Community Development Officer (CDO)

The Community Development Officer (CDO) is responsible to the Station Commander for the development of Community Support provision, services and facilities for the RAF Community (serving personnel, families, children and young people). As part of these duties, you are expected to liaise with external agencies and organisations to engage support for and understanding of the needs of the Service Community.

This position is advertised at 37 hours per week. 

Job description

The successful candidate will:

• Provide advice and support to the Station Management Board and Community Support Team (CST) on the development, management and monitoring of Community Support (CS) provision, services and facilities.
• Compile and maintain a profile of the Station and wider community within which the Station is part.
• Conduct Community Needs Analysis (CNA), produce a Community Support Action Plan (CSAP) including Community Support performance targets, and update the CNA and CSAP annually.
• Initiate, plan, develop and review community projects and activities; engage with Station groups, initiatives and clubs, encourage participation, motivate and support individuals and groups to address their own needs.
• Identify funding opportunities both internal and external in support of Community Support provision, services and facilities; advise Station Management Board and write applications to secure funding as appropriate.
• Engage with external agencies and organisations both statutory and voluntary; local authority government departments; heads of educational establishments; managers of local children and young people’s services; other community support agencies; and through consultation, liaison, monitoring of partnership agreements, maintenance of local networks and working relationships secure support to the RAF Community.
• Promote, develop, manage and support delivery of provision for children and young people aged 5-19 yrs as appropriate for the Station and wider community.
• Monitor the accessibility, sufficiency, affordability and quality of childcare provision and services for children; childcare, local agency delivery, community led groups, initiatives and activities for children and parents.
• Promote, develop, manage and support delivery of Community Support services, initiatives, projects and activities in support of families of deployed personnel.
• Provide management, leadership, guidance and advice to the Community Support Team; promote maintenance of effective Community Support Team and individual Community Support specialists, delivery of the CSAP in accordance with identified need in CNA.
• Participate and contribute to Station Management Board meetings and briefings as required; research, prepare and present Community Support reports as required.
• Line manage, develop and supervise Community Support staffs, both paid and unpaid;
  • Work with any specialist advisers to specific Community Support staff for which you are responsible.
  • Monitor the administration of Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks of paid and unpaid staff working with children and young people within station provision, services and projects.
  • Provide day-to-day support for the Airplay Station Youth Worker and Ben Play Worker and attend quarterly 3-way meetings with the Regional Coordinator.
  • Support access to and/or engage in the delivery of training for groups and individuals working with children and young people or community projects and not for profit groups.
• Establish and maintain the Station Children and Young People’s Board (CYPB) to ensure that all 0-19 years delivery on Station is compliant with safeguarding and best practice.
• Manage the coordination of groups operating in community support facilities.
• You are required to be on duty for 10 sessions per week (37 hrs) of which no more than 8 per fortnight will be evenings or weekends, in accordance with the Joint Negotiating Committee (JNC) Terms & Conditions for Youth & Community work.
• Work in accordance with the appropriate MOD policies and procedures, RAF policies and the Civil Service code of conduct.
• Perform any other duties within the terms and conditions appropriate to the grade and role as agreed by the Line Manager and Regional Community Development Adviser (RCDA), or as directed by higher authority.

If you need to contact Defence Business Services (DBS) regarding this vacancy, please indicate that your vacancy is being handled by Resourcing Team 1. If you experience any technical difficulties with the CS Jobs system, please contact the Support Team at candidate@support.oleeo.com  

Person specification

The successful candidate will be:

• JNC qualified in youth and community work.
• Motivated, pro-active and able to work on their own initiative.
• Accessible and approachable.
• A visible leader with strong, clear and effective communication skills (verbal and written).
• Flexible and willing to apply their skills to a range of tasks across the team; utilising their previous experience to bring new ideas and approaches to the team.
• Able to meet challenging deadlines and manage conflicting priorities concurrently.
• A proactive member of the Community Support Team.

All applicants will be required to have an enhanced DBS clearance in accordance with JSP 893.

Qualifications

Joint Negotiating Committee (JNC) Professional Qualification in Youth and Community Work recognised by the National Youth Agency
Evidence of qualification will be required at interview.
All qualifications/licences declared must be held at point of application and if applicable be in date. Equivalent Qualifications will not be accepted.

Behaviours

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

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

Benefits

Discover My Benefits: 

Please follow the link to visit the Discover My Benefits site which showcases the benefits and discounts offered when working as a civilian for the MOD. https://discovermybenefits.mod.gov.uk/civilian/  

• Learning and development tailored to your role.
• An environment with flexible working options.
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity.
• 30 days paid annual leave rising (1 day annually) to 35 day after five years' service.
• Enhanced maternity, paternity and adoption leave. 
• Opportunity to join more than one of many MOD networks (Race, LGBT+, Gender, Disability and Faith & Belief).
• Access to Employee Wellbeing Services. 
• Special Paid Leave for community volunteering up to 6 days a year.

This post does not offer any assistance with Relocation Allowances.  

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. 

Things you need to know

Selection process details

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

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

Candidates will be required to complete a Statement of Suitability.

Candidates will be asked to do a short presentation at the start of the interview. Please provide a presentation of no more than 8 minutes selecting one of the behaviours advertised and demonstrate through evidence how you have delivered and met that behaviour. Please also include 2 minutes on the priorities you will set as the Community Development Officer at RAF Marham. 

At sift, you will be assessed against the following Success Profiles Behaviours

• Leadership
• Seeing the big picture
• Changing and improving
• Communicating and influencing
• Working together
• Making effective decisions 

At interview, you will be assessed against the following Success Profiles Behaviours

• Leadership
• Seeing the big picture
• Changing and improving
• Communicating and influencing
• Working together
• Making effective decisions

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. 

Interviews for this vacancy will take place on a date and time to be confirmed at RAF Marham.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

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. 

The role currently being advertised has not been assessed as business critical and 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. 

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.  

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.

Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check (opens in a new window).

See our vetting charter (opens in a new window).

People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) 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 (opens in a new window).

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.

The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

Apply and further information

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.

Contact point for applicants Job contact :

• Name :Jenny Withers - Chief Community Development Officer
• Email :jenny.withers498@mod.gov.uk
• Telephone :07585 960321
• Recruitment team
• Email :DBSCivPers-Resourcingteam1@mod.gov.uk
• Further information

  Please see Further Information document attached.
   

  Attachments Air applicant guide .V1.1 Opens in new window(pdf, 522kB) Defence Civil Service Offer (18) Opens in new window(pdf, 1562kB) 20241009 - Further Information - External (9) Opens in new window(docx, 35kB)