Defence Digital – Senior IT Service Manager - Corsham

Job Summary

Would you like to be part of a team supporting the delivery of a range of cutting-edge intelligence applications and services to our armed forces?

A role in Defence is like no other, leading complex teams of military, civil servants and contractors, having a huge remit and influence on the whole of the UK and opening many doors to further opportunities to develop a unique career.

We are Defence Digital, a part of Strategic Command, fulfilling an important role in the age of information warfare within the Ministry of Defence (MOD). We provide digital and technology services to our Armed Forces, ensuring they can operate securely via various communication means including radio, satellite, and the internet. Operating at scale, with an annual budget in excess of £2Bn and a diverse team of 2,500 colleagues, we're aiming to make our Armed Forces some of the most technologically advanced in the world. 

Joining Defence Digital (DD) enables you to take advantage of our excellent benefits package, including flexible working, discount schemes, a generous leave allowance and a market-leading Civil Service pension.

Our commitment to your development is fundamental at DD. We’ll provide as many learning opportunities as we can, allowing you to gain industry recognised qualifications, such as ITIL v4, as well as in-house training, within your field and beyond. We’ll support your development within the role from day 1.

If you can see yourself contributing to the world of Defence digital and technology, the next chapter of your career may be with us.

This post is advertised at 37 hours per week.

Job Description

We are seeking an individual to work within DD Operational Service Management (OSM), which is part of the DD Operations Directorate. OSM are responsible for delivering the core Defence Service Centre (SC) and manage the incident management process on behalf of DD and wider Defence. The post holder will be the Senior IT Service Manager for the OSM Service Centre and Incident Management (SCIM) team.

You will lead a team of crown servants and contractors, who will in turn manage the 24/7 service being delivered by the prime contractor, along with being the interface into the broader DD eco-system, delivering IT to approximately 250, 000 people operating across the globe.

This is an exciting role, working in a fast paced and challenging environment and requires an enthusiastic, collaborative and flexible approach. You’ll need to be able to affect and inspire others to deliver change and use your experience of working with diverse stakeholders, relying on a strong service management and delivery background.

Responsibilities

Key responsibilities include:

• Incident management lead – lead on the incident management eco-system, to ensure that incidents are resolved quickly and efficiently. Work with Managed Service Providers (MSPs) and Service Owners to improve relationships and inter-working.
• Manage the link between incident management and major incident management –ensuring that the interface between processes is seamless and that there is an effective escalation process in place; ensure that the incident and major incident management processes include an agreed communications plan.
• Work with the SCIM supplier and service onboarding lead – providing advice and guidance to support the onboarding of new suppliers and services.
• Line management of SC Service Manager and DD Incident Manager.
• To deputise for the SCIM Assistant Head as appropriate.
• Represent the internal OSM process in workshops and interfaces with the MSP, for the development and ongoing management of their processes. Be the day-to-day lead for MOD SCIM processes.
• Collaborate with wider Service Managers to promote a consistent application of the SCIM processes across the MSP supply chain, to work together to resolve escalations and identify and address (service impacting) trends.
• Define escalation process – creation and implementation of an operational escalation process outlining how the team will receive (inputs) and manage escalations, whilst keeping the relevant stakeholders informed.
• Undertake incident trending – use Remedy tooling to identify emerging trends and takes timely action to address where it affects quality of service.
• Establish the interfaces to other relevant processes – ensure that the hand off to other processes (such as change management) are well defined and understood by all stakeholders and that the necessary process documents are updated accordingly.
• Continual Improvement of the Service Centre and Incident Management process – working with CSI (Continual Service Improvement) to ensure that the process remains sustainable and seeks out initiatives to improve the delivery to users and other MSPs.
  
  

Person specification

We are looking for an enthusiastic, self-motivated person with great communication skills.

You’ll need to be confident and able to work under pressure, whilst always remaining polite and courteous. You’ll have the ability to use your initiative, prioritise multiple workloads, retain information and the desire to continuously improve the user experience.

This position may be suitable for individuals with relevant skills and experience or progression from previous Service Management or other SIAM-related roles at the SEO level; or suitable for individuals with appropriate skills gained in a different environment, such as IT security management, risk management, change management or project management.

Desirable Qualifications, Accreditation Or Memberships

• ITIL V3 or V4 Foundation- (training available to gain in post, if required)
  
  

Dependent on the business need, there may be a requirement to travel to meetings within the UK (or potentially occasional overseas visits).

This job role may be suitable for hybrid working, which is an informal, non-contractual and voluntary arrangement, blending a balance of attendance in the workplace (your permanent duty station which is based on business assessment of where the work is best done) and working from home as a personal choice (if the role is suitable for this). If you are successful, any opportunities for hybrid working will be discussed with you prior to you taking up your post.

The successful candidate is required to carry out all their duties from a UK location and cannot do so from an overseas location at any time.

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Leadership
• Communicating and Influencing
• Managing a Quality Service
• Working Together
  
  

Technical skills

We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:

• Stakeholder relationship management (IT operations)
  
  

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £43,080, Ministry of Defence contributes £11,631 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 with a dedicated minimum of 5 days per year
• 25 days paid annual leave rising (by 1 day per year) to 30 days upon completion of five years’ service
• Ability to roll up to 10 days annual leave per year
• In addition to eight public holidays per year, you will also receive leave for HM The King’s birthday
• A Civil Service pension with an average employer contribution of 27%
• Parental and Adoption Leave
• Discounts on a range of services within and external to the civil service – Defence Discount Service, Civil Service societies for Sports and Leisure, Healthcare, Insurance, Motoring, Company discounts with Virgin, Vodafone, and Microsoft Office.
• In year rewards and ‘thank you’ schemes such as vouchers and gift cards
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
• Please see Benefits Leaflet for more detail
  
  

Our people are at the heart of everything we do at Defence Digital. It’s vital that our workforce reflects the diversity of both our audience and the wider society in the UK, so we’re proud to be an equal opportunities employer and we actively seek candidates from diverse backgrounds and communities. We also recognise the importance of a good work life balance, so we do everything we can to accommodate flexible working, including part-time and job shares for all our roles. Please let us know in your application or at any stage throughout the process if this is something you want to explore.

Defence Digital operates an organisation model in which every individual belongs to a Government Profession. The successful applicant will be posted into one of the defined Government Professions on Standard Terms of Reference for the grade. Defence digital reserves the right to move individuals between roles, within their allocated profession, to meet the needs of the business and in support of agile resourcing.

Within Defence Digital, each profession is led by a Professional Head of Community, who will lead professional development and support the Continuous Professional Development path for their group.

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, Experience and Technical skills.

To apply please complete the CV template provided on the CS Jobs dashboard. You will be assessed against your relevant, skills, knowledge and experience which demonstrates the essential criteria listed within this advert.

Essential Criteria

All applicants will also need to provide a personal statement (max. 1250 words) and it is essential that this includes evidence of the following essential criteria. Each one will be scored 1-7 and make up part of your overall score to assess your suitability to be invited to interview:

• Describe your experience of managing suppliers in a large enterprise contract and of service management processes.
• Highlight your experience or knowledge of being part of a large Service Centre and of incident management in an IT service delivery environment.
• Tell us about your stakeholder management skills, including an example of successful collaboration and how you create an environment for others to excel.
• Describe your experience of leading and managing a team and/or staff.
  
  

Interviews

We’ll assess you against these behaviours, experience and technical skills during the interview process:

Behaviours

• Leadership
• Communicating and Influencing
• Managing a Quality service
• Working together
  
  

Technical Skills

• Stakeholder relationship management (IT operations)
  
  

Experience

• You will be asked questions regarding your relevant experience for this role.
  
  

The Digital, Data and Technology Profession Capability Framework used in this vacancy can be found at: IT service manager - GOV.UK (www.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.

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

Strategic Command is going through a significant transformation programme which aims to improve the way the Command conducts its business and delivers for Defence and the nation. As a consequence of this, all posts within Strategic Command Headquarters and in time the wider organisation, are/will be subject to review and potential changes as we continuously improve across the period of the transformation programme. These changes may be minor or could be more substantive and will generate new opportunities. Throughout, the Command’s transformation programme is committed to following the MOD’s framework on managing and supporting people through the change process and places an emphasis on early and open consultation and engagement with the Command’s personnel and Trade Unions.

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

Open to UK nationals only.

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.

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 : Defence Digital Talent Acquisition Team
• Email : ukstratcomdd-hr-talentacqdel@mod.gov.uk
  
  

Recruitment team

• Email : DBSCivPers-Resourcingteam3@mod.gov.uk
  
  

Further information

Please ensure you read the attached candidate information document prior to completing your application. Please refer to the attached Candidate Information guide.