RAF - Odiham Business Manager

Job summary

This is an exciting time to join Defence as the Business Manager (BM) at RAF Odiham. The Business Manager is responsible to the Head of Establishment (HoE) for the delivery of assured, compliant, and effective business management across RAF Odiham. The role ensures that all applicable legislation, regulation and Ministry of Defence (MOD) policy relating to governance, financial assurance, audit, scrutiny, and business outputs are met. This is a unique role, with the exciting opportunity to work alongside military personnel and the wider civil service team.

The post holder provides subject matter expertise to support Station operational activity and output delivery. They proactively seek to improve governance, business performance, assurance outcomes, and relationships with key stakeholders. The Business Manager is responsible for maintaining awareness of changing Defence business policy, financial processes, and governance requirements, and ensuring Station business management systems and documentation remain current.

The postholder will have access to a broad range of learning and development opportunities and will have the autonomy to develop innovative solutions to ensure the smooth running of RAF Odiham and the key objectives and outputs of your job role.

This position is advertised at 37 hours per week.

Job description

The Business Manager reports directly to the Officer Commanding Base Support Wing in support of the Head of Establishment and is specifically required to:

• Act as the lead advisor for Station business management, governance, and financial assurance matters.
• Provide specialist technical and administrative advice across all aspects of Station business management, financial processes, audit governance, and assurance activity, seeking additional guidance from HQ Air Finance, DBS, and Defence functional authorities as required.
• Assist the Head of Establishment and Station Executives in discharging all governance and business management responsibilities.

Governance, Scrutiny & Assurance

• Deliver a programme of audits across Travel &Subsistence, Electronic Procurement Card, Contract Purchasing &Finance, and Cash Office activity to assure compliance with statutory requirements, policy, and process.
• Scrutinise requirements, business cases, and financial submissions to ensure accuracy, compliance, and value for money.
• Lead on Station governance processes, ensuring decision-making is evidence-based and documented.
• Act as the focal point for business assurance activity, coordinating inputs and returns to higher headquarters.

Financial & Data Management

• Provide volumetric and timing data to HQ AIR Finance Team, ensuring accuracy and timely submission.
• Investigate queries and issues raised by HQ AIR Finance to identify causes, resolve discrepancies and ensure compliance.
• Consolidate and investigate Losses and Write Offs, ensuring appropriate documentation, reporting, and governance.
• Oversee Electronic Procurement Card management, ensuring appropriate use, audit readiness, and compliance with policy.

Business Advice & Support

• Provide informed business management advice to the Head of Establishment, Force Commander, and Station Executive Team.
• Support development of Business Cases and Investment Appraisals in line with MOD and Treasury requirements.
• Lead Station activity relating to Income Generation and Wider Markets, ensuring compliance with applicable governance and financial frameworks.
• Support resource prioritisation, financial planning, and decision-making.

Compliance, Reporting & Risk Management

• Ensure that business management policies, processes and documentation remain current and compliant.
• Maintain Station-level records relating to audits, Losses and Write Offs, investigations, and assurance activity.
• Present findings, data, and outcomes at Station governance forums.
• Refer significant governance or financial risks to Commanders.

Additional Responsibilities

• Act as the Station Fraud Focal Point.
• Line-manage business support personnel (where applicable).
• Ensure continuous professional development to maintain currency with Defence business policy.

Person specification

Essential Qualifications / Experience

Experience in business management, financial processes, audit, or governance.

• Strong analytical skills with the ability to interpret and present data clearly.
• Ability to deliver and support audit or assurance activity.
• Ability to provide clear, evidence-based business advice to senior personnel.
• Excellent organisational, communication and stakeholder engagement skills.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office.

Desirable

• Experience working in Defence or the wider Civil Service.
• Experience supporting development of Business Cases or Investment Appraisals.
• Training or experience in risk management, fraud awareness, or compliance frameworks.

Behaviours

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

• Communicating and Influencing
• Making Effective Decisions
• Seeing the Big Picture
• Leadership

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

• Communicating and Influencing

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.

• 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%
• Free on-site parking
• Use of the station gym and pool

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.

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

Candidates will be required to provide a statement of suitability in no more than 500 words.

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

• Communicating and Influencing

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

• Communicating and Influencing
• Making Effective Decisions
• Seeing the Big Picture
• Leadership

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 : Linzi Neal
• Email : Linzi.neal498@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

Air Applicant Guide Opens in new window (pdf, 522kB)MOD Candidate Pack Opens in new window (pdf, 1562kB)Candidate Information Pack Opens in new window (docx, 31kB)