Team Leaders – Operations

Dstl Operations is looking for experienced and enthusiastic Team Leaders across a number of different areas. 

If you have a passion for people and enthusiasm to develop and maintain our capabilities we want to hear from you. 

We have four Team Leader roles across Dstl Operations within different areas:

1. The Business Support Services Group is looking for a Team Leader who can work collaboratively with their peers to lead the people capability and drive professional development in our Shared Support Team. You will work in a fast paced environment and multiple stakeholders to triage competing demands.  This post is based at Porton Down. 

2. The P3 Group are looking for a Team Leader who can work with their peers and with the Group Leader to deliver a coherent approach to project management, implement new tools and processes, as well as building, maintaining and assuring a strong Operations P3 capability to meet current and future demand within the Division and for the Portfolio of work we support across Dstl.  A proven project management background or an understanding of the project environment is desirable. This post is based at Porton Down.

3. The Safety, Security and Resilience Group is looking for a Team Leader in the Personnel Security capability who can work collaboratively with their peers and the Group Leader to deliver and drive a coherent approach to personnel security. This includes, but is not limited to, processes including vetting, risk management, assurance and threat management. This post is based at Porton Down

4. The Dstl Digital Group is looking for an authentic Team Leader who can inspire and lead their team to support delivery of function and organisational goals. Technical digital knowledge is not essential, however you must be able to work collaboratively with your team, peers and seniors, to help drive standards and deliver a coherent capability approach. This post is based at Porton Down

PLEASE STATE IN THE TECHNICAL SKILLS SECTION WHICH ROLE YOU ARE APPLYING FOR.

Dstl recognises the importance of diversity and inclusion as people from diverse backgrounds bring fresh ideas. We are committed to building an inclusive working environment in which each employee fulfils their potential and maximises their contribution.

We particularly welcome female and ethnic minority applicants and those from the LGBTQI community, as they are under-represented within Dstl at these levels.

As Dstl’s first line of management, your primary purpose as a Team Leader (TL) is to provide leadership to the people in your team. This has a balance of leading / managing people and technical leadership, ensuring the development and delivery of capability to meet current and future demand.

A Team Leader may also fulfil other roles as part of their technical contribution but not to the detriment of their line management responsibilities.

In this role you will:

• Develop & sustain capability (people relationships, infrastructure, knowledge, licences to practice) to provide technical/scientific contribution to current and future projects across Dstl through effective use of the Team’s resources/expertise
• Maintain awareness of current and future demand requirements
• Understand and use the different resource options to ensure an appropriate mix of team members
• Understand and effectively develop capability to align with Division Capability plans
• Build resilience through succession planning, including developing future leaders
• Direct Line management of a team of ca.15 Team Members
• Enable effective performance management and development of team members
• Allocate employees to tasks or projects based on requirements
• Coach and support Team Members career and personal development.
• Ensure that people have the necessary skills and competencies for the tasks assigned
• Ensure employees have knowledge of and conform to all safety and security and resilience requirements.
• Build employees engagement and create an environment which nurtures excellence through setting the direction for team, including how the team fits with strategic aims
• Creating a positive and inclusive working environment that aligns with Dstl Values, champions diversity and enables employees to excel
• Communicating and owning difficult messages
• Challenging and addressing poor performance
• Recognising and highlighting high performance
• Networking with other Team Leaders and stakeholders to share good practice and ensure a coherent approach
• Implement Dstl’s policies and ensure compliance with the Management System.
• Provide individual technical/professional contribution as agreed with Line Manager.

We are looking for someone who has:

•    The ability to quickly develop good working relationships with a variety of people.
•    Good networking skills.
•    Tact and diplomacy in dealing with a wide range of issues/challenges
•    Persistence to see things through to a conclusion
•    Passion for developing capability and people
•    The ability to lead through change
•    Able to communicate coherently and sensitively, explaining complex issues in a way that is easy to understand.
•    Emotional Intelligence, able to understand own and others reactions, motivations etc
•    Able to handle conflicting priorities successfully delivering to changing requirements.
•    Able to successfully manage multiple tasks simultaneously

Leadership

As a leader in Defence you will help shape, role model and bring to life the ‘One Defence’ mindset that will enable us to deliver our vision and strategic objectives. Your leadership style must be inspiring, confident and empowering. Working at every level of our organisation to break down silos, unite teams and create a culture that is trusting, collaborative, innovative, diverse and inclusive. Enabling us to deliver with pace and agility through the skills, commitment and empowerment of our employees and military colleagues.

Important Information

Our work in defence, security and intelligence requires our employees to be UK Nationals who are able to gain a high level of security clearance to undertake the projects we are involved in to protect us from security threats. For this reason, only UK Nationals will be able to apply for this role. If you are an international or dual-national candidate, and you think you have the skills we need, please consider applying to any of our government, security or defence partners.

This role will require full UK security clearance and you should have resided in the UK for the past 5 years. For some roles Developed Vetting will also be required, in this case you should have resided in the UK for the past 10 years.

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

• Seeing the Big Picture
• Leadership
• Communicating and Influencing
• Developing Self and Others

We only ask for evidence of these behaviours on your application form:

• Leadership

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

• Please state which role you are applying for out of the 4 available:
  1 – The Business Support Services Group
  2. The P3 Group
  3. The Safety, Security and Resilience Group
  4. The Dstl Digital Group

Benefits 

Dstl’s full range of great benefits can be found in the information pack which includes:

• Financial: An excellent pension scheme starting from 26% employer contribution (find out more here). In Year Rewarding Achievement bonuses and thank you vouchers. Rental deposit scheme and cycle to work scheme. 

• Flexible working: Working options include alternative working patterns, compressed hours, job shares and annualised hours

• Flexible working hours: Ability to bank hours in a 12 month reference period including the ability to accrue and use 3 days per calendar month. 

• Annual leave: A generous annual leave allowance starting at 25 days pro rata (rising to 30 after 5 years) plus 8 public holidays with the ability to buy/sell 5 additional days per annum.

• Family: Maternity, adoption or shared parental leave of up to 26 weeks with full pay, an additional 13 weeks statutory pay and a further 13 weeks unpaid

• Learning and Development: Encouragement and support on charterships, accreditations and access to fully funded apprenticeships up to level 7 (Masters Degree). Paid memberships with 2 relevant bodies/institutions. Employees have access to Civil Service Learning.

• Facilities: Onsite parking, EV Charging points, restaurants, cafés and gyms.

The information pack can be found attached to the job specification on Civil Service Jobs. 

Diversity 

We have a number of support networks to ensure all employees feel supported at work. These include the following:

• Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Network

• Race, Faith and Culture Network

• Parents and Carer Support Network

• Alternative Working Network

• Gender Equality Network

• New Starters Network

• Enabled Network, for people with visible and non-visible disabilities.

For further information about Dstl please check out our LinkedIn page

This job is not open to candidates who hold a dual nationality.

Job contact :

• Name : Dstl recruitment team
• Email : dstlrecruitment@dstl.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : dstlrecruitment@dstl.gov.uk