DBS Estates Site Facilities Manager MoD Abbey Wood North

Job summary

Are you a dedicated person who is passionate about making a difference?

Would you like to be part an organisation dedicated to supporting the Ministry of Defence through provision of outstanding customer service and specialist support?

The Role

This is an exciting opportunity to join our organisation as Estates Site Manager for Defence Business Services (DBS) southern-flagship site in Bristol, MoD Abbey Wood North (ABWN). We are looking for someone who can connect with confidence, enjoys collaborating, has a good eye for detail and can coordinate incident response. Ideally you will understand how safety and environmental considerations' impact on office-based activities, however specific HS&EP qualifications are not required because full training will be given.

The role is based at MOD Abbey Wood North in Bristol, however occasional travel to other southern DBS sites may be required. Although all office-based employees are expected to spend a minimum of 60% of their working time in office, because the nature of this role is predominantly site-based, a higher level of site attendance is required and the opportunities for hybrid working are more limited and dependent upon business needs. Please consider whether you can meet this requirement before applying for this role

The Organisation

DBS is one of the largest shared service organisations in Europe that provides a wide range of corporate services, to over 1.2 million end users, including serving and past military and families, as well as MoD civil servants and industry. DBS delivers large scale administration and smaller specialist services to enable the wider MOD to focus on its core aims, maintaining the UK’s Defence and Security.

• Our Vision - To support UK defence customers with outstanding service every time.
• Our Mission - Together we will proudly support Defence, continuously improving and delivering flexible, timely, sustainable and value for money services that underpin the whole force and enhance operational capability.

DBS is committed to creating a great place to work for all our colleagues. We are building an inclusive culture and respectful environment that reflects the diversity of the society. We want to maximise the potential of everyone who works for us through opportunities to develop your skills and experience. We also offer a range of flexible working patterns and support to make a fulfilling career accessible too.

This position is advertised at 37 hours per week. Part-time or job-share will only be considered provided full time hours can be covered.

Job description

As the Estates Manager for ABWN you will be responsible for the Management of the DBS Estates Abbey Wood North Team to ensure delivery of all aspects of Facilities Management, Infrastructure, Health & Safety, Environmental Protection, Physical Security, and other associated tasks at the DBS Abbey Wood North Site. When required support for wider DBS sites as directed.

This is a high profile role and your duties will encompass:-

• Being the Head of Establishments representative responsible for managing all aspects of Health Safety and Environmental matters including risk assessment, fire safety, emergency planning, hazard identification ensuring the development, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of all related procedures, documentation and training to ensure legal and MOD compliance is met. to ensure legal and MOD compliance is met.
• Manage, develop, monitor and update Health & Safety, Infrastructure, Facilities Management, Physical Security, and Access Control procedures and standards for ABWN to ensure statutory and MOD compliance is met.
• Estates Fire Focal Point (EFFP) for the site, undertaking regular site audits to provide first level assurance. Provide EFFP advice and guidance to other DBS sites, supporting their audit activities when required.
• Being the Establishment Security Officer for the site promoting and ensuring adherence to MoDs security policies, oversight of access control, and providing advice on security matters to site users.
• Primary Estates contact for all Lodgers and teams on site, ensuring agreements and HS&EP documentation is kept up-to-date and compliant with MoD HS&EP guidance. Maintain regular communication with the nominated Point of Contact for all site-based teams, leading regular Stakeholder meetings and interactions.
• Manage control of all infrastructure work undertaken by approved contractors as supported by Defence Infrastructure Organisation and the Regional Prime Contractor, and Duty Holder for the 4C’s (Co-operation Co-ordination Communication Control) management of visiting workers and contractors.
• Lead, manage and develop Estates staff to ensure an effective, engaged and highly performing team with the appropriate skills and experience to deliver a quality service to all site users within their remit.
• Taking the lead for Estates actions within Site Recover/Business Continuity plans and exercises and incidents.
• Overseeing Estates and Facilities spending, obtaining best value for money in accordance with MOD Financial Controls Systems.
• Undertaking other duties within the DBS Estates to support own and other sites as directed by management.

Person specification

The successful individual will be:-

• Highly organised, with demonstrable communication and IT skills. The role requires initiative, management of priorities and balancing a busy workload to adapt to changing demands and able to work flexibly in order to meet stretching deadlines;
• Have strong interpersonal skills and relationship management skills able to interact and engage confidently with a range of stakeholders across Defence.
• Be an excellent verbal and written communicator with good attention to detail;
• Able to work independently and as part of a wider team;

Experience of working in a Facilities Management role and/or a Health & Safety role, particularly with regards to writing and updating policies, is desirable.

Behaviours

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

• Managing a Quality Service
• Leadership
• Communicating and Influencing
• Changing and Improving

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £37,720, Ministry of Defence contributes £10,927 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
• An environment with flexible working options including a flexi-time scheme
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
• Highly competitive Civil Service pension with an average employer contribution of 27%
• Alternative working practices such as hybrid working
• 25 days paid annual leave rising (1 day per year) to 30 days upon completion of 5 years’ service
• Ability to roll over up to 10 days annual leave per year
• In addition to 8 public holidays per year you will also receive leave for HM The King’s birthday
• Enhanced parental and adoption leave
• Minimum of 15 days Special Leave in a rolling 12-month period for volunteer military or emergency service reserve commitments
• Special paid leave for volunteering up to 6 days per year
• Employee Assistance Programme to support your wellbeing – a free service that assists you with achieving a productive, healthy environment that is conducive to a healthy lifestyle.
• On-site gymnasium (for a small monthly fee for membership of Civil Service Sports Club)
• Loan to purchase a Bicycle (Advance on Salary)

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.

Please ensure that at the application and interview stages of the campaign you review the Success Profiles Framework to assist you in the demonstration of your skills and experience.

Your suitability for the role will be assessed using the Success Profile elements that have been chosen for this campaign. Each element will be scored accordingly, and the successful candidate will be appointed on merit.

Please use the ‘STAR’ technique when writing your examples to enable you to provide a meaningful and complete example for assessment. For those not familiar with STAR, it is an acronym that stands for:

• Situation
• Task
• Action
• Result.

CV – Candidates will be required to provide CV details to include job history; qualification details and previous skills and experience.

Personal Statement

Within your personal statement please include details of how you meet the aspects of the Person Specification for the role and briefly outline any relevant experience or qualifications that would support this role. (250 Word Max)

At sift, Candidates will be assessed against their CV and Statement of suitability and the following:

Behaviours

• Managing a Quality Service
• Leadership
• Communicating and Influencing
• Changing and Improving

It is suggested that you make full use of the 250 word-allowance available, ensuring you provide full details of your own actions and how you have fully demonstrated all aspects of the Behaviour at the level of the role applied for. As a guide, approximately 70% of the word-allowance should be used to describe your actions.

At interview, Candidates will be assessed against the following:

• Managing a Quality Service
• Leadership
• Communicating and Influencing
• Changing and Improving

Sift

Within 10 days of the advert closure date, the sift will be conducted. If a large number of applications are received, then an initial sift may be held on the lead behaviour, Managing A Quality Service, and your experience. All other behaviours will be assessed if you progress to full sift.

Interview Stage

Applicants who are successful at the Sift stage will be called forward for interviews which will be held in-person at MOD Abbey Wood North. These are expected to be arranged for late September/early October and candidates being invited will be given further information about interview dates and times.

The panel will ask behaviour-based and experience-based questions to explore what you are capable of and your experience. You will be expected to use different Behaviour examples at interview to the ones you provide on your application form.

We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation.

Reserve List

Candidates who meet the requirements for the position but are unsuccessful on this occasion will be placed on a Reserve list and may be offered a similar position at the same or a lower grade should one become available within the next 12 months

Primary: Behaviour - Managing a Quality Service

Secondary: Career - Job History

Priority order - Interview

In the rare case where individuals have exact matching scores, the order of merit will be determined based on the behaviour scores at interview in the following order:

1 - Behaviour - Managing a Quality Service
2 - Behaviour - Leadership
3 - Behaviour - Communicating and Influencing
4 - Behaviour - Changing and Improving
5 - Career - Job History
6 - Career - Qualification Details

Priority order - Application

If candidate scores are still exact, the merit order will then be determined on the sift score in the following order:

1 - Behaviour - Managing a Quality Service
2 - Behaviour - Leadership
3 - Behaviour - Communicating and Influencing
4 - Behaviour - Changing and Improving
5 - Career - Personal Statement
6 - Career - Job History
7 - Career - Qualification Details

Sift and interview timeframes

Sift start date: Early September

Interviews are currently taking place via the following method: Face to face

Interview start date: Mid September

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.

As a result of the changes to the UK immigration rules which came into 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 will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a basic (or equivalent) 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

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

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 : Mel Poolton
• Email : mel.poolton100@mod.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : DBS-EnhancedRecruitmentTeam@mod.gov.uk

Further information

Appointment to the Civil Service is governed by the Civil Service Commission’s Recruitment Principles. If you feel a department has breached the requirement of the Recruitment Principles and would like to raise this, please contact DBS-EnhancedRecruitmentTeam@MOD.gov.uk in the first instance. If the role has been advertised externally (outside of the Civil Service) and you are not satisfied with the response, you may bring your complaint to the Commission. For further information on bringing a complaint to the Civil Service Commission please visit their web pages: http://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk/civil-service-recruitm…

Attachments

MOD Candidate Pack Opens in new window (pdf, 1562kB)Candidate Information 2025 Opens in new window (docx, 31kB)Defence Internal Brief notice Opens in new window (docx, 43kB)