Assistant Head Air Policy and Secretariat

The role of the Air Policy Secretariat (Air Pol Sec) is to ensure that the RAF fulfils its obligation to Ministers, Parliament and the Public. On behalf of The Chief of the Air Staff (CAS) and Air’s Director of Resources, we support Ministers in discharging their responsibilities to Parliament on RAF issues. We work with teams across Air Command (and beyond) to deliver timely, accurate advice across the range of RAF business.
What do we do?
+ Provide advice to Ministers on RAF issues, including on handling and presentational considerations.
+ Support Ministers in their accountability to Parliament, whether through Parliamentary Questions, briefing material or speeches for debates.
+ Lead on Air’s responses to Ministerial and ‘Treat Official’ Correspondence.
+ Produce defensive media briefing and ‘lines to take’ on emerging news events.
+ Respond to Freedom of Information requests and enquiries from the public.
We are a friendly and supportive team, with a real focus on learning and development, whether on-the-job or more formal training courses. While in the team, you will have close engagement with Ministers and private offices, and with the RAF’s Senior Leadership Team (SLT), as well as developing a broad network across the RAF and beyond. The team is based at RAF High Wycombe, and you would be expected to attend the office regularly as well as visits to MOD Main Building. We support flexible and hybrid working, subject to business needs, and while there are peaks of work, the team maintains a good work-life balance.
This position is advertised at 37 hours per week., You will manage a motivated and experienced team of 3 team leaders who between them cover the entirety of RAF business from operations and equipment issues to personnel and training to infrastructure and the RAF estate.
This is an exciting leadership role in a high-profile and fast-paced environment, which provides an excellent opportunity to develop and enhance your existing leadership skills, while building an understanding of the RAF as well as playing a leadership role across the command. This is a busy and fascinating role, requiring the ability to deliver at pace and excellent organisational skills. The role will suit a motivated individual who is able to prioritise effectively and respond to shifting priorities, balancing short-and-longer term pieces of work.
The team is undergoing a substantive transformation period so the successful incumbent will have a real opportunity to put their stamp on a high-performing team and the way they conduct their vital business.
In addition to Secretariat responsibilities, the incumbent, as one of the senior leadership community working at Air Command, will be expected to play an active role in the leadership and development of the wider civil service in the Director of Resources Area, across Air and the MOD with the Policy Profession. They will also be expected to undertake outreach activity on the importance of Parliamentary business to the RAF. They will have the opportunity to deputise for the Grade 6 at regular intervals., We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
+ Seeing the Big Picture
+ Making Effective Decisions
+ Leadership
+ Communicating and Influencing, Please present your evidence using the S.T.A.R. format (Situation, Task, Action, Result)
Applicants are strongly advised to ensure that their submission uses the STAR format and demonstrates the behaviours detailed at Grade 7 level in the Civil Service Success Profiles – Civil Service Behaviours booklet. Comprehensive coverage on Success Profiles can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/success-profiles
You will be assessed against the following behaviours at Application and Interview:
+ Seeing the Big Picture
+ Making Effective Decisions
+ Leadership
+ Communicating and Influencing
A 500 word statement of suitability and CV will be required for this position; this cannot be uploaded to the advert. You will submit using the CV template provided on the CS Jobs dashboard, detailing job history, full qualifications, previous experience and skills.
Part-time or Job-share will only be considered provided full time hours can be covered.
A reserve list may be held for a period of 12 months from which further appointments can be made.
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.
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.

The successful candidate will need to be comfortable working at sustained pace. This includes helping a busy team deliver against Departmental targets for Ministerial and Parliamentary business to a high standard. You will be in a key leadership role in the Air Pol Sec team, and will have the opportunity to provide leadership on a number of high-profile issues.
You should be comfortable operating at the strategic level and dealing with senior stakeholders – both military and civilian – across the Department to broker policy solutions to meet the needs of the RAF and Ministers. As such, you will need strong communication skills and be able to successfully influence and command the trust of Ministers, the RAF’s senior leaders and MOD’s senior officials.
You should have:
+ Experience of strong working relationships with Ministers, their outer offices, and senior leaders.
+ Ability to seek and analyse information to inform decisions.
+ Awareness of the current political and strategic context.
+ Experience of management of teams.
+ Ability to think and work in a creative and agile way.
+ Strong communicator, and an ability to engage successfully with a range of stakeholders.
+ Self-starter. The ability to be independent and drive forward a culture of high performance and continuous improvement.
+ Enthusiasm and a commitment to the development of team members.
Desirable skills:
+ Experience in preparing advice to Ministers and drafting correspondence for different audiences.
+ Experience of briefing Ministers and senior officials.
+ Knowledge of Parliamentary & departmental processes regarding the release of information into the public domain.
While experience of dealing with Ministers and parliamentary casework would be helpful, it is not essential as full support will be provided.

Alongside your salary of £57,670, Ministry of Defence contributes £15,570 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.
Benefits include, but are not limited to:
+ Flexible working
+ Training and personal development opportunities
+ A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
+ 25 days paid annual leave rising to 30 days on completion of 5 years’ service
+ In addition to 8 public holidays per year you will also receive leave for HM The King’s birthday
+ A highly competitive Civil Service pension with an average employer contribution of 27%
+ Enhanced maternity, paternity and adoption leave
+ Subsidised membership to a fitness suite and lunchtime/evening Military led fitness classes
+ Café and shop on site
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.