Assistant Chief of Staff (Policy, Legal & Media) PJHQ

The Permanent Joint Headquarters is an adaptable and agile headquarters created to command joint and combined military operations.

Headed by the Chief of Joint Operations, we are responsible for:

• Planning and executing UK-led joint and multinational operations.
• Exercising operational command of UK Forces assigned to multinational operations led by others.
• Providing policy and resource aware military advice to the Ministry of Defence (MOD).

The J9 Division is an integrated team of Civil Servants and Military professionals who are expert in the management of policy, legal and presentational risks and issues relating to current and future operations. J9s function is critical to enabling operations. It provides operationally focussed policy, legal and presentational advice to the Chief of Joint Operations and their deployed commanders. It supports policy development and media management activities in the MOD Centre. J9 also manages the non-financial Department of State function within the Permanent Joint Headquarters: providing direct advice to Ministers on operational activity and helping Ministers discharge their duties to Parliament (for example by drafting answers to Parliamentary Questions) and to the public (for example by responding to Freedom of Information requests).

The J9 Divisions mission is to provide high quality, responsive and integrated policy, legal, media advice to the Chief of Joint Operations and their deployed commanders, to Ministers and to MOD Centre.

You will head up the J9 Division that provides responsive and integrated policy, legal and media advice to the Chief of Joint Operations (CJO) and their deployed commanders as well as other senior leaders, including Ministers, through the leadership of a civilian-military team based in Northwood HQ and a deployed presence of Policy Advisors on operations.

You will be specifically responsible for ensuring the policy and legal basis to underpin the establishment and delivery of global operations commanded by CJO and for ensuring the supporting media wrap. This will require you to establish/secure operational policy, permissions, authorities and legal advice/underpinning from the concept of an operation, through to its recovery, for both enduring operations and in crisis, delivered 24/7/365 and to ensure the Ministry Of Defence is able to capture and clear content, and communicate details of UK Armed Forces on operations, preparing product for use at all levels of Government.

The current responsibilities of the role include:

• Policy: To ensure operational activity is conducted in accordance with policies determined by Ministers. To influence the policy development process, ensuring operational and tactical realities are factored into the development and management of operations. To manage the Permanent Joint Headquarters' non-financial Department of State responsibilities.
• Legal: To support the provision of legal advice to the Chief of Joint Operations and his deployed commanders, ensuring consistency with the advice provided to Ministers and policy colleagues by MOD Central Legal Services. To provide direction, guidance and support to Legal Advisors (LEGAD) deployed in the Chief of Joint Operations Joint Operational Areas. To support the provision of legal advice to Standing Joint Force Headquarters (SJFHQ) to the extent compatible with the teams other responsibilities
• Media: To provide presentational and media handling advice to the Chief of Joint Operations and their deployed commanders. To ensure that media and communications activity supports delivery of operational objectives. To ensure content of PJHQ operations is captured, cleared and available for use to support the communication of Armed Forces activity.
• Leadership: Lead the J9 Division (c.30 staff in Northwood, and c.10 overseas), undertaking line management, mentoring and countersigning tasks as required by the role. Manage the delegated budget efficiently within agreed limits. Play a wider leadership role across the MOD Operational Policy and Crisis community.
• Advising: Policy Advisory support to Deployed Commanders, ensuring they are supported with informed, timely Operational Policy Advice. Responsible for the recruitment, selection and deployment of Policy Advisors (POLADs) to operational theatres.
• Role Modelling:Part of the Senior Civil Service leadership team within the Permanent Joint Headquarters. Role model and champion to the Civil Service in the Headquarters and deployed on operations and exemplar to military staff on the role and contribution of the Civil Service to operations and the Permanent Joint Headquarters.

The successful candidate must be able to demonstrate their experience and skills against the following essential criteria:

• Experience working on international security issues and an understanding of the key policy and legal concepts that apply to UK military operations.
• Proven leadership skills with the ability to motivate, empower and support diverse and inclusive teams, including subject matter experts, to provide high-quality work under pressure and to tight deadlines.
• Excellent strategic thinking and analytical skills, with the ability to anticipate emerging challenges quickly assess the practical implications of political and diplomatic developments and identify pragmatic solutions.
• Extensive experience of crisis management and policy development processes, whilst being comfortable operating in a Defence and Security environment.
• Exceptional oral and written communication skills, with the ability to summarise complex issues, influence Board-level stakeholders, and develop these capabilities within your team.
• Proven stakeholder management skills in a political, pressured environment, with the ability to build relationships and command the confidence and trust of senior stakeholders across complex environments.

Desirable criteria may be used in the event of a strong field of candidates when there is a need to distinguish between candidates. This will be as a second sift, after the essential criteria has been considered:

• Direct experience of working alongside the UK military or with the Ministry of Defence;
• Experience working overseas in a defence and security context.