work and training. Through the schemes available you will gain a professional qualification, practical experience, and the broader skills required to develop in your current role and pave the way for your future career. 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. An opportunity to be considered for Reward and Recognition - £250-£5000 per year. 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 Selection process details This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours and Experience. At application you will be asked to provide a personal statement of no more than 500 words evidencing your skills, experience and suitability for the role against the job description and person specification. At sift, you will also be assessed against the following behaviours - Making Effective Decisions Applications will be sifted using all elements listed above, but in the event of a high number of applications, a sift will be conducted on the lead behaviour - Making Effective Decision, only. At interview you will be assessed against the following behaviours - Communicating and Influencing Delivering at Pace Working Together Leadership 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 sifting will be scheduled to take place after the closing date. Interview dates are to be confirmed but these will be held in person in Aldershot. We endeavour to keep to these time frames, but these are subject to change around business needs. 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-Resourcingteam3mod.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 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 :Edward Laishley Email :Edward.Laishley648mod.gov.uk Recruitment team Email :DBSCivPers-Resourcingteam3mod.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: infocsc.gov.uk. Attachments 20240307-Army Candidate Pack Opens in new window (pdf, 3932kB) MOD Candidate Pack Opens in new window (pdf, 1562kB) Candidate Information Pack Opens in new window (docx, 31kB)