Executive Assistant to Director Defence Innovation

The Defence Innovation Directorate sits at the heart of the Department’s approach to meeting the challenges of the 21st century. The Directorate is combined of the Defence Innovation Unit (DIU) and the Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA), with this role sitting within the Chief of Staff area at the centre of the Directorate, working closely with the DIU.
The Defence Innovation Unit was set up to lead on delivery and coordination of innovation activities across the Department, breaking down barriers to innovation across Defence, engaging stakeholders across Defence and government, and key international partners and allies.
We are a diverse team of both civil servants and military personnel, with varied professional backgrounds including policy, project delivery, and science. The Chief of Staff area reports directly to the Director Defence Innovation providing a vital role in raising the importance of innovation across Defence, ensuring we continue to develop and exploit the technologies to defeat our adversaries.
This position is advertised at 37 hours per week., Current priorities for the role are broadly:
+ Managing and owning the Director’s diary; arranging and de-conflicting meetings in line with the Director’s needs; researching and booking travel options within MOD policy and assembling and organising the Director’s briefing materials.
+ Given the high number of requests, this role works closely with the Chief of Staff and Secretariat to maintain a well organised schedule, adapting as priorities change.
+ Liaising with stakeholders across MOD, government, academia, and industry.
+ Delivering verbal briefs to the Director and wider team to give the context behind meetings.
+ Providing office management services including room bookings, visitor management (booking and escorting), reprographics, and logistics requests;
The responsibilities will ebb and flow depending on departmental priorities. The successful candidate will need to be adaptable, comfortable with uncertainty, and resilient to change.
This position is advertised at 37 hours per week. The current expectation is that staff will spend 40 - 60 % of their time in the office or in a non-home based location. If you have any queries about working location / flexible working, please contact the hiring manager to discuss how this may work in their team.
New entrants to the civil service are expected to join on the minimum of the pay band and will be subject to a six-month probation period., We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
+ Delivering at Pace
+ Communicating and Influencing
+ Managing a Quality Service
We only ask for evidence of these behaviours on your application form:
+ Delivering at Pace
+ Communicating and Influencing, This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours and Experience.
Candidates will be required to provide CV details to include job history; qualification details and previous skills and experience.
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.
In the interview you will be assessed on where your skills and behaviours meet the requirements for this role - delivering at pace, communicating and influencing AND managing a quality service. We encourage learning about the success profiles and structuring your answers using the Situation, Task, Action, and Result (STAR) framework.
At sift, you will be assessed against the following Success Profiles Behaviours:
+ Delivering at Pace
+ Communicating and Influencing
At interview, you will be assessed against the following Success Profiles Behaviours:
+ Delivering at Pace
+ Communicating and Influencing
+ Managing a Quality Service
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 into 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.
The role currently being advertised has not been assessed as business critical and 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.
There will be an initial sift of applicants w/c 30 September, with successful candidates invited for interview in October. These timelines are provided as a guide but are subject to change. Where there are a significant number of applicants, we will assess your application based on the lead behaviour (delivering at pace).
A reserve list of successful candidates will be kept for 6 months. Should another role become available within that period, you may be offered that position.
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security
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.

+ Strong communication and interpersonal skills
+ Excellent organisational and time-management skills
+ An ability to prioritise tasks effectively
+ Good IT skills, familiar with basic Microsoft O365 apps
+ Enjoy working in a rapidly changing area, quickly responding to emerging issues
Desirable skills:
+ Prior experience as an EO or in an outer office role
+ Security clearance
Applicants are not required to hold any level of security clearance to apply, but will need to willing to undergo Security Clearance (SC) upon appointment.

Alongside your salary of £28,300, Ministry of Defence contributes £8,198 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 average employer contribution of 27%
+ Annual leave is 25 days on appointment, increasing by 1 day per financial year up to a maximum of 5 additional days
+ Posts based in London will attract the relevant London weighting
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.