Board Secretariat & Business Manager

Do you want to work on one or the most exciting transformation projects in the public sector?

The Defence Housing Service (DHS) is being created through the Armed Forces Bill to deliver a step-change in housing for the UK’s Armed Forces and their families following the publication of the Defence Housing Strategy on 3 November 2025, which marked the most significant change to Armed Forces housing in over 50 years. DHS will bring a dedicated focus to improving the homes, communities and lived experience of Service personnel, placing families firmly at the heart of everything it does.

This is one of the most ambitious housing transformation programmes in the UK today. Backed by a £9.2 billion investment, DHS will modernise tens of thousands of homes, introduce a more proactive and customer-focused approach to maintenance, and unlock new opportunities to develop housing on Defence land. DHS will have the focus and agility to deliver change at pace, combining public service values with greater flexibility to build the skills, systems and partnerships needed for the future.

This is a rare opportunity to be part of shaping its culture, influencing how it works, and helping deliver lasting improvements for Service families across the UK.

The Defence Housing team is currently part of the Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO), who respond to the evolving needs of our military personnel, and the ways in which they live, work, train and deploy. We are proud to be the expert partner Defence needs for all their infrastructure requirements. From large scale infrastructure projects such as runways for the F35 fighter jets to net carbon-zero accommodation for our Service families, our activities focus relentlessly on our customers, and our outputs are unique in the UK and across the globe!

DIO , What we deliver every day.

The future delivery model for this team is currently under review and may change as part of potential organisational developments. This could include the team or function transferring to a different employer or organisational structure in the future. Should activities transfer out of the Ministry of Defence existing employees transferring with those activities will maintain the same, or substantially the same, terms and conditions of employment.

Reporting to the Board Secretariat & Business Management Lead, you will be responsible for delivering high-quality secretariat support to the DHS Board, Executive Committee, Audit, Risk and Assurance Committee (ARAC) and associated governance forums; and business management support on cross-enterprise activity. You will work closely with senior leaders, Board members and Non-Executive Members, helping to ensure effective decision-making, robust governance and organisational accountability.

In addition to leading this activity, you will provide day-to-day leadership to team members, support business management across the Directorate and contribute to continuous improvement initiatives that enhance the effectiveness of the service.

We are looking for a proactive and highly organised individual who thrives in a fast-paced environment and enjoys working with senior stakeholders. You will be comfortable balancing competing priorities, maintaining attention to detail and providing credible advice and support within a complex organisation.

Responsibilities

• Working confidently with senior leaders and stakeholders across Defence, ensuring a professional, responsive and customer-focused service; managing the end-to-end delivery of secretariat services for senior boards, committees and governance forums.
• Coordinating governance calendars, forward plans and meeting cycles to support strategic decision-making.
• Reviewing and quality assuring papers and submissions for senior stakeholders, ensuring high standards and clear decision-making information.
• Preparing meeting packs, producing accurate minutes and maintaining action logs and governance records.
• Monitoring actions and decisions, driving accountability and escalating risks where appropriate.
• Through line-management responsibility, lead and develop team members, allocating work and supporting performance and capability development.
• Contributing to wider business management activity, corporate priorities and continuous improvement initiatives across DHS.

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 application, candidates will be required to provide:

• A CV detailing your job history and previous skills and experience. Review the essential criteria above and evidence how you meet them with clear and relevant examples.
• A personal statement (no more than 500 words). Applicants should use their personal statement to demonstrate how their skills, knowledge and experience align with essential criteria 1 & 2, as detailed in the Person Specification.

The sift will be conducted on your CV and personal statement.

Interviews

We’ll assess you against these behaviours & experience during the interview process:

Behaviours

• Managing a Quality Service
• Delivering at Pace
• Changing and Improving
• Leadership
• Working Together

In the event of a tied score at interview, the order of merit will be distinguished based on the ranking of the assessed Behaviours in the order listed above.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.