View Vacancy – Defence Acquisition and Technology (DAT) Team Support Officer

         As a Defence Acquisition and Technology (DAT) Team Support Officer you will:

• Conduct administrative day-to-day support for the Counsellor Defence Acquisition and Technology, within BDSUS to include diary management, arranging meetings and travel schedules (including travel and accommodation booking).
• Support DAT Heads of Departments to ensure effective running of teams.  Support DAT meetings, booking rooms, including appropriate virtual meetings, MS Teams, Skype, Zoom etc.
• Oversee DAT budget, monitoring T&S and Hospitality expenditure. Recommending alternative travel arrangements and hospitality.
• Support as the team focal point for the MODNET computer system and ensuring that data is correctly stored and controlled on the filing system and champion electronic ways of working amongst the team members.
• Initiating and following through team correspondence as required.
• Calling for and collating briefs, researching material and co-ordinating staff officer input where appropriate.
• Handling official sensitive and classified documents and e-mails as required, and supporting the DAT Branch Security Officer for management of classified material.
• Handling classified patent related material from the UK to the United States, under the direction of the Legal Attache.
• Maintain internal/external contacts in other offices in order to arrange meetings and functions.
• Act as initial point of contact for incoming and outgoing DAT team members and provide core support to DAT Heads of Departments in managing the DAT team, including recruiting.
• Act as the DAT Training Officer, enabling wider training opportunities for the DAT team.

  Roles and responsibilities / what will the jobholder are expected to achieve?

  1.     Ensure Principal and the team members are supported in a variety of administration duties, which includes the controlling, filling and recording of information (emails, electronic documents, paper documents) onto the MOD computer systems. Running the Principal’s diary and/or central team diary, highlighting issues in advance where diary conflicts occur. Booking rooms, arranging IT facilities, and setting-up presentations or other media for meetings as required, ensuring the relevant data protection and security protocols are followed. Support to recruiting.

   2.     Maintaining desk-level contacts in key Government Departments, Congressional, DoD, industry and foreign embassy offices in support of the team’s objectives in arranging admin support for a function or event.

   3.     Oversee DAT budget, and monitor, control and track authorised T&S and Official Hospitality expenditure to ensure timely completion of annual budget requests and quarterly returns.

   4.      Arrange accommodation, travel and transport, as required for the Principal and team members in support of team activities.   Organise all travel using HRG Tool and local procedure to book internal and international travel.  Ensure best value for money and efficient use of Principal’s time.  Prepare travel and hospitality business cases, adhering to Government policy. 

   5.       Maintain competence in Data Protection policies and be the focal point for Data Protection issues in regards to team output.

   6.       Provide support and perform clerical duties for the transmission of classified patent material, under the direction of the Legal Attache, as detailed in DAT procedures. 

   7.       Handling official sensitive and classified documents and e-mails as required, and support the Branch Security Officer for management of classified material.

   8.      Attend meetings and record information to produce draft minutes of meetings or records of decisions as required.

   9.       Assisting in the organisation of the Principal and Team official functions, to include assisting in preparing business cases for official entertainment and functions, maintaining guest data, compiling guest lists, managing invitations,  obtain industry sponsorship (working closely with the Defence Trade Team), and meeting/greeting guests. Maintain official hospitality book.  

   10.    Be responsible for, and hold if required, a Government Procurement card (GPC) in order to facilitate expenditure within authorised limits and authority.

   11.     Act as the DAT Training Officer, researching and enabling wider training opportunities for the DAT team.

   10.  Be prepared to support other teams in administration support as required. May be required to hold and run a GPC card. 

Other skills / experience / qualifications:

Essential on arrival:

• High degree of knowledge of Microsoft Office Applications including Microsoft Outlook.   
• Previous history of working in general administration duties.
• Strong interpersonal skills, including the ability to be professional, confident, courteous, and deal with interlocutors at senior level.
• Strong independent judgement, excellent organisational skills, proactivity and the ability to multi-task and strong problem-solving skills.
• Excellent customer service skills, with proven ability to take responsibility and exercise considerable discretion.
• As the role requires handling and access to classified UK and US information, the job holder must hold a valid British Passport. 
• And for clerical duties which include the access to and transmission of classified material (both UK and US), the necessary Security Clearance is required.

Under US State Department requirements, the UK Government in the US may only employ, as non-diplomatic staff, persons who are US citizens, US Permanent Residents or A visa holders with EAD cards*. If you hold a visa other than an A visa you are not currently eligible to work at our office. Please refer to our website for information on exceptions to this policy at www.gov.uk/government/world/usa. All selected candidates are subject to background checks and will require a security clearance prior to starting work. *A visas are acceptable at the Embassy and Consulates. The UK Mission to the UN (UKMIS) accepts G visas, and British Defense Staff (BDS) outposts accept A or NATO visas.