Deputy Director, Head of Afghanistan Inquiry Response Unit
Ministry of Defence
Apply before 11:55 pm on Sunday 13th October 2024
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Salary
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Type of role
Policy
Senior leadership
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Contents
Location
This role offers 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 80-100% 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.
About the job
Job summary
The Deputy Director, Head of Afghanistan Inquiry Response Unit is responsible for leading the MOD’s Independent Inquiry relating to Afghanistan, chaired by Lord Justice Sir Charles Haddon-Cave.
The Inquiry was announced in December 2022 to investigate and report on allegations of wrongdoing by UK Special Forces in relation to deliberate detention operations in Afghanistan from mid-2010 to mid-2013. The Inquiry is also looking at the adequacy of the MOD’s response to those concerns and assess what lessons can be learned.
This is a high-profile area within Defence with strong Ministerial, senior official and military interest in the outcome. Responding effectively is critical to ensuring public trust and maintaining MOD’s “license to operate”. It is essential we do so at pace to meet the ambition of the Chair, whilst supporting our people
Job description
Key Responsibilities
The current responsibilities of the role include:
- Leading the MOD’s response to the Inquiry, working to the Director Afghan Inquiry Response Unit, to deliver the support required.
- Leading on advice to Ministers, Senior Officials and Chiefs on issues including risks and cross-cutting policy.
- Ensuring the provision of adequate support for MOD witnesses called by the Inquiry.
- Establishing strong professional relationships with other teams in MOD, including UK Special Forces, Royal Military Police, and MOD Legal Advisors.
- Ensuring national security equities in disclosure are appropriately protected, including through applications for Restriction Orders.
- Acting as the policy lead for MOD’s wider responsibilities on Inquiry matters, including Parliamentary, media, and ensuring value for money.
- Manage the welfare and development of staff in the Afghanistan Inquiry Response Unit with a focus on building morale and maintaining focus in the objectives of the Inquiry.
Person specification
The successful candidate must be able to demonstrate their experience and skills against the following essential criteria:
- Experienced leader with a proven track record of building successful and inclusive teams.
- A proven track record of building relationships with senior stakeholders with the ability to work well across boundaries in a mixed civilian, military and contractor environment to deliver results.
- An ability to rapidly understand, synthesise, evaluate and summarise large amounts of complex information.
- A proactive and flexible approach to work, who can deliver multiple concurrent workstreams to tight deadlines and re-prioritise where needed.
- Significant experience of legal policy/litigation and working with Government Legal Department and Counsel.
Desirable criteria may be used in the event of a strong field of candidates when there is a need to distinguish between candidates. This will be as a second sift, after the essential criteria has been considered:
- Experience of working on or with Public Inquires and understanding the legal framework that they operate in.
- Experience of working in or with the Ministry of Defence including working with Special Forces.
Benefits
- 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 employer contribution of 28.97%
Things you need to know
Selection process details
Application
To apply for this post, you will need to complete the online application process accessed via the advertisement listed for this role. This should be completed no later than 23:55 Sunday 13th October 2024 and will involve providing the two documents outlined below via the Civil Service Jobs portal:
- A CV (no more than 2 pages) setting out your career history, with key responsibilities and achievements. Please ensure you have provided reasons for any gaps within the last two years.
- A Personal Statement (no more than 2 pages) explaining how your personal skills, qualities and experience provide evidence of your suitability for the role.
Both documents are weighted equally in their scoring, so it's important to consider this when uploading your application. Failure to submit both documents will mean the panel only have limited information on which to assess your application against the criteria in the person specification.
As part of the online application process, you will be asked a number of diversity-related questions. If you do not wish to provide a declaration on any of the particular characteristics, you will have the option to select 'prefer not to say'. All monitoring data will be treated in the strictest confidence and will not be provided to the selection panel.
Assessment
If you are shortlisted, you will be asked to take part in a series of assessments which could include psychometric tests and/or a staff engagement exercise. These assessments will not result in a pass or fail decision.
Rather, they are designed to support the panel’s decision making and highlight areas for the panel to explore further at interview.
You will be asked to attend a panel interview in order to have a more in-depth discussion of your previous experience and professional competence in relation to the criteria set out in the Person Specification.
You may also have the opportunity to speak to Barry Corradine Director Afghan Inquiry Response Unit prior to the final interview to learn more about the role and the organisation. Please note this is not part of the formal assessment process. Full details of the assessment process will be made available to shortlisted candidates.
For further information about the role and full application process, please refer to the candidate pack attached below. If you wish to receive any material in a different format for accessibility, then please contact People-CivHR-SCSCandidateSupport@mod.gov.uk.
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
As part of accepting this role you will be agreeing to the expected assignment duration set out above. This will not result in a contractual change to your terms and conditions. Please note this is an expectation only, it is not something which is written into your terms and conditions or indeed which the employing organisation or you are bound by. It will depend on your personal circumstances at a particular time and business needs, for example, would not preclude any absence like family friendly leave. It is nonetheless an important expectation, which is why we ask you to confirm you agree to the assignment duration set out above.
Security
Nationality requirements
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 : SCS Recruitment Team
- Email : People-CivHR-SCSCandidateSupport@mod.gov.uk
Recruitment team
- Email : People-CivHR-SCSCandidateSupport@mod.gov.uk
Further information
