Army - Defence Children Services - Education Advisory Team Advisor

The Ministry of Defence employs over 50,000 Civil Servants. Within that, the Army Top Level Budget (TLB) employs around 12,000 MOD Civil Servants located at over 300 locations. Ours is a diverse workforce, with roles ranging from trainers, human resources, teachers, and psychologists to storekeepers, financiers, project and programme managers, and policy secretariat staff.

The Education Advisory Team (UK) (EAT(UK)) are based at Trenchard Lines, Upavon and provide advice and guidance for service personnel regarding education and education related issues such as Special Educational Needs, School Admissions, the Continuity of Education Allowance (CEA) & the CEA Special Educational Needs Addition (SENA) and retention of Service Family Accommodation (SFA). The team is led by the Education Advisory Team (UK) leader and comprises of qualified educational staff and an administration support team.

The Education Advisory Team is part of the Defence Children Services (DCS) Specialist Support Services (SSS) pillar which is made up of individual teams with specific responsibility for activity that supports the education and care of children of Service and other entitled personnel. Teams in the SSS work with the children, families and schools in DCS Schools and Settings, and support the education of UK Service children and families across the world. SSS teams focus on Safeguarding, Overseas Supportability, Special Educational Needs, Elective Home Education, Education Welfare and Social Work, Educational Psychology, Speech and Language, Education Advice for Service Families in the UK and other areas of Defence. All activity is aimed to meet the needs of Service children and their families in respect of effective education and alleviating the challenges of mobility.

The post is advertised at 37 hours per week.

The role of the EAT advisor is to provide advice and guidance to Service families, entitled civilians and stakeholders who have UK based enquiries. This is a great opportunity for someone who is highly motivated and wants to combine their administrative and interpersonal skills to make a difference to Service families by providing timely advice. You should be capable of multi-tasking in a busy, dynamic environment where no two days are the same.

The post holder's key responsibilities and main duties are to:

• Ensure appropriate and timely response to queries from Service parents, entitled civilians and other internal and external stakeholders
• Line manage the EAT clerk(s)
• Establish contacts, maintaining liaison and developing efficient working practice
• Be responsible for processing & managing the work related to:

• Continuity of Education Allowance
• Special Educational Needs Addition
• Special Educational Needs
• Retention of Service Family Accommodation

The Army prides itself on being a supportive employer and where possible encourages flexible working, helping you to maintain a great work/life balance.

Other benefits for Army civil servants include:

• 25 days paid annual leave rising (1 day per year) to 30 days upon completion of 5 years' service
• Highly competitive pension scheme
• Personal and professional development of skills
• Alternative working patterns for many roles
• Access to the Employee Assistance Programme (EAP), a free service that assists you with achieving a productive, healthy environment that is conducive to a healthy lifestyle
• Enhanced parental and adoption leave
• 6 days special leave per year which can be used for volunteering activities
• Learning and Development

We believe that everyone has the potential to make a difference and you will be supported to help you learn and advance in your career. This includes working towards membership of a professional body and/or undertaking a modern apprenticeship as part of your role. A modern apprenticeship is a combined package of work and training. Through the schemes available you will gain a professional qualification, practical experience, and the broader skills required to develop in your current role and pave the way for your future career.

The post does not offer relocation expenses. External recruits who join the MOD who are new to the Civil Service will be subject to a six-month probation period.

Please Note: Expenses incurred for travel to interviews will not be reimbursed. Please be advised that the Department is conducting a review of all pay related allowances which could impact on those allowances that the post currently being advertised attracts. Any move to MOD from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax-Free Childcare. Determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/.

The Ministry of Defence is committed to providing a safe and healthy working environment for its staff which includes educating them on the benefits of not smoking, protecting them from the harmful effects of second-hand smoke and supporting those who want to give up smoking. Under the Smoke-Free Working Environment policy, Smoking and the use of all tobacco products (including combustible and chewing tobacco products) will not be permitted anywhere in the Defence working environment however some exemptions are in place, please refer to local guidance. The policy is Whole Force and includes all Defence personnel, contractors, visitors and other non-MOD personnel. All applicants seeking, considering, or accepting employment with the Ministry of Defence should be aware of this policy and that it is already in place at a number of Defence Establishments.

Essential:

• Excellent and proficient written and oral communication skills
• Evidence and experience of applying effective analytical skills and using problem-solving skills to foresee obstacles and make strategic decisions
• Evidence and experience of managing conflict between different stakeholders, particularly where there may be different requirements and expectations
• Provide detailed authoritative advice, using specialist knowledge of allowances and opportunities for Service personnel and their families
• Ability to work independently, managing caseloads to ensure efficient and effective response to enquiries
• Strong collaborative skills and the ability to ensure the continued good team ethos
• Experience and substantial skills in working in an office environment, proficient use of IT (Word and Excel)

Desirable:

• Experience or understanding of working in an Educational setting
• 2 A levels or NVQ3/4 or equivalent
• Understand the demography and the context of Service children and their families in the United Kingdom

At application you will be asked to provide a CV and a personal statement of no more than 500 words demonstrating how you consider your personal skills, qualities and experience make you suitable for the role, with particular reference to the essential criteria. You will also be assessed against the following behaviours - Communicating and Influencing.

Applications will be sifted using all elements listed above, but in the event of a high number of applications, a sift will be conducted on the lead behaviour only: Communicating and Influencing. When choosing your Behaviour examples, please make sure you use real life scenarios that relate to your own experiences. Whilst technology may help to enhance your written submission, presenting the ideas of others or those generated by technology, could result in your application being rejected.

At interview you will be assessed against the following behaviours - Delivering at Pace, Making Effective Decisions, Managing a Quality Service, Working Together.

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

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equality of opportunity. There is a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria. If you need to advise us that you need additional help or reasonable adjustments for the recruitment process, please contact.

As a result of the changes to the UK immigration rules which came in to 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.