Defence Digital – Customer Manager

Would you like to use your IT knowledge, skills or technical qualifications to make a difference and help our customers deliver Defence operations, military capability and support?

Would you like to gain a recognised qualification through fully supported training and development?

We are Defence Digital, a part of Strategic Command, fulfilling an important role in the age of information warfare within the Ministry of Defence (MOD). We provide digital and technology services to our Armed Forces, ensuring they can operate securely via various communication means including radio, satellite, and the internet. Operating at scale, with an annual budget in excess of £2Bn and a diverse team of 2,500 colleagues, we’re aiming to make our Armed Forces some of the most technologically advanced in the world.

If you can see yourself contributing to the world of Defence digital and technology, the next chapter of your career may be with us!

This post is advertised at 37 hours per week.

Customer Services UK (CS UK) Customer Managers are responsible for acting as the liaison and representative between Defence Digital (DD) and CS UK Customers, working with them to understand and meet their operational and business needs, promoting Defence Digital and enabling access and exploitation of our digital capabilities and services.

Customer Managers:

• Proactively lead & develop customer relationships and engagement across their area of responsibility.
• Act as the informed point of contact for the Customer Site Leads and stakeholders.
• Provide Site Co-ordination Installation Design Authority (SCIDA) services to manage compliance of digital infrastructure change across Defence.
• Using your digital skills and expertise, you are the trusted partner representing the customer’s digital and technology needs within MOD.

Collaborating by default, you will work with your colleagues to ensure providers, internal and external, deliver to the contracted and agreed service levels, whilst providing support across the portfolio of DD delivered services at Defence sites, ensuring impact on Defence outputs are understood and prioritised.

You’ll become responsible for ensuring installation design compliance in line with legislation, policy and departmental guidance which protects MOD data, in operational and business environments, from inadvertent emanation, possible interception and loss of service.

You’ll need knowledge, skills or experience in IT design compliance and IT installation and be able to use these in a customer service environment.

We will enable you to provide operational support and mission assurance, with a strong, practical and convincing determination to communicate the advantages of the Defence Digital strategy but you’ll need to be self-starting, collaborative, dynamic and demonstrably ambitious, even visionary, about excellent customer service.

We’ll provide training to gain a Site Co-ordination Installation Design Authority (SCIDA) qualification (or for those who wish to refresh their knowledge!) and support you in undertaking further learning and development opportunities, within your field and beyond.

Joining Defence Digital enables you to take advantage of our excellent benefits package, including flexible working, discount schemes, a generous leave allowance and a market-leading Civil Service pension.

We are a small, friendly, highly specialised team that is growing, so now is a great time to join and grow with us!

Responsibilities

Customer Managers are responsible for relationships between DD and the Customer Site Leads, establishing and maintaining successful partnerships with internal and external stakeholders, and developing strong and trusted customer relationships, at operational and tactical level.

Representing DD, you will need to understand requirements and manage the customers’ expectations, taking ownership and providing support to live services that reduces or nullifies any loss of services to Defence.

Working in different areas of the business from Headquarters through to the front end operational ‘first line’, the customer portfolio is diverse and you will be dealing with stakeholders across all the MOD. 

Key responsibilities include:

• Customer relationship management – Identify, manage and maintain customer relationships, promote DD and ensure maximum benefit is gained from our products and services.
• Customer champion – Represent customer interests with service owners and providers, ensuring services meet their needs and requirements, are fit for purpose and that impacts/dependencies are understood.
• Live service liaison – Liaise with Customer Site Leads to ensure impacts of major incidents and issues regarding DD services (including cyber and electromagnetic) are articulated, to assist in efficient investigation and timely resolution.
• Demand capture – Work with customers to understand and assist with the capture of changes to digital requirements and future demands.
• Change support & facilitation – Support delivery of customer change activity and facilitate the delivery of DD programmes, projects and managed change.
• Customer profiles/information – Capture and maintain customer information to enable effective service delivery.
• Customer communications – Create and distribute customer communications about DD products, live services and planned disruption to service.
• Delivery Management – Manage the delivery of single suppliers and support the Delivery Manager to ensure successful implementation of multi-supplier non-standard service requests.
• SCIDA Provision – Deliver SCIDA services and support to core sites, to support delivery of the DD Equipment Programme.
• Develop up to SCIDA CTP (Competency to Practice) Complex, subject to site and area requirements.

As a customer champion, you will put the customer needs first, whilst still aligning with business requirements that both manage and meet expectations and you’ll be able to establish strong and trusting relationships with stakeholders and DD business areas. You’ll need the ability to work alone and as a team member and have a broad knowledge of network infrastructures and digital systems and services.

In supporting live service and customer change, you’ll need excellent customer facing skills, adding value at every layer, being innovative and adaptable to change.

In this role, you’ll need to use your Site Co-ordination Installation Design Authority (SCIDA) experience, or experience in IT design compliance and IT installation, in a customer service environment. A strong background in customer service, preferably within an ICT environment, would be beneficial.

The attributes our team displays are: 

• Understanding our customers
• Leading activity
• Investing in our people
• Collaborating by default
• Taking ownership on behalf of the customer
• Continually improving
• Adding value at every layer and focusing on solutions

Desirable/beneficial qualifications and skills:

• ONC / OND in electrical / electronic engineering or similar discipline
• HNC/HND or BTEC in electrical/electronic engineering or related subject
• ITIL qualification (can be gained in post)
• Cyber Confident training (to be gained in post)
• Proficient in using O365 and associated applications
• The desire to continue to learn and develop as an ICT professional!

This role will require face to face engagements, regular business travel within the UK and occasional overnight stays away from home.

A full UK Driving Licence is essential due to regular travel to Defence sites, many of which are remote and not easily accessible via public transport.

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.

We have three positions available, one based in Aldershot, GU11 2JN, one in Preston PR2 8AA and one in Blandford, DT11 8AA.

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

• Leadership
• Communicating and Influencing
• Managing a Quality Service

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

• Ownership and initiative
• Stakeholder relationship management (IT operations)

• 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 with an average employer contribution of 27%
• 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
• Please see Benefits Leaflet for more detail

The post does not offer relocation expenses. 

External recruits who join the MOD who are new to the Civil Service will be subject to a six-month probation period. 

Please Note: Expenses incurred for travel to interviews will not be reimbursed.

Please be advised that the Department is conducting a review of all pay related allowances which could impact on those allowances that the post currently being advertised attracts.

Any move to MOD from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax-Free Childcare. Determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/.

The Ministry of Defence is committed to providing a safe and healthy working environment for its staff which includes educating them on the benefits of not smoking, protecting them from the harmful effects of second-hand smoke and supporting those who want to give up smoking. Under the Smoke-Free Working Environment policy, Smoking and the use of all tobacco products (including combustible and chewing tobacco products) will not be permitted anywhere in the Defence working environment however some exemptions are in place, please refer to local guidance. The policy is Whole Force and includes all Defence personnel, contractors, visitors and other non-MOD personnel. All applicants seeking, considering, or accepting employment with the Ministry of Defence should be aware of this policy and that it is already in place at a number of Defence Establishments.

MOD Recruitment Satisfaction Survey – we may contact you regarding your experience to help us improve our customer satisfaction. The survey is voluntary and anonymous. You may however be given the opportunity to provide additional information to help us improve our service which includes the collection of some personal data as defined by the United Kingdom General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR). The MOD Privacy Notice sets out how we will use your personal data and your rights.

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

Defence Digital 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 digital 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.

Within Defence Digital each profession is led by a Professional Head of Community who will lead professional development and support the Continuous Professional Development path for their group.

Strategic Command is going through a significant transformation programme which aims to improve the way the Command conducts its business and delivers for Defence and the nation. As a consequence of this, all posts within Strategic Command Headquarters and in time the wider organisation, 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 Command’s transformation programme 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 the Command’s personnel and Trade Unions.

Job contact :

• Name : Defence Digital Talent Acquisition Team
• Email : ukstratcomdd-hr-talentacqdel@mod.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : DBSCivPers-Resourcingteam3@mod.gov.uk