Navy Command, Resilience & Business Continuity Manager

Job summary

Navy Command Headquarters (NCHQ) is the nerve centre of the Naval Service. It supports operations around the globe and provides the ships, people, aircraft and equipment to deliver the UK’s defence policy.

In Navy Command, our civil servants work alongside their military colleagues in jobs that matter; jobs which often have a direct impact on the quality of the operational capabilities we deliver. Roles can offer great job satisfaction and there are many opportunities to develop and progress both within the Ministry of Defence and across the wider Civil Service.

The Submarine Directorate in Navy Command is responsible for all submarine in service capability and availability, including oversight of the Submarine Flotilla and Clyde Naval Base.

This position is advertised at 37 hours per week.

Job description

The Resilience & Business Continuity Manager is a leadership position that requires an experienced specialist to manage the Submarine Directorate’s preparedness against major disruption. The role is responsible for designing, executing, and continuously improving the strategies that ensure our operations and activities can withstand and quickly recover from security attacks, system failures, and other threats.

This role demands a proven professional who can lead all preparedness efforts and guarantee compliance with all relevant MOD and HMG policies, standards, and regulatory mandates.

You will enhance our operational resilience, ensuring that the directorates’ functions and activities are fully equipped to respond to emergencies and crises with confidence and precision.

Your role will involve close collaboration with a network of senior military, civil service, and industry leaders, experts within wider defence, government, and other organisations.

You’ll work across the directorate to assess and benchmark our resilience and BC capabilities whilst fostering a community of engaged stakeholders. By sharing insights and best practices, you will help refine our organisational approach to resilience and BC.

Responsibilities:

• Lead, manage and provide an expert and high-quality specialist resilience and BC advice function. As a subject matter expert, the advice of the role holder will be relied upon by senior leaders.
• You will in due course be responsible for the recruitment, professional development, and wellbeing of a new Resilience and BC team for the directorate.
• Provide expert direction in the development, coordination and delivery of Submarine Directorate business continuity, crisis management, and contingency planning arrangements.
• Manage and resolve complex problems involving how we ensure our critical activities can continue in times of incident or emergency. During incidents, the post holder would provide expert authoritative advice on BC management to the Head of Security & Resilience and senior managers across multiple disciplines and organisations. This will notably include acting as a focal point for communications and coordination.
• Work closely with 1* Commands within the directorate, supporting their planning and ensuring alignment with MOD policies. This includes acting as a reliable point of contact for Crisis Management in the directorate, regularly liaising with senior leaders.
• Reporting as required to several high-level boards such as the Submarine Security Board and Navy Command Security & Resilience Board.
• Contribute significantly to the development of Navy BC policies and strategies, contingency guidance and plans. The post holder will understand MOD BC management policies and approaches and how they should be interpreted by the Submarine Directorate, and use advanced influencing skills to gain commitment for the required operational changes.
• Establish, build and maintain relationships for a resilience and BC network of colleagues across the directorate and wider Navy, sharing resilience and BC best practice, advice, guidance and offering specialist support to the wider community.
• Ensure clarity of roles and responsibilities within the directorate’s Resilience & BC functions through training, awareness programs, and regular exercises. Ensure that the directorate’s BC and response plans are regularly tested and exercised. This will include designing and coordinating exercises and importantly documenting and acting on lessons to be learnt.

Person specification

Essential

• A recognised professional certification or accreditation in Business Continuity and/or organisational resilience (e.g. CBCI, MBCI), or equivalent experience.
• Be able to demonstrate proven, extensive experience in developing and delivering BC and incident management response arrangements.
• Experience in a government or large corporate environment of comparable scale with comparable risks.
• Ability to influence senior leaders and stakeholders to drive change, using excellent people management skills.
• Ability to work across organisational boundaries and across disciplines to deliver results, collaborating effectively with others.
• Adaptable to new challenges and ways of working to deliver results and build a successful team in a changing environment
• A willingness to undertake the Cabinet Office Crisis Management Excellence Programme (CMEP) within 12 months

Desirable

• Prior experience of working with or in Defence.

Behaviours

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

• Leadership
• Communicating and Influencing
• Changing and Improving
• Delivering at Pace

Technical skills

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

• Resilience & Business Continuity Presentation

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £61,630, Ministry of Defence contributes £17,854 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, Strengths, Experience and Technical skills.

Candidates can apply online via the Civil Service Jobs website by completing the application form before the deadline shown. Apply using the Civil Service Jobs apply button, filling in all required details in all sections. Using the Success Profiles link for information on format and style, ensure you provide evidence for all Behaviours and Experience sections requested in the appropriate competency style.

Sift Stage

Candidates will be required to complete an online CV template to include job history, full details of education and qualifications and previous experiences and skills. Please also include any relevant responsibilities and achievements.

Candidates will be required to complete a Statement of Suitability/Personal Statement of no more than 750 words, providing details relevant to the essential and desirable experience in the job advert.

The requirements for the role have been benchmarked and these will be used to sift all candidates, with those meeting the minimum requirements invited to interview.

Feedback will only be provided if you are selected for an interview.

Interview Stage

At interview, you will be assessed against the following Success Profiles: Technical, Behaviours, Strength and Experience:

• Leadership
• Communicating & Influencing
• Changing & Improving
• Delivering at Pace

Technical Skills: Resilience & Business Continuity Presentation

Government Security Profession Career Framework - UK Government Security - Beta

Head of Resilience - UK Government Security - Beta

Strengths will also be assessed at interview.

Further Information:

Candidates who are found to meet an acceptable standard at interview but are not successful in one of the advertised posts may be considered for similar roles within the Business Unit.

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 developed vetting (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 : Ben Kirby
• Email : benjamin.kirby110@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

20260128-Submarines Directorate Candidate Pack-O (1) Opens in new window (pdf, 7165kB)22_0656 NC Applicant guide A4 - Digital Opens in new window (pdf, 2922kB)MOD Candidate Pack Opens in new window (pdf, 1562kB)Candidate Information 2025 Opens in new window (docx, 31kB)