Army – Performance Scientists (Applied Behavioural Scientist) SEO/C1

277188

£41,000

It is likely that you will be based in one of the following locations: Bulford, Tidworth, Aldershot or Sandhurst, but this may change, based on business need. Travel to other sites may be required. We are passionate about Smarter Working and believe that a combination of flexible working practices, digital technology and modern workspaces will give you the opportunity to enjoy a healthy work-life balance, while ensuing you deliver your outcomes effectively and efficiently. However, as this is a client facing, applied role, the expectation will be that 80% of your working week is spent in person at your allocated location.

Fixed Term

23 months

MOD - Army

Science

Flexible working, Full-time, Part-time

2

South East England, South West England

This is a Fixed-term Appointment as the behavioural scientist in the Personnel Directorate, Army HQ. Your responsibilities will be as described in this job advert. The reason why you are appointed for a fixed period is due to the innovation initiative being funded for 2 years. The business will then assess whether this should be an enduring capability. This post will therefore begin on your appointment and end 23 months after that date. You should be aware that when your Fixed-term Appointment at MOD comes to an end, arrangements will be made in line with the FTA policy.

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, colour, national origin, sex, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided with reasonable adjustments to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us if you require any reasonable adjustments.

This position is advertised at 37 hours per week.

An exciting opportunity has arisen to be a critical part of the new Army innovation initiative in soldier performance. For the right candidates, this will be a high profile and career enhancing experience, where you will have the opportunity to work in unique environments and have a real impact on the performance outcomes for soldiers. There will be significant opportunity to engage with a broad range of military and non-military stakeholders across and outside of the Army. These roles will form part of a multidisciplinary human performance team, who will use their experience in high performance or workforce health environments to identify, recommend, and implement solutions to factors which are limiting the ability for soldiers to maximise their potential. As a specialist in behavioural science, you will be expected to have a strong understanding of scientific assessment techniques, best practice and implementation of interventions that lead to positive performance outcomes.

If you are someone who can think outside of the box, and find creative and innovative solutions that will advance soldiers’ performance, we want to hear from you!

We are looking for a Senior Behavioural Scientist to play a key role in supporting the delivery of a new human performance initiative. They will be responsible for identifying issues that may be limiting performance which may be linked to individuals’ capability to enact the correct behaviour, the social and physical environment they operate in or the motivation in teams. They should be able to apply a rigorous methodology to identify and understand these barriers, design and implement potential solutions and evaluate them.

The behavioural scientists will:

• Work collaboratively in multi-disciplinary teams with other performance professional such as sport and exercise science, physiology, nutrition, sport psychology, health psychology, and occupational psychology.
• Create a culture and environment of innovation, collaboration and empowerment to achieve new ways of maximising the performance potential of our soldiers.
• Design, implement, evaluate and advise on behavioural interventions: promoting fit-for-purpose behavioural initiatives, applying relevant evidence and behavioural theory.
• Apply innovative and strategic thinking: You will define and solve problems, identifying gaps and opportunities to proactively address key Army issues. You will consider creative solutions, considering the latest behavioural research and evidence.
• Build and maintain a strong understanding of behavioural science, including the implications of relevant research from behavioural economics and psychology. Your work will play a central role in ensuring we are at the cutting edge of behavioural science, applying your expertise to both the policy and operational environment.

Experience, skills, and qualifications

Essential skills and experience:

• Recent relevant experience in the implementation and evaluation of health, performance and/or wellbeing programmes for different populations and outcomes.
• Knowledge and experience of behaviour change project delivery stages (e.g. diagnosis and mapping, research, design, and evaluation).
• Experience of working on complex or multi-faceted behavioural issues.
• Knowledge of the behavioural science literature and its applications to public policy and practice.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills (particularly presenting technical work for non-expert audiences).
• Ability to manage a workload of multiple projects, delivered to a high standard and on time.
• Strong teamwork skills. As part of a small team, you will need to be reliable and willing to take responsibility for elements of projects, meetings and regular routines.
• Proven experience in managing and facilitating collaborative working across multiple teams, organisations and subject matter experts.
• Experience in the application of behavioural science to a real-world problem
• Experience in the application of qualitative and/or quantitative social research methods in a behavioural context.

Desirable skills and experience:

• Experience of working in the Defence and Security sector or similar.
• Experience analysing quantitative information using statistical packages such as SPSS, or R.
• Advanced understanding of theories of behaviour change from fields of psychology and / or behavioural economics
• Experience of developing and applying theories of behaviour change to guide research and / or policy recommendations
• Experience of applying behavioural frameworks such as ISM, COM-B, and EAST to diagnose and address a behavioural problem.
• Experience in rapid collation and review of behavioural insight evidence to inform research and / or policy recommendations
• Experience of reporting the finding of evidence synthesis activities in concise format to non-specialist audiences.

Essential qualifications:

• A Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in psychology or a related field from a recognised university.
• Chartered membership or registration with a relevant professional or recognised government body or a willingness to work towards it.

Desirable qualifications:

• Project or programme management qualification e.g., APMP or MSP
• Higher degree (or equivalent experience) in psychology or a related field from a recognised university.

A Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in psychology or a related field from a recognised university.

We’ll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Leadership
• Delivering at Pace

We’ll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:

• Building and applying knowledge (Practitioner)
• Technical oversight and management (Practitioner)
• Communicating Science and Engineering for Government (Practitioner)

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
• On site bike storage and car parking
• An on site gym

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. Most of the training will be ‘on-the-job’, with the remaining ‘off-the-job’ training delivered by an external training provider. This means minimal disruption to your work alongside a big developmental opportunity.
• Professional qualifications which can be achieved through an apprenticeship range from Level 2 (equivalent to 5 GCSEs/ broadly equivalent to Scottish National 5s(N5s)), Level 3 (equivalent to 2 A Levels//broadly equivalent to Scottish Higher/Advanced Higher (H/AH)), and Levels 4 -7, which can give you a foundation degree, a full Bachelor’s degree, or a Master’s degree. They normally last between 1 and 4 years, depending on the level of the apprenticeship.
• Anyone can undertake an Apprenticeship and everyone, regardless of age, can benefit from developing their skills in an accredited way.
• Popular learning and development opportunities currently being undertaken within the team include:
• APM Project Management Qualification (PMQ)
• Management of Risk
• Managing Successful Programmes
• Benefits Management
• Associate Project Manager Level 4 Apprenticeship
• BSc (Hons) Project Manager Degree
• Successful candidates can discuss their development options with their manager when in post.
• Discover my benefits- outlines the range of benefits available to MOD Civil Servants.

A Great Place for Veterans to Work scheme which was introduced by the Government in 2020 under the Veterans Strategy Action Plan which included the commitment of making the Civil Service a great Place to Work for Veterans. To be eligible for this scheme in the Civil Service, candidates must meet the minimum standard for the role being applied for and:

• have served for at least one year in His Majesty’s Armed Forces (as a Regular or Reserve); this includes time spent training
• be in transition from, or ceased to be a member of, HM Armed Forces
• not already be a civil servant, or be employed by a Civil Service Commission accredited public body

There is no maximum time limit from when you left HM Armed Forces to be eligible for this initiative.

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/.”

MOD Recruitment Satisfaction Survey – we may contact you regarding your experience to help us improve our customer satisfaction. The survey is voluntary and anonymous. You may however be given the opportunity to provide additional information to help us improve our service which includes the collection of some personal data as defined by the United Kingdom General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR). The MOD Privacy Notice sets out how we will use your personal data and your rights.

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 by 31st December 2022. 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.

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.

Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Job contact :

Name :
Alvaro Arana
Email :
Alvaro.EgusquizaArana@mod.gov.uk

Recruitment team :

Email :
dbscivpers-resourcingteam3@mod.gov.uk