Protective Security Assurance Principal in Bristol

At Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S), we supply and maintain vital equipment and services for the Royal Navy, British Army and Royal Air Force. Together, we deliver a vast range of essential defence programmes, and strive for what's next. Because it helps keep our military at the top of their game and our nation safe - for today, and tomorrow.

DE&S has recently been integrated into the National Armaments Director (NAD) Group. The NAD Group brings together key Ministry of Defence (MOD) organisations to unite expertise across science, technology, procurement, infrastructure, and support to provide integrated capabilities faster and more efficiently for our armed forces and our allies. This is an exciting new opportunity to enable better ways of working and empower greater collaboration across Defence.

We offer 25+ days' holiday, flexible and hybrid working, enhanced parental leave schemes, shopping discounts, and an exceptional employer pension contribution of 28.97%, to help make work for you.

As a Protective Security Assurer, you will play a crucial role in advising and supporting the delivery of a robust security and resilience posture across the NAD Group, industry partners, and the wider Defence community. You will ensure the organisation applies rigorous security and business continuity management processes to protect critical operations and assets across all security classification levels. Your expertise will support the secure delivery of the NAD Group, MOD, and Government projects, working within established policies and governance frameworks to maintain the highest standards of security assurance throughout the project lifecycle.

The UK Government holds vast amounts of sensitive data, financial assets, and personal information that underpin essential public services used by millions. Protecting this information is vital, as threats from organised crime, hacktivists, terrorism, foreign intelligence, and rogue individuals pose significant risks. Your role will be key in defending people, property, and physical assets from damage or loss, helping to maintain public trust and national security.

We seek curious, analytical minds who consider every possibility, ask insightful questions, and dig deeper to uncover risks. You should have a solid understanding of Risk, Mitigation, and Physical Security, alongside working knowledge of Protective Security, Threat Awareness, and Government standards.

On joining, you will undergo comprehensive training including 3-6 months of on-the-job learning and shadowing experienced staff, completion of online NPSA practitioner courses, and attendance at a 3-week Defence Critical National Infrastructure (CNI) course. This role requires a full UK driving licence and frequent travel across UK regions. Your designated permanent duty station will be Abbey Wood in Bristol or Glasgow. Attendance at Bristol will be required for the initial training.

For security reasons these roles are open to sole UK nationals only. A 'sole UK national' refers to an individual who holds citizenship solely in the UK, without dual citizenship or nationality from another country. We're unable to offer visa sponsorship.

These roles require you to have lived in the UK for the last 10 years and obtain Developed Vetting (DV) security clearance. Clearance must be obtained without any caveats that prevent you from carrying out the role you have been recruited for. If it isn't obtained or is obtained but with caveats that prevent you from carrying out the role, any conditional offer made to you will be withdrawn. Obtaining DV security clearance can be a lengthy process. You'll join us once Security Check (SC) clearance is obtained, and then the more enhanced DV checks will continue after you've started your employment. If SC clearance isn't obtained within 12 months, we reserve the right to withdraw any conditional offer made.

We champion flexible ways of working. Regular in-person attendance is required to promote the benefits of face-to-face collaboration alongside flexibility of hours to support work-life balance and business need. Initially, you may be expected to attend more frequently to familiarise yourselves with the site, the team, and your role.

What you'll be doing:

• Engaging with Security Controllers to certify industry premises for industry security accreditations such as Facilities Security Clearance.
• Conducting routine security assurance reviews of the premises and working arrangements to ensure that their contracted security conditions are met. Liaising with Contracting Authorities, CTSAs, and National Technical Authorities where needed.
• Engaging with Heads of Establishment (HoE) and Establishment Security Officers (ESyO) in the routine Security Assurance of DE&S establishments. This includes the conduct of Security Risk and Assurance Reviews (SRAR), Guarding Security Reviews (GSR), Counter Sabotage and Operational Resilience Surveys (CSOR), security exercises, ad-hoc inspections and investigations.
• Providing protective security advice and guidance to internal and external stakeholders such as industry security associations.
• Responsibility for the administrative management of your assignments, production of assurance letters, reports and evidence packs, and reporting as required to the Task Manager.
• Align with relevant regulation, policy and standards to provide proportional, practical advice, tailored to the strategic environment, and advise relevant stakeholders on any residual risk.
• Ensure security and business continuity effect is delivered in alignment with organisational objectives and standards.
• Deliver informed / evidence-based recommendations to decision-makers with a means of mitigating risk and managing issues.
• Design and support the implementation of risk reduction methods, advising on residual risks and potential resolutions.

Person specification:

To be successful with your application, you'll need to show that you meet the following essential criteria:

• Lead criterion - Significant experience of providing protective security advisory, consultancy or assurance services within government, defence, critical national infrastructure, industry, the public sector, or a similarly complex organisation.
• Demonstrable experience of applying protective security expertise to assess risk, influence stakeholders, develop practical mitigations and deliver security outcomes.

In addition to the responsibilities above, the following technical competences and behaviours will be assessed at interview:

• Core Behaviour 1: Making Effective Decisions - CSBC 3
• Core Behaviour 2: Communicating and Influencing - CSBC 3
• Technical Competence 1: Legal and Regulatory Environment and Compliance - Expert
• Technical Competence 2: Risk understanding and mitigation - Expert

Offered benefits:

• 25 days' annual leave +1 day a year up to 30 days, 8 bank holidays and a day off for the King's birthday.
• Flexible and hybrid working options.
• Market-leading average employer pension contribution of 28.97%.
• Annual performance-based bonus and recognition awards.
• Access to specialist training and funded qualifications.
• Support for progression.
• Huge range of discounts.
• Volunteering days.
• Enhanced parental leave schemes.

Further Information:

Civil Service Recruitment Principles: Recruitment Principles - Civil Service Commission

Candidate Information Pack: https://bit.ly/DES-candidate-information-pack

Terms and Conditions: https://bit.ly/DES-Terms-and-Conditions

Civil Service Code: The Code - Civil Service Commission

Any personal data that you provide during the Recruitment process will be treated in accordance with the MOD Privacy Notice which can be accessed here.

Disability Confident:

Please note as a Disability Confident Leader we want to ensure you receive any reasonable adjustments that you need throughout the recruitment process. If you do require any reasonable adjustments, you can let us know on your online application under the section 'Please indicate and give details of any reasonable adjustments you may require during the recruitment process.'

Conflicts of Interest:

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.

Selection Process Details:

Your application will go through the following stages of assessment:

• Pre-sift - We will check your application to ensure that you meet any essential or eligibility criteria that are listed in the Person Specification section of this advert. On your CV, please clearly show how you meet the essential criteria.
• Sift - Your CV will be assessed against the following categories, using a simple numerical scoring system: Key Achievements; Relevant Experience; Applied Knowledge and Skills. Please follow our guidance on CV writing for best chance of success.
• Interview - If you're invited to interview, you will be assessed against the following: CV Review, Core Behaviour 1, Core Behaviour 2, Technical Competencies.

Please Note: In the event of a tied score at interview, the Order of Merit will be distinguished based on the ranking of the assessed behaviours and competencies below:

1. 1st: Core Behaviour 1
2. 2nd: Core Behaviour 2
3. 3rd: Technical Competencies
4. 4th: CV Review

In the event of a further tie using the method above, we reserve the right to utilise the Lead criteria, and/or an additional assessment. Please note for this specific assessment, the Lead Criteria will be: Significant experience of providing protective security advisory, consultancy or assurance services within government, defence, critical national infrastructure, industry, the public sector, or a similarly complex organisation.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview.

If you feel that your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles and you wish to make a complaint, in the first instance you should contact department via email (NAD-Recruitment-Complaints@mod.gov.uk.) If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Department, you can contact the Civil Service Commission: Recruitment Complaints - Civil Service Commission.

Offering at a lower level:

If you're not successful at interview, we may offer you a role at a lower level if this is a match for your skills and experience. If this applies to your application, you'll be scored against criteria for the lower-level role and offers will be made in merit order. If you accept this position, you'll be able to take advantage of opportunities to develop your career as part of our team.

About Us:

Join an integral part of the UK's Defence and play your part in the procurement and in-service support of all our armed forces' equipment, from fighter jets, armoured vehicles and aircraft carriers, to clothing, food, and ammunition. If you have the pride, passion and commitment to be part of an exciting organisation at the forefront of supporting our country's armed forces to deliver on operations at home and abroad.

About the Team:

There is no doubt that security and resilience professionals play a crucial role in ensuring the confidentiality, integrity and availability of resources vital to the safety and prosperity of the United Kingdom. We assess and mitigate risk across the cyber and physical domains, developing and implementing strategies to enhance the overall security posture of DE&S and safeguard the integrity of our operations, people and capabilities.

Please see the MOD Privacy notice which informs how we will use your personal data, explains your rights and gives you information you are entitled to under Data Protection legislation.

Working for the Civil Service:

The Civil Service Code sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants. We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles. 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.

DE&S/SDA and MOD Main internal applicants will need to apply through MyHR Internal Career Portal via the DE&S/SDA jobs tile. This can be found on the MyHR home page.