Community Engagement and Support Officer (CESO) Northwood Headquarters

Job summary

The Northwood site is the only major Regular military establishment in the County of Hertfordshire and delivers operational command and control to UK forces deployed around the world. Within the context of the wider establishment, Northwood Headquarters (NWD HQ)’s mission is to deliver a safe and secure site and provide the supporting functions to enable the operational outputs of the Northwood-based operational HQs.

The area directly surrounding the site is densely populated and socially diverse. The term ‘community’ refers to both the internal (mainly military) and external (mainly civilian) community stakeholders who reside on-site, locally within a 5-mile radius, and regionally across two neighbouring London Boroughs. Successful engagement relies on influencing the external audience through coherent messaging and regular interaction. It also involves including and empowering the internal audience in community relations.

For the internal community, housing enquiries, particularly with a welfare need, are a specific task of the role. Liaison with DIO and our industry partners to help solve issues quickly has a huge impact.

This is a permanent position advertised at 37 hours per week. The customer-facing nature of the role requires the majority of work to be on-site at Northwood.

Job description

The Community Engagement and Support Officer (CESO) is responsible for leading and coordinating all external community engagement efforts to mitigate the impacts of Defence activity on the local community. The role also involves minimising and managing the NWD HQ response to any adverse reactions on behalf of the Commanding Officer (CO).

As the primary Point of Contact (POC) for the families of Service personnel assigned to Northwood, the CESO plays a key role in engaging with the community to ensure Defence fulfils its responsibilities to these individuals locally.

The successful candidate will not only signpost individuals seeking guidance and support but will also work closely with multiple internal and external agencies to coordinate service provision for those most in need. Regular engagement with housing agencies – particularly those providing Service Families’ Accommodation – will be required. Additionally, the CESO will represent the NWD HQ CO at external meetings to advocate for the interests of the Service community and maintain positive and effective relations with local and regional civil society.

Person specification

The successful candidate should be able to assume the responsibilities quickly without requiring significant professional development.

Therefore, they must have:

• Experience in Defence: Previous experience working in Defence or a strong understanding of Defence personnel and their unique needs.
• Housing and Welfare Expertise: Experience working with housing, tenancy support, and welfare provision for tenants. A housing qualification is highly desirable.
• Community Engagement Experience: Proven experience in an engagement role, with a good understanding of community-related skills and techniques.
• Strong Communication Skills: Excellent communication skills, with the ability to effectively liaise between military and civilian stakeholders and tailor messaging to suit different audiences.
• Problem-Solving and Adaptability: The ability to work effectively in ambiguous situations, solve problems, and deliver engagement solutions while prioritising tasks efficiently.
• Organisational Skills: Exceptional organisational abilities, with a proven track record of managing busy and varied activities in a timely and effective manner.

Responsibilities:

As part of this role, your key responsibilities will include:

• Community Engagement
• Community Support Information Office
• Liaison with Charities and Welfare Agencies
• Service Families’ Accommodation (SFA)
• Communication and Publications
• Event Organisation

A valid driving licence is desirable, as travel to external engagements will be a routine part of the role.

Behaviours

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

• Communicating and Influencing
• Working Together
• Managing a Quality Service
• Making Effective Decisions

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

• Communicating and Influencing
• Working Together

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £30,740, Ministry of Defence contributes £8,905 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

• 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%

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 Policy Notice sets out how we will use your personal data and your rights.

Things you need to know

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 a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours and Experience.

To apply for this role, please submit the following:

1. CV:
   A CV outlining your job history, full qualification details, and previous skills and experience.

2. Personal Statement:
   A Personal Statement (maximum 750 words) explaining how your personal skills, qualities, and experience meet the role description and responsibilities.

Sift:

At sift, you will be assessed against your CV, Statement of suitability and the following:

Behaviours:

• Communicating and Influencing
• Working Together

We aim to release sift results to applicants one week after the closing date. However, depending on the volume of applications, these dates may be subject to change.

Interviews:

At interview, you will be assessed against the following behaviours:

• Communicating and Influencing
• Working Together
• Managing a Quality Service
• Making Effective Decisions

Candidates who are successful at the sift stage will be invited to a single interview lasting approximately 45 minutes.

Remote interviews via Microsoft Teams may be arranged if required.

During the interview, we will ask questions to assess you against the Civil Service Behaviours referenced above.

Interviews are scheduled to take place one to two weeks after the job advert closes. These dates may be subject to change depending on the volume of candidates.

Important Information:

Cyber & Specialist Operations Command (CSOC) generates and operates specialist capabilities, ready to fight across all domains to make the UK secure at home and strong abroad.

Always on, we are across every UK operation, delivering the capabilities you don’t usually see - or those you can’t.

From cyber warriors and medics to intelligence analysts, special forces, educators, and Defence attachés, our collective expertise delivers the warfighting edge Defence needs to deter threats and secure the nation today and prepare for tomorrow.

CSOC unites Defence’s cyber and specialist capabilities under a single, military command alongside the Royal Navy, British Army, and the Royal Air Force - acting as the UK’s fourth Military Command. For more information, please see here.’

Cyber and Specialist Operations Command (CSOC) is going through a significant transformation programme which aims to design the way in which the new Military Command conducts its business and delivers for Defence and the nation. As a consequence of this, posts within CSOC are/or may become 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.

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equality of opportunity. There is a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria. If you need to advise us that you need additional help or reasonable adjustments for the recruitment process, please contact: DBSCivPers-Resourcingteam3@mod.gov.uk .

As a result of the changes to the UK immigration rules which came in to effect on 1 January 2021, the Ministry of Defence will only offer sponsorship for a skilled worker visa under the points based system, where a role has been deemed to be business critical. This role does not meet that category and we will not sponsor a visa. It is therefore NOT open to applications from those who will require sponsorship under the points based system.

Should you apply for this role and be found to require sponsorship, your application will be rejected and any provisional offer of employment withdrawn.

The Ministry of Defence requires all candidates who are successful at interview to declare any outside interests. These declarations will be discussed with successful candidates following the interview process and before a formal offer of employment is made, as some outside interests may not be compatible with MOD civilian roles. This will not, in the majority of cases, prevent employment in MOD, but it is a measure that must be taken to ensure that appropriate mitigations can be put in place to manage any potential, perceived or actual conflicts of interest from the first day of employment.

The Ministry of Defence adopts a zero-tolerance approach to unacceptable behaviours, which includes bullying, harassment, sexual harassment, discrimination, and victimisation. You will not be eligible and will not be considered for this post if you have been dismissed from a role for such unacceptable behaviours within the last five years. This will also apply if you resign or otherwise leave a role but, because of an adverse decision, would have been dismissed for gross misconduct had you continued in that employment. Pre-employment checks will be carried out.

Feedback:
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check (opens in a new window).

See our vetting charter (opens in a new window).People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

Open to UK nationals only.

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

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).The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see theCivil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

Apply and further information

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

• Name : Ella Phillips
• Email : Ella.Phillips119@mod.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : DBSCivPers-ResourcingTeam3@mod.gov.uk

Further information

Please ensure you read the attached candidate information document prior to completing your application. If you are dissatisfied with the service you have received from DBS, or believe that DBS has failed to follow the recruitment process in line with the Civil Service Commission principles of selection for appointment on merit on the basis of Fair and Open competition, you can raise a formal complaint by writing to DBS at the following address: Defence Business Services, Scanning Hub, Room 6124, Tomlinson House, Norcross Lane, Blackpool, FY5 3WP. If after raising your complaint with DBS you remain dissatisfied you can complain directly to the Civil Service Commission at the following address: Civil Service commission, Room G/8, 1 Horse Guards Road, London, SW1A 2HQ Or by email: info@csc.gov.uk.

Attachments

CSOC Candidate Pack 2025 Opens in new window (pdf, 1777kB)MOD Candidate Pack Opens in new window (pdf, 1562kB)Candidate Information 2025 Opens in new window (docx, 31kB)