Temporary DE&S Head International Relations Group
Job Description
Salary
£70,000 – £92,000 (plus benefits)
Summary
DE&S History
DE&S was created in April 2007, integrating the Defence Procurement Agency (DPA) and the Defence Logistics Organisation (DLO). This merger combined DPA responsibilities for buying military capability (materiel, equipment and services) with those of DLO for supporting the armed forces throughout the lifecycle of an operation or exercise (training and deployment, maintenance and upgrade and supply chain operations).
In 2014 DE&S became a Bespoke Trading Entity (BTE), operating as an Arm’s Length Body within the MOD. This new status has given DE&S a strengthened customer-supplier relationship with the military and facilitates a more business-like approach. The organisation also has a set of management freedoms that are unique across Government, which recognise the specialist nature of the organisation and what DE&S delivers. Set within an operating cost envelope designed to drive efficiencies, the freedoms allow changes to be implemented outside of Government norms, particularly around the management of people.
DE&S Organisation
DE&S operates and delivers chiefly through 4 delivery domains, all headed by a Director General – DG Air, DG Land, DG Ships and DG Strategic Enablers along with 4 enabling Directorates, DG Commercial, DG Resources, Director HR and Director Strategy and Corporate Ops. These are supported by 9 Functions who manage the deployment of suitably qualified and experienced staff to deliver against the business plans and priorities; the largest Function is Engineering.
DE&S has undergone a significant transformation to a performance-focused organisation that delivers the best for its customers. With a steadfast focus on delivery we are committed to our DE&S @21 vision of Great Delivery, Great People, and a Great Place to work and everything we do is encapsulated in one of these 3 descriptors helping us to secure the best deals for our customers and work with suppliers to deliver the best solutions.
Job description
The Head of International Relations Group (IRG) reports into the Director of Strategy and Corporate Operations but works closely with the Chief Executive and members of the Executive Committee. It is the policy owner for equipment related international arrangements and US export controls. It is the defence representative on international organisations such as Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation (OCCAR), North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), Letter of Intent (LOI) Executive Committee and bilateral Memorandum Of Understanding (MOU) management. The role provides subject matter expertise on European Defence and Technology Industrial Base and on EU initiatives on defence and security, such as the European Defence Fund. It also provides advice and guidance to Project Teams (PTs) on international acquisition delivery, with particular focus on US, France, Germany, Italy, Sweden and Australia.
The main challenge of the role is ensuring the DES voice is heard within MOD Head Office and across Whitehall in terms of practical implementation of cooperative capability programmes, and ensuring we are seen as adding value as a collaborative partner, maintaining the reputation of the NAD, MOD and the UK. An international acquisition stream is seen as essential by the ExCo to ensure that DE&S capability and capacity is retained to manage cooperative programmes successfully, and to exploit exports in support of prosperity. Effective stakeholder engagement is key, as is being able to confidently deliver consistent and coherent key messages on the international stage. The Hd IRG is seen within the Brussels community as the expert on European armaments matters – the representational role has huge influence within the respective armament’s agencies and partner governments.
The Head of IRG acts as National Armaments Director (NAD) at the Equipment Design Authority (EDA) NAD Steering Board, helping to support the CEO at the NATO CNAD, as well as operating as the UK representative on the UK/Norway annual armaments talks, providing unique opportunities to influence and shape our capability relationships with key nations and enable delivery of DES key outputs.
Responsibilities
The following responsibilities, whilst not an exhaustive list, are required for successful execution of the role:
• Provide policy advice and support to DE&S Project Teams and other stakeholders on international Defence acquisition matters through the International Relations Group
• Strategically support the CEO by understanding the key challenges across the breadth of the DE&S and SDA portfolios and wider Defence
• Support the development of corporate products, including Business Plans, framework documents and ensure secretariat support to DE&S CEO in the NAD role
• Coordinate and drive change initiatives across the enterprise. This will include the development and delivery of targeted engagement strategies for different stakeholder communities, ensuring coherency of activity
• Provide leadership to and engagement with team ensuring understanding of their goals and deliverables
Professional Knowledge and Experience
As a successful Head of International Relations Group, you must have:
Essential:
• Experience operating in a senior leadership role within a large and highly complex organisation, in both steady state and through transformational change
• Demonstrable experience of MOD Head Office ways of working, culture and ministerial engagement
• International experience – in any of the following functions: Commercial, Programme Management or Diplomacy
• Working with industry or international partners
• Experience of working in multi-cultural teams
Desirable:
• Foreign language proficiency
• Working abroad – e.g. in an international organisation or an Embassy
Personal Skills
• Ability to work collaboratively across a range of stakeholders and across DE&S and SDA, within wider government and industry environments
• Strong personal credibility with exceptional influencing and negotiating skills, the ability to impact across a broad spectrum, and to resolve conflicts at a high level
• Results focused and ‘can do’ mind-set with an eye for identifying and optimizing people processes
• Ability to work autonomously and with ambiguity to deliver an agenda built on constant improvement
• Commercial acumen, and ability to apply this to people related solutions
• Willingness to undertake extensive, international, travel
Benefits
- Learning and development tailored to your role
• An environment with flexible working options
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
• A Civil Service pension
How to Apply
All applicants are required to provide a CV in addition to a supporting statement (of no more than 2 pages) in a word document providing clear evidence of the essential Professional Knowledge and Experience criteria highlighted above. As part of the application process, you are asked to complete a Diversity Monitoring questionnaire included in this pack. If you do not wish to provide a declaration on any of the characteristics, you have the option to select 'prefer not to say' but completion of the form is an essential part of the process and your application will not be considered complete without it. The information you provide when submitting your application will help us monitor our progress towards the Civil Service becoming the most inclusive employer by 2020. See the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy for more information. Applications must be submitted by midnight on Sunday 26th July 2020 to the DES SLG Talent Acquisition Team: deshr-scsrecruitment@mod.gov.uk With the subject “Application Head of International Relations Group”1453 total views, 0 today