RAF Digital Programme Support Officer

Job summary

We are delighted to advertise this role within RAF Digital. RAF Digital supports the delivery of enhanced freedom of action in the Air and Space domains through data exploitation and digital agility, supporting today’s RAF and driving the journey to the Next Generation RAF.

This is an exciting opportunity for a motivated and organised individual to join RAF Digital at the centre of the RAF’s digital transformation activity. The role sits within the RAF Digital Portfolio Office and supports delivery of the Air & Space Digital Plan (ASDP), helping to maintain portfolio control, strengthen governance, improve management information and support senior decision-making.

We are delighted to advertise this role within RAF Digital. RAF Digital supports the delivery of enhanced freedom of action in the Air and Space domains through data exploitation and digital agility, supporting today’s RAF and driving the journey to the Next Generation RAF. This is an exciting opportunity for a motivated and organised individual to join the RAF Digital Portfolio Office and support delivery of the Air & Space Digital Plan (ASDP). The role will help maintain accurate portfolio information, support governance and reporting, improve data quality and provide reliable day-to-day support to portfolio management activity.

This position is advertised at 37 hours per week.

Job description

You will play a key role in supporting the successful delivery of the Air & Space Digital Plan (ASDP), helping RAF Digital maintain oversight, control and assurance across a diverse portfolio of digital activity. Working at the heart of the RAF Digital Portfolio Office, you will provide critical support to governance, reporting, portfolio management and decision-making processes, ensuring senior leaders have the insight they need to deliver digital transformation effectively.

You will support the successful delivery of the ASDP, helping RAF Digital maintain accurate, timely and decision-ready portfolio information. Working within the RAF Digital Portfolio Office and under the direction of the Senior Programme Support Officer, you will support governance, reporting, portfolio controls and continuous improvement, ensuring teams and senior leaders receive reliable information to support delivery and decision-making.

This role offers the opportunity to work across a wide range of programmes, projects and stakeholders. You will develop practical experience in portfolio management, governance, digital tooling and management information while helping RAF Digital improve its ways of working.

• Support the Senior Programme Support Officer in maintaining a coherent, decision-ready portfolio view across ASDP Lines of Effort, ensuring plans, priorities, milestones and delivery pressures are accurately reflected in portfolio products.
• Maintain and quality assure portfolio data across risk management tool, the ASDP workbook, portfolio management tooling, dashboards and associated reporting products, ensuring information is accurate, current and suitable for decision-making.
• Collate and validate management information covering delivery confidence, performance, cost, schedule, risks, issues, assumptions, dependencies, decisions and benefits.
• Provide secretariat and coordination support to RAF Digital governance forums, including preparing agendas and packs, recording actions and decisions, tracking follow-up activity and maintaining appropriate records.
• Produce routine and ad hoc reports, dashboards and analysis using Microsoft 365, Excel, Power BI and other approved tools to support portfolio insight, governance and prioritisation.
• Engage with Lines of Effort, project and programme teams to improve data quality, PMCF maturity and consistency of portfolio reporting, escalating gaps or blockers through the Senior Programme Support Officer where required.
• Support portfolio processes including risk, issue and dependency tracking, benefits and outcomes reporting, demand management, prioritisation and maintenance of the ASDP delivery pipeline.
• Support RAF Digital-led Microsoft Copilot portfolio activity, including licence administration, demand tracking, onboarding coordination, usage reporting, adoption monitoring, communications and benefits evidence, under the direction of the Senior Programme Support Officer.
• Support continuous improvement across Portfolio Office processes, reporting, automation, guidance and digital tooling, capturing lessons and helping implement agreed improvements.

Person specification

Essential

• Experience of supporting administrative, project, programme, portfolio, governance or business management activity, or the ability to develop quickly in these areas.
• Ability to organise and prioritise a varied workload, completing tasks accurately and to agreed deadlines.
• Good communication and stakeholder engagement skills, with the ability to build positive working relationships across teams.
• Confident use of Microsoft 365 applications, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams and SharePoint.
• Good analytical and organisational skills, including the ability to maintain accurate information, identify gaps and produce clear reports or management information.
• An understanding of risk, issue, dependency, benefits or performance reporting, or a willingness and ability to learn.
• Ability to work collaboratively, support colleagues and contribute to continuous improvement in a busy delivery environment.
• Equality & Diversity training, or willingness to complete all required mandatory training.

Desirable

• Portfolio, Programme and Project Offices (P3O) Foundation or equivalent project delivery knowledge, or willingness to complete the qualification within the first six months of appointment.
• Experience of a risk management tool or a similar project, programme or portfolio management information system.
• Experience of supporting governance meetings, maintaining action logs, preparing briefings, dashboards or reports.
• Awareness of benefits management, risk management, change management or management information reporting.
• Experience of Microsoft Copilot adoption, digital productivity, licence administration, user engagement or change activity.
• Power BI, advanced Excel or dashboard and reporting awareness.
• Understanding of RAF Digital, Air Command governance, ASDP, PMCF or wider Defence digital delivery activity.

Behaviours

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

• Delivering at Pace
• Communicating and Influencing
• Working Together

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

• Delivering at Pace
• Communicating and Influencing

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 (opens in a new window).

We are passionate about delivering great things for our customers. But we also know you will have a life outside of work; we respect your priorities, and our flexible working practices will give you freedom to balance work and life.

We employ dedicated people who challenge and guide each other. RAF Digital is a capable and supportive team that will help you develop your skills, knowledge and experience.

• Professional and personal development of skills
• Flexi-time scheme upon completion of six months’ service
• Alternative working patterns
• 25 days paid annual leave rising by one day per year to 30 days upon completion of five years’ service
• In addition to eight public holidays per year you will also receive leave for HM The King’s birthday
• Minimum of 15 Days Special Leave in a rolling 12-month period for volunteer reserve commitments
• Special Paid Leave to volunteer up to six days per year
• Enhanced parental and adoption leave
• Excellent travel links with free car parking, gym access and onsite coffee shop / café
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
• A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

Please note:

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.

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 and Experience.

This vacancy is using Success Profiles at the EO level to assess your Behaviours and Experience.

Candidates will be required to provide CV details to include job history and qualification details.

Candidates will be required to provide a statement of suitability (500 words) highlighting how your previous skills and experience match the requirements of this role and demonstrating your suitability for the position.

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

Behaviours:

• Delivering at Pace
• Communicating and Influencing

At interview, candidates will be assessed against their experience and the following:

Behaviour:

• Working Together

You will also be assessed against strengths.

Please note:

Sifting will take place after advert closure and interview dates will be confirmed shortly after. Interviews are expected to take place face to face, or remotely by exception via MS Teams.

A minimum of 2 full working days’ notice will be provided for interviews. We endeavour to stick to these dates, but they are subject to change around business needs.

We want to offer opportunities to all who are successful at interview for our roles, but this is not always possible, so we may hold candidates on an active reserve list subject to recruitment team direction.

The role currently being advertised has not been assessed as business critical and 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 may be rejected and any provisional offer of employment withdrawn.

Further information:

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 : Peter McGlinchey
• Email : peter.mcglinchey100@mod.gov.uk
• Telephone : 03033704563

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

Air Command's Applicant Guide Opens in new window (pdf, 499kB)Defence Civil Service Offer Opens in new window (pdf, 1563kB)Candidate Information Opens in new window (docx, 32kB)Defence Internal Brief Notice Opens in new window (docx, 39kB)