Security Manager (CR332)
Animal and Plant Health Agency
Apply before 11:55 pm on Tuesday 24th September 2024
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Type of role
Security
Senior leadership
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About the job
Job summary
We are looking for people with a passion for leadership, wanting to do interesting and creative roles that help civil servants and public sector leaders to succeed in their roles and support citizens by collaborating across the public sector.
You will provide business, science, and people leadership driving transformative change, innovation and science excellence for APHA.
- Are you someone who can lead and manage change in a challenging and dynamic environment?
- Do you want a role safeguarding standards of animal and plant health and welfare?
- Would you like to be part of an agency where we value managers responsible for building and maintaining employee morale, helping employees reach their full potential and inspiring employee loyalty?
The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) is an executive agency of the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, and works on behalf of the Scottish Government and Welsh Government. Our diverse teams of over 3,000 skilled and committed professionals come together to provide research, advice and support to UK Government for safeguarding animal, public and plant health for benefit of the environment and economy.
You will act as the principal advisor on physical security and security culture matters relating to APHA Weybridge, ensuring appropriate policy and procedures for the discipline are in place and acting as a point of contact for the estate security function. You will have critical input to defining security policy across APHA and will be responsible for advising at all levels of the organisation under direction of the Security Lead.
As the Security Manager you will support the department to fulfil its departmental and statutory security responsibilities.
This is an exciting and meaningful opportunity to join the Government Security Profession, playing a significant part in ensuring the department is meeting its wide-ranging obligations. The role is also part of the wider Government Security Profession; a community with a mandate to establish transformation, and responsibility for an entirely new security model.
Job description
- Leading Security Incident Management and Recovery activities.
- Providing expert advice and guidance on physical and counter-terrorist security matters.
- Providing expert input to the investigation and resolution of any physical security breaches, ensuring lessons learnt are documented and communicated.
- Providing subject matter expertise on physical security audits, preparing operational requirements and advising on physical security controls to ensure that we comply with legislation and regulation.
- Working with others to develop a risk based annual plan of physical security reviews and conducting physical risk assessments.
- Developing appropriate security contingency plans ensure that they are reviewed, tested and exercised on a regular basis in alignment with the Site Incident Response Plan.
- Regular engagement with Defra group Security to ensure physical security requirements are met, in particular the Baseline Standard requirements are at the core of their policies and processes.
- Enabling the adoption and implementation of effective security risk management (of potential threats, vulnerabilities and impacts) and appropriate risk mitigation, reducing physical security risks to an acceptable level, with input from internal and external stakeholders as required.
- Delivering physical security risk assessments; ensuring they are conducted, documented and communicated appropriately.
- Supporting the Facilities Management Team in delivery fit for purpose security via the FM contract through review and development of plans, policies and processes.
- Chairing the Weybridge Security Working Group ensuring timely resolution of actions and escalations.
- Line management of staff, including setting goals, day-to-day management, reviewing performance, assisting with their career and development.
Person specification
Experience and skills:
You will need to demonstrate the following:
- You will be highly motivated, dynamic, and proactive; able to work in a fast-paced environment, managing time and priorities effectively.
- Have an understanding of physical security and risk, as well as a willingness to develop knowledge in these areas as appropriate whilst recognising future risks and strategically planning to mitigate them.
- Experience of engaging, advising and influencing at all levels of an organisation whilst projecting credibility and self-assurance.
- Strong understanding of security and risk mitigation concepts and language, and ability to distil into plain English.
- Experience of responding to and/or managing response to security incidents and working in a high risk / critical facility.
- Physical security analysis and assessment, including threat identification, risk assessment, evaluation of physical security controls and assessment against government and industry standards and operational requirement setting.
- Managing a wide range of issues with diplomacy and discretion.
- Ability to analyse complex information in order to provide appropriate expert advice and guidance.
- Ability to form excellent relationships within your department and with the wider security community including teams and the UK Intelligence Community. This will include using your effective communications skills across stakeholder and departmental teams.
- Performing effectively to deadlines, maintaining focus in challenging situations and adapting to find innovative solutions that meet the needs of stakeholders.
- Experience in a similar role and working within central Government in physical security.
- Knowledge of Microsoft Office 365, Word, Excel, SharePoint, Outlook etc.
- Management of staff.
Security clearance
The Weybridge site is a strategically important national asset due to its role as a reference laboratory supporting the Government’s response to national emergencies including disease outbreaks. For this reason all post holders based on the APHA Weybridge site must hold as a minimum of a valid Counter Terrorist Check (CTC) security clearance. It is up to each person applying for a post at APHA Weybridge to ensure they meet the residency criteria. For this role you will hold or be required to obtain SC clearance or higher and may be required to obtain DV clearance at a later date. Therefore, applicants must be currently resident in the UK & have at least five years continuous UK residency as this is a requirement to work at the Weybridge site.
Qualifications
- Certificate of Business Continuity Institute, or equivalent
- Security Risk Management qualification
The successful candidate may be required to complete additional training provided by the NPSA, depending on their level of experience.
Behaviours
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
- Leadership
- Communicating and Influencing
- Delivering at Pace
- Working Together
- Seeing the Big Picture
- Changing and Improving
We only ask for evidence of these behaviours on your application form:
- Leadership
- Communicating and Influencing
- Delivering at Pace
Benefits
In return for your dedication and hard work, we will support your ongoing personal development through appropriate training as inclusion, support and the development of our people matter to us. We aim to support the career and personal wellbeing of everyone in APHA. Our benefits include generous annual leave, a generous employer contributory pension(27%), staff bonuses and recognition, salary sacrifice benefit options, and an employee discount scheme, reward vouchers and in-year bonuses. We also offer additional days off if accrued extra hours (flexi-time –if accumulated), three paid volunteering day per year. We also have a social committee who run team building and fun events at the Weybridge site. Further details can be found in the Candidate Information Pack.
Everyone in APHA is supported to develop their skills and capabilities. When you join the Directorate, you will be welcomed into your new team through an induction programme that will provide you with helpful information on the civil service, our work and our policies. Your line manager will also work with you to establish your priorities for the year, developing a performance, learning and development plan tailored to you and your role.
Things you need to know
Selection process details
Application Process
As part of the application process, you will be asked to complete a CV-style application template and you will need to give an example (max of 250 words) against the behaviours (Leadership, Communicating and Influencing and Delivering at Pace), plus a 750-word personal statement against the details in the Person Specification in the advert and job description.
Please use the STAR technique (Situation, Task, Action, Result) to provide evidence of each behaviour.
Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.
Sift
Should a large number of applications be received, an initial sift may be conducted using the lead Behaviour, Leadership. Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift, or progressed straight to assessment/interview.
Sift and interview dates to be confirmed.
Interview
If successful at application stage, you will be invited to interview where you will be assessed on Behaviours and your skills and experience.
A presentation or additional exercise may also be assessed, further details of this will be given at the time.
Your interview will either be conducted face to face or by video. You will be notified of the location if you are selected for interview.
Location
As part of the pre-employment process for this post, successful candidate(s) will be able to agree a contractual workplace from those locations listed in this advert. The agreed contractual workplace is then the substantive and permanent place of work for the successful candidate(s)
Where the location is ‘National’ the successful appointee should discuss and agree an appropriate contractual location in line with both Defra’s location policy and site capacity, prior to proceeding with pre-employment processes.
Successful applicants currently employed by the hiring Defra organisation for this post may choose to remain in their current contractual location or may choose to change contractual location to one of those listed above. This should be discussed and agreed prior to proceeding with pre-employment processes.
The agreed amount of time spent at a workplace for this post will reflect the requirement for Civil Servants to spend at least 60% of their working time in an organisation workplace with the option to work the remaining time flexibly from home. Working time spent at a workplace may include time spent at other organisational locations including field-based operational locations, together with supplier, customer or partner locations. This is a non-contractual agreement which is consistent with common Civil Service expectations.
Travel costs to non-contractual workplaces will be subject to departmental travel and subsistence policies. Travel costs to contractual workplaces are the responsibility of the employee.
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.
Defra includes the core department, APHA, RPA, Cefas and VMD.
The contractual workplace is APHA Weybridge (New, Haw, Addlestone, Surrey) and will be the substantive and permanent place of work for the successful candidate.
Reserve List
A reserve list may be held for a period of 12 months from which further appointments can be made.
Near miss
Candidates who are judged to be a near miss at interview may be considered for other positions in Defra which may be at a lower grade, but have a potential skills match.
Salary
New entrants are expected to start on the minimum of the pay band.
Visa Sponsorship Statement
Please take note that Defra does not hold a UK Visa & Immigration (UKVI) Skilled Worker License sponsor and are unable to sponsor any individuals for Skilled Worker Sponsorship.
Reasonable Adjustment
If a person with disabilities is put at a substantial disadvantage compared to a non-disabled person, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes.
If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should:
- Contact Government Recruitment Service via defrarecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs
- Complete the “Assistance required” section in the “Additional requirements” page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional
Accessibility
If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section.
Criminal Record Check
If successful and transferring from another Government Department, a criminal record check may be carried out.
In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to Disclosure and Barring Service on your behalf. However, we recognise in exceptional circumstances some candidates will want to send their completed forms direct. If you will be doing this, please advise Government Recruitment Service of your intention by emailing Pre-EmploymentChecks.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk stating the job reference number in the subject heading.
Internal Fraud Database Check
Applicants who are successful at interview will be, as part of pre-employment screening subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database (IFD). This check will provide information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences. This check also applies to employees who resign or otherwise leave before being dismissed for fraud or dishonesty had their employment continued. Any applicant’s details held on the IFD will be refused employment.
A candidate is not eligible to apply for a role within the Civil Service if the application is made within a 5-year period following a dismissal for carrying out internal fraud against government.
NSV
For further information on National Security Vetting please visit the following page https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/demystifying-vetting
Higher Security Clearance
Please be aware the levels of national security clearance are changing which may impact on the level needed for this role by the time of appointment. All efforts will be made to keep candidates informed of any changes and what that will mean in terms of vetting criteria. For more information please See our vetting charter.
The Weybridge site is a strategically important national asset due to its role as a reference laboratory supporting the Government’s response to national emergencies including disease outbreaks. For this reason all postholders based on the APHA Weybridge site must hold as a minimum of a valid Counter Terrorist Check (CTC) security clearance. It is up to each person applying for a post at APHA Weybridge to ensure they meet the residency criteria. For this role you will hold or be required to obtain SC clearance or higher and may be required to obtain DV clearance at a later date. Therefore, applicants must be currently resident in the UK & have at least five years continuous UK residency as this is a requirement to work at the Weybridge site.
Full Time Only
This role is full time only. Applicants who wish to work an alternative pattern are welcome to apply however your preferred working pattern may not be available and you should discuss this with the vacancy holder before applying. We may consider two part-time staff on a job share basis if continuity can be arranged.
Childcare Vouchers
Any move to Defra from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax Free Childcare. Determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
Security
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Working for the Civil Service
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).
Diversity and Inclusion
Apply and further information
Contact point for applicants
Job contact :
- Name : science.directoratehr@apha.gov.uk
- Email : science.directoratehr@apha.gov.uk
- Telephone : science.directoratehr@apha.gov.uk
Recruitment team
- Email : defrarecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk
Further information
Government Recruitment Services via email: defrarecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk
If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Department, you can contact the Civil Service Commission: Click https://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk/contact-us/ to visit Civil Service Commission.
