Appointment details

Defence Lead Non-Executive Board Member

Summary

• Organisation: Defence Board
• Sponsor department: Ministry of Defence
• Location: London
• Sectors: Defence
• Skills: Business, Change Management, Commercial, Technology / Digital, Major Projects, Transformation
• Number of vacancies: 1
• Time commitment: 30 day(s) per annum
• Remuneration: £24,996 per annum
• Length of term: 3 years, with potential reappointment for another 3 years, subject to performance and Ministerial agreement. This is a public appointment, not Civil Service employment.
• Application deadline: 11:55pm on 11 August 2025

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Timeline for this appointment

1. Opening date

   9 July 2025

2. Application deadline

   11:55pm on 11 August 2025

3. Sifting date

   22 August 2025

4. Interviews expected to end on

   19 September 2025

Timeline dates are only an estimate and can change

About the appointment

Introduction

This is an exciting time to join the Ministry of Defence. We are looking to appoint an individual with commitment and expertise to become the Lead Non-Executive Director on the Defence Board.

Non-executives bring external experience and expertise to the decisions and processes of MOD’s Board by providing collective strategic leadership to the department. Exercising their role through influence, scrutiny, challenge, and advice, they act as a trusted sounding board to the Secretary of State for Defence and senior executive leadership team.

We are looking for a candidate that is recognised for their strategic expertise, with an open and independent mind, and the courage to offer a view constructively. Candidates must have the ability to consider complex and highly sensitive issues effectively and be able to analyse and contribute to resolving difficult problems. Candidates must have a genuine interest in contributing to the effective running of the department and, as appropriate, across government.

Key responsibilities

• Support the Secretary of State in their role as Chair of the Defence Board, enabling the Board to provide effective advice, support, and challenge on departmental delivery and strategy and on the operational, commercial and delivery implications of policies;

• Constructively challenge and contribute to the development of strategy and business planning, including the setting and development of key objectives and targets;

• Work with the Permanent Secretary to scrutinise the performance of the organisation in meeting agreed goals and objectives, monitor the reporting of performance, including financial targets, and the department’s risk management processes;

• Review and monitor the Department’s reform performance;

• Support the department to deliver its plan by providing independent scrutiny, support and assurance;

• Provide external oversight and expertise to the Defence Board, underpinned by consideration from an independent standpoint, which informs the department’s decision-making process;

• Connect the Board to people and organisations who can provide different perspectives, opinions and expertise which will assist in furthering the business of the department;

• Undertake (or assist with) specific project work by agreement with the Secretary of State related to the management of the Board to assess and enhance the department’s performance (including annual Board Effectiveness Reviews);

• Work with the Government Lead Non-Executive Board Member, and Non-Executives across government, to learn from the experiences of other government departments and other comparable organisations, including playing an active role in the cross-government network of lead NEBMs and to feedback views to the Prime Minister;

• Undertake an annual assessment of the Permanent Secretary’s performance to inform the Permanent Secretary Remuneration Committee and the Cabinet Secretary;

• Lead the department’s Non-Executive team, meeting the other NEBMs regularly, ensuring that they are able to fulfil their roles effectively.

Appointment description

About the Ministry of Defence

The Defence Purpose

We work for a secure and prosperous UK with global reach. Through strong Armed Forces and international partnerships, we protect our people, values, and interests, supporting national security and prosperity.

Context

The Civil Service supports the government in delivering public services and policy. While much of this happens within over 40 departments, 12 cross-government functions and numerous arms-length bodies also play a key role.

The MOD is one of the largest Civil Service departments, with a workforce of nearly 197,000, including civil servants and regular and reserve military personnel, serving in the UK and overseas. Our mission is to keep the UK secure at home and strong abroad.

Our Priorities

Following publication of the Strategic Defence Review, the department has set out a clear shift in direction, towards warfighting readiness to enhance deterrence and reinforce security across the Euro-Atlantic. In support of this, the department is now focused on the following key priorities:

• Move to warfighting readiness—establishing a more lethal ‘integrated force’ equipped for the future, and strengthened homeland defence.

• Engine for growth—driving jobs and prosperity through a new partnership with industry, radical procurement reforms and backing UK businesses.

• ‘NATO first’—stepping up on European security by leading in NATO, with strengthened nuclear, new tech and updated conventional capabilities.

• UK innovation driven by lessons from Ukraine—harnessing drones, data and digital warfare to make our Armed Forces stronger and safer.

• Whole-of-society approach—widening participation in national resilience, and renewing the Nation’s contract with those who serve.

Organisation description

The Defence Board is the senior decision-making body in MOD governance, providing leadership and direction for the delivery of defence outputs and tasks, evaluating Departmental risks, and holding officials to account for performance.

The Board advises and assists the Defence Secretary in exercising their accountability for the policies, decisions, and actions of Defence. It is also a source of advice and assistance to the Permanent Secretary as Accounting Officer.

Regulation of appointment

This post is regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments. For more information, please refer to the Commissioner’s website 

Person specification

Essential criteria

Leadership: the ability to set strategic vision and drive forward priorities of the organisation with a strong track record in relevant senior leadership roles;

Knowledge: a clear understanding of the work, priorities and challenges of the Ministry of Defence and the context within which it operates; 

Experience: a strong track record of delivery on significant policy issues within the private, public or voluntary sectors.

Relationship building: an ability to build strong stakeholder relationships, including with Ministers and Senior Government officials and external stakeholders;

Communication: strong communication and interpersonal skills with the ability to listen, accept challenge and constructively challenge others in discussions with clarity and respect;

Judgement: effective decision-making skills with the ability to critically analyse a wide range of information to make clear and objective evidence-based recommendations to support the delivery of the organisation's objectives; and

Collaboration: the ability to work closely with the executive board and other key stakeholders, providing support, constructive challenge and assurance as appropriate

Desirable criteria

Experience of transforming the performance and culture of a large organisation and visibly leading significant change, with clear emphasis on outcomes and value for money;

Digital Leadership: experience applying new technologies (digital/automation/AI) in complex organisations and contexts to drive faster, smarter decision-making and improved outcomes;

Extensive business and commercial experience at the FTSE 100 or equivalent board level;

Senior thinktank, research or academic professional with a background in international relations and strategy;

A clear understanding of Whitehall departments and processes.

Application and selection process

How to apply

In order to apply you will need to create an account or sign in.

1. https://apply-for-public-appointment.service.gov.uk/create-account 2. https://apply-for-public-appointment.service.gov.uk/auth/sign-in

Once you are logged into your account, click on 'apply for this role' and follow the on-screen instructions. To apply, all candidates are required to provide:

a Curriculum Vitae (CV)

a Supporting Statement

We will ask you to check and confirm your personal details to ensure your application is accurate.

You will also have the opportunity to make a reasonable adjustment request or apply under the disability confident scheme before you submit your application.

The Advisory Assessment Panel reserves the right to only consider applications that contain all of the elements listed above, and that arrive before the published deadline for applications.

Overview of the application process

Public appointments are made on merit following a fair and open competition process which is conducted in accordance with the Governance Code for Public Appointments. We will deal with your application as quickly as possible and will keep you informed at key stages. We aim to conclude the appointment process within three months of the deadline for applications – this is in accordance with the Governance Code.

The assessment process

1. Ministers are responsible and accountable to Parliament for the public appointments made within their department. As a result, they must be consulted at every stage of the appointments process.

2. An Advisory Assessment Panel (“Panel”) is appointed by Ministers to assist them in their decision making. The role of the Panel is to decide, objectively, which candidates meet the eligibility criteria for the role.

3. At the shortlisting meeting the Panel will assess applications against the eligibility criteria and decide which candidates have best met the criteria, who should be recommended for interview. Ministers will then be consulted on the Panel’s recommended shortlist. If you have applied under the Disability Confident Scheme and you meet all the essential criteria, then you will also be invited for an interview.

4. Once the shortlist has been agreed by Ministers, you will be advised (by e-mail) whether you have been shortlisted. Those shortlisted will be invited to an interview.

5. The Panel will meet again to interview candidates and determine who is appointable to the role. The Panel may invite you to make a brief presentation at the start of the interview and will go on to question you about your skills and experience, including asking specific questions to assess whether you meet the criteria set out for the post. The Panel will also explore with you any potential conflicts of interest or any other issues arising from your personal and professional history which may impact on an appointment decision.

6. Details of the panel’s assessment of interviewed candidates are provided to Ministers, including whether they have judged a candidate to be appointable to the role. It is then for Ministers to determine merit and decide who should be appointed. In some circumstances, Ministers may choose not to appoint any candidates and re-run the competition.

7. Ministers may choose to meet with candidates before deciding the outcome. Candidates should therefore be prepared for a short time gap between interview and a final appointment decision being made. Candidates who have been interviewed will be kept informed of progress.

8. Once the decision on the appointment has been made, interviewed candidates will be advised of the outcome of their application, including whom they may approach for feedback. Successful candidates will be issued with their Terms & Conditions and a letter of appointment should they agree to take up the position.

Further information about appointments, including tips on applying, can be found on our guidance pages on gov.uk.

Advisory Assessment Panel (AAP)

Panel Chair: David Williams, Permanent Secretary

Departmental Official: Dame Gen Sharon Nesmith, Vice Chief of the Defence Staff

Independent Panel Member: Pavita Cooper (Senior Independent Panel Member)

Other Panel Members: Baroness Louise Casey, Government Lead NED (Independent Panel Member)

Advisory Assessment Panels (AAP) are chosen by ministers to assist them in their decision-making. These include a departmental official and an independent member. For competitions recruiting non-executive members of a board (apart from the Chair), the panel will usually include a representative from the public body concerned.

AAP’s perform a number of functions, including agreeing an assessment strategy with ministers, undertaking sifting, carrying out interviews in line with the advertised criteria and deciding objectively who meets the published selection criteria for the role before recommending to ministers which candidates they find appointable. It is then for the minister to decide who to appoint to the role.

Eligibility criteria

This role is open to UK Nationals only. (Reserved)

In general, you should have the right to work in the UK to be eligible to apply for a public appointment.

There are a small number of specialist roles that are not open to non-British citizens. Any nationality requirements will be specified in the vacancy details.

The Government expects all holders of public office to work to the highest personal and professional standards. 

You cannot be considered for a public appointment if:

• you are disqualified from acting as a company director  (under the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986);

• have an unspent conviction on your criminal record;

• your estate has been sequestrated in Scotland or you enter into a debt arrangement programme under Part 1 of the Debt Arrangement and Attachment (Scotland) Act 2002 (asp 17) as the debtor or have, under Scots law, granted a trust deed for creditors.

When you apply, you should declare if:

• you are, or have been, bankrupt or you have made an arrangement with a creditor at any point, including the dates of this. 

• you are subject to a current police investigation.

You must inform the sponsor department if, during the application process, your circumstances change in respect of any of the above points. 

When you apply you should also declare any relevant interests, highlighting any that you think may call into question your ability to properly discharge the responsibilities of the role you are applying for. You should also declare any other matters which may mean you may not be able to meet the requirements of the Code of Conduct of Board Members (see Outside interests and reputational issues section below)

If you need further advice, please contact: StratHub-NEDS@mod.gov.uk

Security clearance

The successful candidate will be required to undertake Baseline Personnel Security Standard checks in line with the Civil Service guidelines. Additional Security Clearance may also be required for certain roles. However, where this applies, candidates will be notified during the appointment process. Further information on National Security Vetting can be found on the Gov.uk website here.

The level of clearance required for this Role is Developed Vetting. (DV)

Additional information for candidates

Equality and diversity

We encourage applications from talented individuals from all backgrounds and across the whole of the United Kingdom. Boards of public bodies are most effective when they reflect the diversity of views of the society they serve and this is an important part of the Government’s levelling up agenda.

We collect data about applicants’ characteristics and backgrounds, including information about people’s educational and professional backgrounds, so that we can make sure we are attracting a broad range of people to these roles and that our selection processes are fair for everyone. Without this information, it makes it difficult to see if our outreach is working, if the application process is having an unfair impact on certain groups and whether changes are making a positive difference.

When you submit your application, your responses are collected by the Cabinet Office and the government department(s) managing your application. The data is used to produce management information about the diversity of applicants. You can select “prefer not to say” to any question you do not wish to answer. The information you provide will not be seen by the Advisory Assessment Panel who review applications against the advertised criteria and conduct interviews.

Disability confident

We are a member of the Government’s Disability Confident scheme. We use the Disability Confident scheme symbol, along with other like-minded employers, to show our commitment to good practice in employing people with a disability. The scheme helps recruit and retain disabled people. As part of implementing the scheme, we guarantee an interview for anyone with a disability whose application meets the essential criteria for the role, set out in the advert, and who has asked that their application is considered under the scheme. Indicating that you wish your application to be considered under the scheme will in no way prejudice your application. By ‘essential criteria', we mean that you must provide evidence which demonstrates that you meet the level of competence required under each of the essential criteria, as set out in the job-advert. When you apply you will have the opportunity to select if you would like your application considered under this scheme.

Reasonable adjustments

We are committed to making reasonable adjustments to make sure applicants with disabilities, physical or mental health conditions, or other needs are not substantially disadvantaged when applying for public appointments. This can include changing the recruitment process to enable people who wish to apply to do so.

Some examples of common changes are:

• ensuring that application forms are available in different or accessible formats;
• making adaptations to interview locations;
• allowing candidates to present their skills and experience in a different way;
• giving additional detailed information on the selection / interview process in advance to allow candidates time to prepare themselves;
• allowing support workers, for example sign language interpreters;
• making provision for support animals to attend.

When you apply you will have the opportunity to request reasonable adjustments to the application process.

Principles of public life

The Seven Principles of Public Life (also known as the Nolan Principles) apply to anyone who works as a public office-holder.

1. Selflessness

Holders of public office should act solely in terms of the public interest.

2. Integrity

Holders of public office must avoid placing themselves under any obligation to people or organisations that might try inappropriately to influence them in their work. They should not act or take decisions in order to gain financial or other material benefits for themselves, their family, or their friends. They must declare and resolve any interests and relationships.

3. Objectivity

Holders of public office must act and take decisions impartially, fairly and on merit, using the best evidence and without discrimination or bias.

4. Accountability

Holders of public office are accountable to the public for their decisions and actions and must submit themselves to the scrutiny necessary to ensure this.

5. Openness

Holders of public office should act and take decisions in an open and transparent manner. Information should not be withheld from the public unless there are clear and lawful reasons for so doing.

6. Honesty

Holders of public office should be truthful.

7. Leadership

Holders of public office should exhibit these principles in their own behaviour and treat others with respect. They should actively promote and robustly support the principles and challenge poor behaviour wherever it occurs.

Code of conduct for board members

The Government expects all holders of public office to work to the highest personal and professional standards. In support of this, all non-executive board members of UK public bodies must abide by the principles set out in the Code of Conduct for Board Members of Public Bodies. The Code sets out the standards expected from those who serve on the boards of UK public bodies and will form part of your terms and conditions of appointment.

Management of outside interests and consideration of reputational issues

Holders of public office are expected to adhere and uphold the Seven Principles of Public Life and the Code of Conduct for Board Members of Public Bodies. Before you apply you should consider carefully: 

• any outside interests that you may have, such as shares you may hold in a company providing services to government; 
• any possible reputational issues arising from your past actions or public statements that you have made; 
• and/or - any political roles you hold or political campaigns you have supported; 

which may call into question your ability to do the role you are applying for.

You will need to answer relevant questions in relation to these points when making an application. Many conflicts of interest can be satisfactorily resolved and declaring a potential conflict does not prevent you from being interviewed. If you are shortlisted for an interview, the panel will discuss any potential conflicts with you during that interview, including any proposals you may have to mitigate them and record that in their advice to ministers. Alongside your own declaration, we will conduct appropriate checks, as part of which we will consider anything in the public domain related to your conduct or professional capacity. This may include searches of previous public statements and social media, blogs or any other publicly available information. The successful candidate(s) may be required to give up any conflicting interests and their other business and financial interests may be published in line with organisational policies. 

Details of declared political activity will be published when the appointment is announced, as required by the Governance Code (political activity is not a bar to appointment, but must be declared).

Status of appointment

As this is an office holder appointment, you will not become a member of the Civil Service. You will not be subject to the provisions of employment law.

Appointment and tenure of office

Appointments are for the term set out in this advert, with the possibility of re-appointment for a further term, at the discretion of Ministers.  Any re-appointment is subject to satisfactory annual appraisals of performance during the first term in the post. There is no automatic presumption of reappointment; each case should be considered on its own merits, taking into account a number of factors including, but not restricted to, the diversity of the current board and its balance of skills and experience. In most cases, the total time served in post will not exceed more than two terms or ten years in any one post. 

Remuneration, allowances and abatement

Remuneration for this role is treated as employment income and will be subject to tax and National Insurance contributions, both of which will be deducted at source under PAYE before you are paid.

Reasonable travel and subsistence costs will be reimbursed when attending locations outside of MOD Main Building. Up to 30 days per year, including 6 Defence Board meetings. The role is not pensionable.

Pension and redundancy

This is an office holder appointment and does not attract any benefits under any Civil Service Pension Scheme. You will not be eligible for redundancy pay as you are not an employee. No other arrangements have been made for compensation upon the end of your term of appointment because an office holder who is appointed for a limited duration would have no expectation of serving beyond that period.

Application feedback

We will notify you of the status of your application. We regret that we are only able to offer detailed feedback to candidates who have been unsuccessful at the interview stage.

How to complain

We aim to process all applications as quickly as possible and to treat all applicants with courtesy.  If you feel that you have a complaint about the way in which your application has been handled, please contact in the first instance Defence Business Service (DBS) Civilian Personnel Public Appointments Team DBSCivPers-ResPublicAppts@mod.gov.uk. If you are not completely satisfied with the response, please contact the MOD Public Appointments Team at HeadOffice-PublicBodiesandAppts@mod.gov.uk.   We will acknowledge your complaint upon receipt and aim to provide a response within 15 working days. 

How to complain to Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments (OCPA)

If you are not content with the appointing department’s response you may wish to further complain to the Commissioner at publicappointments@csc.gov.uk.Further information on how the Commissioner handles complaints can be found on the Commissioner for Public Appointments’ website https://publicappointmentscommissioner.independent.gov.uk/regulating-appointments/investigating-complaints/

Data protection

The Cabinet Office will use your data in line with our privacy policy.

The Ministry of Defence privacy notice can be found here

Contact details

If you require further information about this role please contact StratHub-NEDS@mod.gov.uk

Attachments

• Candidate Information Pack