Partnering & Engagement Officer (Defence)

The UK Hydrographic Office is a leading centre for hydrography, providing marine geospatial data to inform maritime decisions through delivery of data sources in support of Defence via relationships with national and international bodies, we have an exciting opportunity in the Defence team for a Partnering and Engagement Officer.

The Defence Partnering and Engagement (DPE) team is responsible for obtaining our ‘raw material’ (maritime geospatial data and science). The role of Defence Partnering and Engagement Officer is integral to maintain data supply to enable our global portfolio of Situational Awareness products and services to develop and grow. This is a busy role involving occasional travel (domestic and international depending on UK Strategic Command’s requirements), working alongside senior colleagues to maintain and build relationships.

Hybrid Working Expectations

The Defence Engagement Team work in UKHO main building for a minimum of 3 days per week. Hybrid working is supported and coordinated through the line management chain.

Overseas Travel

This role requires occasional overseas travel (for up to 10 working days) which may at times may be independent of UK colleagues.

As a partnering and engagemnt officer you can expect to:

1.    Act as consistent and knowledgeable UKHO point of contact for Defence partners.  Ensure progress of requests for information and supply of products and services including management of relevant mailboxes. 

2.    Liaison with other parts of the UKHO, particularly Data Acquisition regional teams, Defence Product & Service Managers and SONSAT Operations and Training roles to manage requests for and provide information to.

3.    Become a trusted advocate in Defence’s maritime global portfolio through desk-based research, maintaining awareness of geopolitical, technical and industry developments through building relationships with relevant central government desks at Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and MOD policy desks to inform Defence’s maritime collaboration priorities paper and identify new opportunities. Liaise with Defence Attaches (DAs) to ensure UKHO has the opportunity to brief outbound DAs prior to deployment.  

4.    Support the Defence Operations Manager (DOM), Defence Thematic Managers, Government Relations and Global Partnering and Engagement teams by preparing briefs for engagement forums (acting as secretary where UK is chair), engagement meetings, logging and chasing actions, updating the permissions within Expert Data Release Group governance, updating contacts lists, conducting the bilateral review and updating country plans, take the lead on developing inbound visits programmes in their region, preparing corporate presentation, making recommendations to the DOM and Thematic managers for programme content, working with the VIP Visits Manager to agree appropriate gifts and travel arrangements.

5.    Manage the provision of supplies and services as defined in Agreements in a manner which enhances relationships with Defence partners and takes account of UKHO business needs. All requests for supplies/services, information, advice and assistance to be dealt with satisfactorily within 10 working days or as otherwise agreed.  

6.    Act as the guardian for information relevant to Defence Agreements ensuring that it is stored using Data Acquisition Division Policy. Developing and maintaining process documentation for the DPE team in collaboration with other PEOs. Making recommendations for process improvements as required and following them through where appropriate.

7.    Maintain records relating to exchanges of defence data, products and services with international and national stakeholders; the Defence PEO will be responsible for managing the records and content of the Defence Partnering Team, aligned to wider Data Acquisition.

Please note that we will only score against the sift and interview criteria and not the desirable information below. 

The post holder will need to be:

• A team player that displays quiet confidence that can deliver subtle influence through good communication (verbal and written) and interpersonal skills, tact and diplomacy.  
• Able to work indpendently, organising and prioritising their own workload within the parameters and boundaries provided by their colleagues.  
• Effective under pressure and will not be phased by concurrently tackling multiple pieces of work.
• Have the ability to assess a scenario at pace, utilise previously gained experience and guidance to deftly identify solutions to collaborative matters.
• Comfortable engaging with all levels of staff (up to and including Flag Rank officers) both internally and externally.

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

• Communicating and Influencing
• Working Together
• Delivering at Pace

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

• Knowledge of SONSAT capability and how it can utilised to strengthen partnerships
• Delivering multiple outputs in alignment with provided guidance

At the UK Hydrographic Office, it’s very important to us that our people feel valued.  

We offer a huge range of benefits such as training and development, well-being support, flexible/ homeworking, a fantastic state of the art building, high spec equipment, and so much more.  

See our attached Candidate Information Pack for more details. 

Job contact :

• Name : recruitment.queries@ukho.gov.uk
• Email : recruitment.queries@ukho.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : recruitment.queries@ukho.gov.uk