CSM - Secretariat and Board Manager

Are you ready to support one of the most ambitious transformation programmes in Defence? Corporate Services underpin the daily operations of 250,000 people across Defence. From payroll to procurement, these services are critical to mission success. MOD is modernising HR, Finance, and Commercial services through policy, process, organisational, data, and systems transformation, aligned with the Government Shared Services Strategy. More information on the Shared Services agenda can be found through this link: A Shared Services Strategy for Government - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

Our ambition is to:

• Enhance user experience through simplified processes, intuitive systems, and responsive support.
• Enable data-driven decision-making using Oracle ERP, HCM, and EPM technologies, integrated analytics, and AI.
• Improve productivity and efficiency by automating transactions, optimising shared service centres, and reducing costs for reinvestment into frontline Defence.

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) is seeking a proactive and detail-oriented Secretariat and Board Manager to support the Corporate Services Modernisation (CSM) Programme, a top strategic priority for Defence.

This position is advertised at 37 hours per week.

Due to the nature of the role, part time and job share arrangements may be considered, subject to the requirement that full-time hours are fully covered (or business needs are met).

The Secretariat and Board Manager runs the full secretariat across all Corporate Services Modernisation governance fora. The role organises and services the boards, commissions and quality assures papers, drafts minutes, logs decisions and actions, and coordinates with senior stakeholders ahead of each board, ensuring CSM governance operates effectively and that decisions are recorded and followed up.

The role reports to the Head of Governance and operates the secretariat within the governance framework that the Head of Governance owns. It delivers the secretariat element of the governance and secretariat accountability that the CSM business plan places with the Deputy Director and PMO Director. The Head of Governance assures this function and approves governance minutes and actions.

Key responsibilitiesSecretariat delivery

• Provide the full secretariat function for all CSM governance, including the Sponsor Group, Portfolio Board, Business Design Authority and Technical Design Authority. (Governance and Reporting Manager 3; GovS 002 section 4.3)
• Commission and collate papers, organise agendas, draft minutes, log decisions and ensure actions are followed up. (Governance and Reporting Manager 3)
• Quality assure board papers ahead of meetings, ensuring they are fit for purpose and submitted on time. (Governance and Reporting Manager 3)

Board coordination

• Coordinate with senior stakeholders, including Senior Officials' offices, ahead of each board to ensure effective delivery of corporate governance. (Project Support Officer 3)
• Maintain board schedules, forward agendas and the cycle of meetings across the governance calendar. (Project Support Officer 3)

Records, decisions and actions

• Maintain accurate decision logs and action trackers, ensuring decisions are recorded and actions resolved without needing intervention from outside the team. (GovS 002 section 4.3)
• Maintain the governance record as an auditable evidence base, submitting minutes and actions to the Head of Governance for approval. (GovS 002 section 7.8)

Continuous improvement of board operation

• Work with senior stakeholders to develop and continuously improve how boards are run and managed, providing constructive challenge. (Governance and Reporting Manager 3)
• Build a portfolio-level view of governance, understanding dependencies between the various fora and communicating risks, issues and opportunities effectively and at pace. (Governance and Reporting Manager 3)

Flexible governance support

• Work flexibly across the governance function, providing ad hoc support in a changing environment, such as supporting the risk management practice or performance reporting processes. (Project Support Officer 3)

Boundaries

The role operates the secretariat but does not own the following, which sit with the Head of Governance:

• The governance management framework, board operating rhythms, terms of reference and decision rights: designed and owned by the Head of Governance. This role operates the boards within that framework.
• Approval of governance minutes and actions: the Head of Governance assures the secretariat and approves its outputs. This role drafts and maintains them.

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.

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and technical competencies from the Project Delivery Capability Framework; Project delivery capability framework - Government Project Delivery to assess your Behaviours and Experience during sift and interview.

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. (750 Word count)

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

Behaviours:

• Making effective decisions: analysing information to support board decisions and presenting clear recommendations in a timely manner.
• Delivering at pace: keeping the governance calendar and the team's efforts focused on priorities, achieving results on time.
• Managing a quality service: delivering professional secretariat services and resolving issues efficiently.
• Communicating and influencing: communicating clearly with senior stakeholders and providing constructive challenge on board operation.
• Working together: building relationships across the governance function and the wider CSM programmes.

Applications will be sifted on all Success Profile elements, but in the event of a high number of applications, the sift will be conducted on your Making Effective Decisions, Delivering at Pace and CV only.

At interview, Candidates will be assessed against the following:

Behaviours:

• Making effective decisions: analysing information to support board decisions and presenting clear recommendations in a timely manner.
• Delivering at pace: keeping the governance calendar and the team's efforts focused on priorities, achieving results on time.
• Managing a quality service: delivering professional secretariat services and resolving issues efficiently.
• Communicating and influencing: communicating clearly with senior stakeholders and providing constructive challenge on board operation.
• Working together: building relationships across the governance function and the wider CSM programmes.

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.