DBS Record Reviewer

Are you a dedicated person who is passionate about making a difference?

Would you like to work for the Ministry of Defence?

Defence Business Services (DBS) is one of the largest shared service organisations in Europe that provides a wide range of corporate services, to over 1.2 million end users, including serving and past military and families, as well as MoD civil servants and industry.

DBS delivers large scale administration and smaller specialist services to enable the wider MOD to focus on its core aims, maintaining the UK’s Defence and Security. Services include Human Resources, Pay, Veterans, Finance and Procurement.

The 2025 – 2030 Corporate Plan came up with a new mission and vision which are now:

Vision

To be the best shared service centre in Government

Mission

Proudly delivering excellence in shared services, through customer centric solutions to enable Defence outcomes

DBS is committed to creating a great place to work for all our colleagues. We are building an inclusive culture and respectful environment that reflects the diversity of the society.

We want to maximise the potential of everyone who chooses to work for us through opportunities to develop your skills and experience. We also offer a range of flexible working patterns and support to make a fulfilling career accessible to you and offer a Civil Service pension with an average employer contribution of 28.97%.

Come and join the DBS community today!

https://youtu.be/gUw0ToaRGgk

DBS is part of The National Armaments Directorate (NAD) Group which is at the heart of delivering and sustaining the UK’s defence capability. Bringing together organisations responsible for developing, procuring, supporting and modernising Defence equipment, infrastructure and services, the Directorate works closely with industry, international partners and academia to ensure the Armed Forces have the capabilities they need to deter threats, protect the nation and succeed on operations. NAD drives innovation, operational readiness and value for money while supporting economic growth and strengthening the UK’s defence industrial base.

Reviewers are responsible for ensuring that Ministry of Defence records are managed in compliance with the Public Records Act (PRA), Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) requirements. The role supports the identification, preservation, protection and disposal of departmental records while ensuring historically significant information is transferred appropriately to The National Archives (TNA).

Key Responsibilities

• Review paper and electronic records and make recommendations for:
• Identify and requisition records from relevant archives for review.
• Assess records to determine:
• Complete all supporting documentation to record review decisions and provide an auditable decision trail.
• Identify sensitive information requiring extraction or redaction prior to public release.
• Allocate appropriate TNA classifications and prepare catalogue descriptions for records selected for permanent preservation.
• Process records in accordance with authorised decisions, including:
• Liaise with departmental and non-departmental stakeholders to support review and records management activities.
• Undertake occasional visits to MOD Main Archive, Swadlincote, to support bulk review exercises.

Purpose of the Role

The role ensures that records of historical value are preserved for future generations, that sensitive information is protected from premature release, and that departmental records are retained only for as long as legislation and business needs require. This helps the MOD meet its statutory obligations while maintaining transparency, accountability and information security.

Open to UK nationals only.

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

Please ensure that at the application and interview stages of the campaign you review the Success Profiles Framework to assist you in the demonstration of your skills and experience.

Your suitability for the role will be assessed using the Success Profile elements that have been chosen for this campaign. Each element will be scored accordingly, and the successful candidate will be appointed on merit.

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

Personal Statement:

Candidates will be required to provide a statement of suitability (500 Word Max).

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

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

At interview, candidates will be assessed against the following:

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

Applications will be sifted on all Success Profile elements, but in the event of a high number of applications, an initial sift will be conducted on the following success profile elements:

Primary: Behaviour - Seeing the Big Picture

Secondary: Behaviour - Making Effective Decisions

In the rare case where individuals have exact matching scores, the order of merit will be determined based on the behaviour scores at interview in the following order:

1 - Behaviour - Seeing the Big Picture

2 - Behaviour - Making Effective Decisions

3 - Behaviour - Working Together

4 - Behaviour - Communicating and Influencing

If candidate scores are still exact, the merit order will then be determined on the sift score in the following order:

1 - Career - Personal Statement

2 - Behaviour - Seeing the Big Picture

3 - Behaviour - Making Effective Decisions

4 - Behaviour - Working Together

5 - Behaviour - Communicating and Influencing

Sift start date: 24/11/2026

Interviews are currently taking place via the following method: Face to face

Interview start date: Early December

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.