Mutual Aid Relationship Manager in Cardiff

The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) is a Government agency that sits within the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). This is a high-profile, outward-facing role at the centre of APHA’s Mutual Aid capability.

You will be the face of APHA, building and strengthening relationships with current and potential partners across the UK and internationally to secure the people and skills needed when it matters most. This is not a passive stakeholder role; you will engage with new and existing partners, including those who may be reluctant to work with us, and use your credibility, resilience and influencing skills to win trust and bring them on the journey. You will create long-term, trusted relationships that deliver real resilience for APHA’s operational response during outbreaks and emergencies.

Alongside this, you will help shape and embed the processes that underpin mutual aid, playing a key role in developing ways of working and supporting and leading the team to deliver at pace. We are looking for a proactive, resilient self-starter with excellent communication and relationship-building skills, who is comfortable leading by example and driving improvement.

If you thrive in high-profile, relationship-led roles and want to make a real operational impact, we would love to hear from you.

Your responsibilities will include:

• Stakeholder Engagement
  • Develop and maintain strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders, ensuring clear communication and alignment with APHA’s priorities.
  • Collaborating with external partners, HR teams and internal business units to build and maintain mutual aid and loan agreements with multiple external partners including OGDs and external stakeholders.
  • Collaborate with the Capability & Experience team and Directorate workforce planning teams to support in assessing current workforce gaps, identifying key skills, capabilities, and competencies to forecast future needs and prioritise recruitment.
  • Support the Intelligent Client relationship with Defra HRBP to ensure appropriate reward and recognition mechanisms are in place for surge resources from mutual aid partners and that health, safety and wellbeing is appropriately considered during deployment.
  • Work collaboratively with team members and other departments to achieve common goals.
  • Support with the development and implementation of engagement and communication plans, as required.
  • Act as the primary point of contact across APHA, working closely with partners to understand their mutual aid agreement.
• Leadership and Management
  • Manage and co-ordinate work across a number of sections, functions or geographic locations, as required, ensuring alignment with the Agency’s strategic priorities and goals.
  • Be responsible for driving the professional and skills development of team members, as required.
  • Monitor the governance of civil service commission recruitment principles to ensure compliance is maintained and support central audit.
  • Provide support to embed the necessary cultural changes required for the Agency to thrive, implement new ways of working making the most effective use of technology across the agency.
  • Promote diversity, inclusion, and equality of opportunity by promoting a respectful and inclusive environment that values external experience and differences.
• Service Delivery
  • Provide policy advice and/or contribute to policy development within area of responsibility/remit.
  • Oversee and ensure the smooth delivery of processes within your area of responsibility/remit.
  • Implement efficient and sustainable ways of working and procedures that enhance operational efficiency.
  • Develop a holistic understanding of outbreak capacity demand planning, associated lead times and trigger points for securing mutual aid resources.
  • Support the G7 Lead to inform, create, and monitor a scalable mutual aid plan which includes a breakdown of the skills, knowledge, and competencies required for specialist roles across the directorates, collaborating with the APHA Capability & Experience Team and Technical Profession training teams as needed.
  • Develop effective mutual aid agreements with appropriate lead times and review them regularly for amendments.
  • Develop and implement scalable processes to onboard and induct resources at pace.
  • Understand and work with APHA and other relevant external organisations to define processes underpinning mutual aid agreements and surge capability.
  • Support the Workforce Surge & Deployment Team during periods of emergency response by providing capacity and cover for business critical functions.
• Data Analysis and Reporting
  • Utilise data and analytics to assess demand planning, capacity and skills gaps and use these to inform trigger points and escalation routes during outbreak response.
  • Develop processes and standards to track and analyse data and produce reports, highlighting and anticipating issues and opportunities.
  • Work collaboratively with APHA Data & Information Unit to inform/influence Agency wide forecasting in outbreaks.
• Continuous Improvement
  • Review existing and embrace/promote new systems, processes and ways of working, ensuring harmonisation across APHA and the wider Defra group, where appropriate.
  • Identify opportunities for process improvements and implement changes to enhance service delivery.
  • Utilise continuous improvement working practices.
  • Develop and use technical expertise and harness business knowledge to identify IT service improvements in current and new systems.
  • Support initiatives to implement changes based on feedback and lessons learned, ensuring the candidate experience process evolves and improves continuously.

Proud member of the Disability Confident employer scheme.