Assistant Head – Systems & Transformation

Working closely with commercial, technical, and operations colleagues, you’ll provide day to day leadership for wider systems and transformation activity, managing internal and external dependencies across both Future Systems delivery and the existing live services environment. You’ll ensure that current systems remain stable and effective during transition, while delivering a future digital solution that is robust, scalable and capable of supporting both DIO and Industry Partners, over the lifetime of future contracts.

Responsibilities

• Support the delivery of the discovery phase, working with contracted external support to fully understand, document and prioritise requirements. Ensure requirements reflect the needs of both DIO and future industry partners and support future Accommodation contracts.
• Support the procurement of external discovery support, selection of a suitable technology platform, appointment of an implementation partner and work closely with Commercial colleagues to shape evaluation criteria and support supplier engagement activity.
• Work with technical and architecture stakeholders to ensure solutions are scalable, secure and capable of supporting integrated working across DIO and industry partners.
• Act as a one of the key points of contact for internal stakeholders and manage relationships with external suppliers and partners, ensuring effective collaboration.
• Identify, manage and escalate risks and issues relating to the Future Systems programme.
• Support the planning and delivery of business change activity, required to successfully implement Future Systems across DIO and Industry Partners, and support the development and delivery of change plans, including communications, training and stakeholder engagement, to drive adoption and minimise disruption to live services.
• This position will potentially have line-management responsibility at a future date.

Person specification

Essential Criteria

• Demonstratable experience of IT project management. (personal statement)
• Experience of information systems and business applications, including requirements gathering, system implementation, system integration and supplier engagement. (personal statement)
• Experience of managing change in a digital environment, supporting planning, delivery and implementation.
• Proven ability of stakeholder and supplier engagement and management.

We have a strong learning and development ethos, supporting you to fulfil your potential by providing learning and development tailored to your role, professional skills development, access to thousands of training courses through Civil Service Learning and the ability to obtain industry recognised qualifications, supported by MOD. You’ll also receive specific training on the platform selected for the future systems programme.

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.

This role can be based at RAF Wyton, Huntingdon, PE28 2EA or DMS Whittington, Lichfield, Staffordshire, WS14 9PY. Work location will be agreed once the successful candidate has been selected.

Dependent on the business need, there will be a requirement to travel to meetings within the UK (or potentially occasional overseas visits) with some overnight stays.

Behaviours

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

• Leadership
• Delivering at Pace

Technical skills

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

• Continual service improvement
• Stakeholder relationship management (IT operations)
• Technical understanding

Alongside your salary of £61,630, Ministry of Defence contributes £17,854 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).

• 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
• 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

Find out more here - Discovermybenefits

Our people are at the heart of everything we do. 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 just let us know in your application or at any stage throughout the process if this is something you want to explore.

Defence 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 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.

Defence is going through a significant transformation programme which aims to improve the way it conducts its business and delivers for Defence and the nation. As a consequence of this, all posts 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 transformation programme, Defence 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 personnel and Trade Unions.

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in