Army - Regimental Secretary

The Royal Army Veterinary Corps is recruited nationally, with most personnel based in the Midlands, either at the Defence Animal Training Regiment in Melton Mowbray or the 1st Military Working Dog Regiment in North Luffenham.

The Corps comprises around 400 Regular and Reserve personnel, including Veterinary Officers, Veterinary Support Officers, Veterinary Nurses and Dog Handlers. It has a proud history and is a recognised leader across Defence in working animal capability and veterinary services.

The Corps maintains a small Regimental Headquarters, with the Regimental Secretary (the post holder) serving as the only full-time member of staff. Additional support is provided by Headquarters Royal Army Medical Services, under a Memorandum of Understanding, together with serving Royal Army Veterinary Corps personnel and veterans.

The post holder will be based at the Defence Animal Training Regiment in Melton Mowbray and will visit the 1st Military Working Dog Regiment on a weekly basis. The role includes responsibilities across the UK and occasional travel overseas.

Acting as the central point of contact for all Regimental Headquarters matters, the post holder will support the Royal Army Veterinary Corps community, including serving personnel, veterans and dependants, while helping to sustain the wider Corps network.

The role offers a varied portfolio of responsibilities, including governance, personnel support, charity management, communications, heritage activities, community engagement, and liaison with senior military officers and members of the Royal Family. The post holder will work closely with Royal Army Veterinary Corps units to ensure Regimental Headquarters activity is aligned with and supports operational delivery.

Please note: Evening and weekend work will occasionally be required (for which time off in lieu may be taken).

This position is advertised at 37 hours per week.

Key responsibilities:

• Act as the primary point of contact for the Royal Army Veterinary Corps Regimental Headquarters, coordinating activities and providing support to serving personnel, veterans and their families.
• Provide governance and secretariat support to senior leadership groups, committees and charitable bodies, ensuring decisions are implemented and activities are delivered in line with relevant policies and regulations.
• Manage financial, charity, membership, data and information records, ensuring accurate administration and compliance with governance requirements.
• Coordinate welfare and support services for serving and veteran personnel and their families, liaising with relevant organisations and stakeholders as required.
• Preserve and promote the Corps' heritage, traditions and identity through the organisation of events, commemorations and engagement activities.
• Lead and coordinate communications activities, including newsletters, social media and other engagement channels, promoting the work and achievements of the Corps.
• Build and maintain effective relationships with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders, including military personnel, government organisations, charities, professional bodies, academic institutions and industry partners.
• Represent the Royal Army Veterinary Corps at meetings and events, acting as a professional and credible ambassador for the Corps.
• Manage competing priorities and respond effectively to changing circumstances, using sound judgement to identify issues and implement practical solutions.
• Work collaboratively with colleagues, stakeholders and volunteers to coordinate activities and deliver outcomes that support Corps and Army objectives.
• Act as the senior representative at high profile meetings and events.

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)

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours and Experience.

At sift, you will be assessed against the following criteria, listed in priority order:

Experience

• Candidates will be required to provide a statement of suitability in no more than 500 words demonstrating your relevant skills and experience in line with the essential criteria.
• Candidates will be required to provide CV details to include job history.

Behaviours

• Communicating and Influencing
• Working Together
• Making Effective Decisions
• Seeing the Big Picture

Where a large number of applications are received, an initial sift may be conducted against the Personal Statement only. The remaining evidence submitted at the application stage will be assessed only if you are successful at this initial sift.

At interview, you will be assessed against the following criteria, listed in priority order:

Experience

• You will be asked experienced based questions at interview.

Behaviours

• Communicating and Influencing
• Working Together
• Making Effective Decisions
• Seeing the Big Picture

Application sifting will be scheduled to take place within 7 days of the application closing date. Interview dates are to be confirmed and will be held in person. We endeavour to keep to these time frames, but these are subject to change around business needs.

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.

There may be occasions where it is not practicable or appropriate to interview all DCS candidates that meet the minimum criteria for the job. For example, in certain recruitment situations such as a high volume of applications, seasonal demand, or peak periods, the employer may wish to limit the overall number of interviews offered to both DCS and non-DCS applicants.

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.