Liaison Support Officer

Job summary

The Qatar Air Programmes Office is a team within the Director Capabilities and Programmes organisation consisting of RAF personnel civil servants, contractors and secondees located within the Ministry of Defence London Main Building, RAF Coningsby and RAF Leeming. The QAPO exists to support the successful delivery of support to the Qatari Emiri Air Force (QEAF) across the current Typhoon support service, Joint Typhoon Sqn (12 Sqn) and Joint Hawk Training Sqn (11 Sqn. The team manages the delivery of support as laid out in the Typhoon and Hawk Implementing Agreements that sit under the Memorandum of Understanding between the UK Government and Government of the State of Qatar covering co-operation on Air Capability and related services.

The Qatar Typhoon Programme is a strategically important programme which generates in excess of £6.0Bn income for the United Kingdom. The Programme is delivering: 24 Typhoon aircraft to the State of Qatar through a Government of Qatar contract with BAE Systems; suitable weapons through a Government of Qatar contract with MBDA; and under a Government of Qatar Memorandum of Understanding with the UK Government, aircrew training and the deployment of a Joint Royal Air Force/Qatar Emiri Air Force Typhoon Squadron.

The programme is managed by the Programme Office based in MoD in London.

The development and ongoing maintenance of the UK/Qatar strategic relationship is critical to the current Typhoon and Hawk Programmes and future export campaign activities. RAF engagement sits within the higher-level strategic relationship and requires constant effort.

This position is advertised at 37 hours per week.

Job description

POST HOLDER’S TASKS AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Primary Purpose of the Role

The Liaison Support Officer provides welfare, administrative, and integration support to QEAF personnel assigned to 11 Squadron in the UK, enabling positive international partnership, operational readiness, and programme delivery.

Key Responsibilities

1. Welfare & Station Support

• Provide comprehensive welfare support to all 11 Sqn QEAF personnel during their UK assignment.
• Coordinate accommodation, station access, UK banking arrangements, bill/fine payments, and general administrative needs.
• Arrange medical and dental appointments.

2. Family & Community Support

• Deliver visible, personal welfare engagement through drop‑ins and regular meetings.
• Signpost QEAF families to relevant support services (Community Support, HIVE, Medical/Dental).
• Provide information on local schools, community spaces, and attractions.

3. Administrative & Programme Support

• Produce weekly updates for the Line Manager, including priorities and emergent issues.
• Maintain databases, administrative trackers, and SharePoint records.
• Keep UK RAF colleagues, contractors, and LM teams informed of QEAF-related matters.

4. Personnel Support for Sensitive Issues

• Assist in collecting and coordinating information for QEAF personnel with medical or welfare concerns.
• Work with medical staff, OC 11 Squadron, Dep OC 11 Squadron, and other stakeholders to manage cases.

5. Accommodation Management

• Act as the liaison for QEAF personnel regarding SFA/SLA allocation and maintenance.
• Engage with external agencies including Vivo Pinnacle, Amey, and Aramark.

6. Visa & Departure Administration

• Assist with Visa (BRP) extensions and ensure departure forms and pre-departure actions are completed.

7. Integration & Liaison Activity

• Identify emerging issues affecting RAF and QEAF integration.
• Support QAPO Liaison Lead and Flt Lt in decision-making during absence or surge periods.

8. Hawk Programme Support

• Support Hawk project teams to ensure activity is delivered to schedule and cost.
• Assist with QEAF VIP visits and ad-hoc tasking.

9. Additional Duties

• Undertake tasks appropriate to the grade and evolving needs of the Hawk & Liaison Team.
• Apply initiative, flexibility, and sound judgement in a dynamic, multinational environment.

Person specification

Qualifications

• No mandatory qualifications required.
• Desirable: Qualifications in administration, welfare, communications,

Experience

Essential:

• Experience in administration, personnel support, or welfare related roles.
• Strong communication and relationship building skills.
• Ability to manage sensitive information and prioritise workloads.

Desirable:

• Experience coordinating accommodation, welfare, or medical support.

Behaviours

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

• Managing a Quality Service
• Communicating and Influencing
• Working Together

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

• Communicating and Influencing
• Working Together

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £27,866, Ministry of Defence contributes £8,072 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%

Where business needs allow, some roles may be suitable for a combination of office and working from home as part of a non-contractual hybrid working arrangement. All office-based employees will be expected to spend a minimum of 60% of their working time in office, subject to site capacity and any required workplace adjustments. Requirements to attend other locations for official business, or work in another MOD workplace, will also count towards this level of office attendance. Applicants can request further information regarding how this and other flexible working arrangements may work in their team from the Vacancy Holder (see advert for contact details). Defence Business Services cannot respond to any questions about working arrangements.

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.

At application, you will be assessed against your Personal Statement and the following behaviours:

• Communicating and Influencing
• Working Together

Personal Statement (250 words maximum)

• Please provide information of how you meet the criteria set out in the Job Description. You may wish to further include examples of how you have tackled similar tasks or demonstrated the skills outlined in the job advert.

Applications will be sifted on all Success Profile elements, but in the event of a high number of applications, the sift will be conducted on the behaviour Working Together.

At interview, you will be assessed against the following:

Behaviours:

• Managing a Quality Service
• Communicating and Influencing
• Working Together

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 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

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 : April Chapman
• Email : April.Chapman499@mod.gov.uk
• Telephone : 303 377 7042

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

EXTERNAL PACK Opens in new window (pdf, 1562kB)Candidate Information updated_ Opens in new window (docx, 32kB)Air Command's Applicant Guide Opens in new window (pdf, 485kB)