Our hiring process
If you’re looking for a rewarding role in the Civil Service, with plenty of benefits and access to first-class training and development, discover careers at Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S). You’ll support vital work for national defence, whether you’re developing world-first engineering technologies or ensuring the essential processes of our organisation keep moving forwards.
Find out more about our application process below.
The DE&S recruitment process
Search our vacancies for new and exciting opportunities. Discover more about our vital work supporting and equipping the UK Armed Forces, and why your contribution will really matter.
Found a job you like? Great!
Click the ‘Apply’ button on the advert and send us an application by submitting your CV online.
Remember to tailor your CV to the job you’re applying for and to ensure it shows evidence of the essential criteria we’re looking for, which are listed on the advert.
Check our our CV writing guidance for best chance of success.
If you meet the Essential Criteria for the job, we’ll review your CV.
Good news! We’d like to find out more about you.
You’ll receive an email inviting you to arrange a date and time for your interview, along with some further information on how to book this through our online applicant tracking system.
Your interview will either be virtual, via Microsoft Teams, or face-to-face, depending on the type of role and the location.
Your interview will last approximately an hour. During this time, the interviewers will ask questions and assess you on the following areas:
- CV Review
- Core Behaviours – these are stated on the job advert and reflect the actions and activities that people do which result in effective performance in a job
- Technical Competences – these are also stated on the job advert and are specific professional skills or areas of subject knowledge needed to succeed in the role
You’ll also have the chance to ask any questions you have too!
Read our Interview Tips for the best chance of success.
Congratulations, we think you’d be a great fit for us. Our recruitment team will be in touch soon to discuss your offer and what happens next.
The DE&S on-boarding process
Congratulations on your offer to join us. We look forward to welcoming you to our team!
Before we send you a formal job offer, we need to carry out a series of pre-employment checks.
Click on the tiles below to learn more about our on-boarding process and who you can expect to hear from.
Our Candidate Care team will be in touch throughout the process with organisation news and updates too.
Defence Business Services is an organisation within the Ministry of Defence who help provide a full range of civilian human resources and pay services to Defence.
They will contact you to help arrange your pre-employment checks. This will include a request for personal information including your proof of identity, address, qualifications (if applicable), and some documentation, which you’ll need to complete and return:
- United Kingdom Security Vetting (UKSV) new user application form
- Employment history/reference request form
- Pension questionnaire
- Bank details request form
As soon as your forms are returned, DBS will set up your employment checks. The checks will run simultaneously and it’s important to check your inbox for any updates or additional information requests to prevent any delays.
Process length: from 25 days up to around three months
It’s important you obtain security clearance before starting your role.
UKSV is the main UK government provider of security clearances. There are two types of security clearance within DE&S, Security Check (SC), and Developed Vetting (DV). The level of clearance required will depend on your role, and will be stated on the job advert. DV clearance can take longer as it’s a higher level of security and requires you having an interview with the vetting department.
Due to everyone’s own unique backgrounds, we can only provide an estimated timeline for security clearance. A lot of clearances are processed more quickly, but some do take longer to process, depending on the individual’s personal circumstances. Delays can occur if UKSV require additional information so we recommend providing as much information on the form as possible.
Optima Health is our occupational health services provider.
Once you have completed the online form, the occupational health check can take up to one week, sometimes longer, depending on your medical circumstances.
Process length: up to two weeks
The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) criminal record check, sometimes referred to as a GRS check, helps ensure the safety of our employees and prevent any risk to the organisation. This can take up to two weeks, although the process can be longer depending on an individual’s personal circumstances.
Once all checks have been completed satisfactorily, a member of the on-boarding team will be in touch to agree your start date and then extend your formal job offer in writing.
Your new team will be in contact to make arrangements for your first day. We look forward to having you on board!
Inclusive recruitment
Fair and open competition
When you apply for a role with us, you’ll be assessed through ‘fair and open competition’ – this means anyone that applies to join us is assessed and scored in the same way, with roles offered on order of merit.
Diverse assessors
We have also launched a Diverse Assessors programme, where we use specially trained assessors from diverse groups across DE&S to provide a more rounded voice on the interview panel and mitigate any risk of bias.
Support with your application
If you would benefit from any assistance or reasonable adjustments, please include details on the online application form and speak with your recruiter. Even if you’re not sure how we can help, there may be other ways we can support you.
Graduate and apprenticeship schemes
University or school leaver? Find out more about applying for our graduate schemes and apprenticeships.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Click on the ‘Find a job’ button on the website menu.
- You can view all our latest vacancies and filter depending on your area of interest or location.
- Found a job you like the sound of? If you’d like to submit an application, click the ‘Apply’ button, which will transfer you to our application portal, where you can create an account and complete your application.
- Applying is easy: Create an account, fill in your personal details and upload your CV.
Your interview will either be virtual, via Microsoft Teams, or face-to-face, depending on the type of role and the location.
Your interview will last approximately an hour. During this time, the interviewers will ask questions and assess you on the following areas:
- CV Review
- Core Behaviours – these are stated on the job advert and reflect the actions and activities that people do which result in effective performance in a job
- Technical Competences – these are also stated on the job advert and are specific professional skills or areas of subject knowledge needed to succeed in the role
You’ll also have the chance to ask any questions you have too!
If you’re successful at interview, a recruiter will contact you to make you a provisional offer. It is important that you do not resign from your current employment at this stage. You’ll then undertake the pre-employment checks. These are completed by the Defence Business Services (DBS) team. Once these have been completed satisfactorily, a member of the DBS team will contact you to agree a start date. Following this, you’ll receive a formal offer by email and post. Once you have accepted the formal offer, you can resign from your current employment.
