Length of employment: Job Summary: Do you want a career where you can make a real difference? Join the Ministry of Defence Guard Service (MGS) to protect Defence from threats such as crime, terrorism, espionage, and sabotage by providing the highest quality of security services through professionalism, excellence, and trust. Are you reliable, alert, and passionate about animal care? We're looking for motivated individuals to join our Gold Standard security service as Kennel Assistants -a vital role supporting the daily welfare and care of our Military Working Dogs (MWDs) across the Defence estate. You'll be directly responsible to the MGS Operations Manager, working to clear objectives that support the health and wellbeing of our working dogs, as well as the smooth running of the wider team. This is a hands-on, physical role that involves cleaning, feeding, and exercising dogs in all weather conditions. You must also maintain a good level of physical fitness, as the role involves prolonged periods of standing, walking large distances, and responding quickly to incidents. No animal-handling experience is required, and full training will be provided through a paid, Kennel Assistants course at the Defence Animal Training Regiment in Melton Mowbray. This position is advertised at 37 hours per week. Job Description: The Ministry of Defence Guard Service (MGS) provides high quality security services at over 170 MOD sites across the United Kingdom. The MGS has guarded the Defence Estate for over 30 years including high profile locations such as MOD Main Building in London, Whitehall and His Majesty's Naval Bases at Portsmouth, Devonport, and the Clyde. We provide access control, military working dogs, control room operations and other security services. We play a vital role supporting the Defence Mission and work to protect the Defence estate and personnel from crime, terrorism, espionage, and sabotage threats. The MGS has over 2,700 employees. MGS Security Officers are often the first point of contact for employees, visitors and contractors on sites and we pride ourselves on our professional, customer-focused culture. Behind our operational workforce is a range of head office roles which support our security professionals to develop and execute the organisations strategy, managing its budget and resources, leading, and developing our staff, maintaining relationships with stakeholders, monitoring and evaluating our performance and identifying new opportunities. All are working towards our Vision to be recognised as an outstanding provider of security services and our five Values underpinning this Vision include: Integrity - Always do the right thing. Respect yourself and others. Treat people fairly. Vigilance and Preparedness - Keep careful watch for risks and incidents. Be ready to act. Professionalism - Know the job thoroughly. Seek continuous improvement. Maintain high standards. Helpfulness - Always be ready to assist people. Leave a lasting positive impression. Teamwork - Working with colleagues who are collaborative, respectful, open and trustworthy, who are passionate about excellence and protecting Defence. There are plenty of opportunities for development, access to funded professional qualifications and specialist training. We are a growing organisation with opportunities to progress your security careers and if you align with our Values, we'd love to hear from you! For more information about MGS, please take a look at Youtube using the links below: Being a dog handler in the Ministry of Defence Guard Service - https://youtu.be/Xs8lxbhlRiU Working for the Ministry of Defence Guard Service - https://youtu.be/UrLfy2MZXpg 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 We enable our people to work at the right place, with the right people, at the right time. We believe that if we look after our people, they will be passionate about delivering great things for our customers. 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/ The MOD Discover My Benefits page lists the full set of benefits. Some of the many benefits you will receive include: A Civil Service pension with an average employer contribution of 28.97%. A generous annual leave allowance. Ability to roll over up to 10 days annual leave per year. Minimum of 15 Days Special Leave in a rolling 12-month period to for volunteer military or emergency service reserve commitments. Special Paid Leave for volunteering up to 6 days a year. Enhanced maternity, paternity, and adoption leave. Employee Assistance Programme to support your wellbeing. Most sites have good travel links with free car parking; many also have other facilities such as a Sports & Social Club, Gym and Cafeterias and Shops. Entitlement to apply for Blue Light and Defence Discount Cards. Free MGS Uniform The post does not offer relocation expenses. External recruits who join the MOD who are new to the Civil Service will be subject to a six-month probation period. Please Note: Expenses incurred for travel to interviews will not be reimbursed. 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. Any move to MOD from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax-Free Childcare. Determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/. The Ministry of Defence is committed to providing a safe and healthy working environment for its staff which includes educating them on the benefits of not smoking, protecting them from the harmful effects of second-hand smoke and supporting those who want to give up smoking. Under the Smoke-Free Working Environment policy, Smoking and the use of all tobacco products (including combustible and chewing tobacco products) will not be permitted anywhere in the Defence working environment however some exemptions are in place, please refer to local guidance. The policy is Whole Force and includes all Defence personnel, contractors, visitors and other non-MOD personnel. All applicants seeking, considering, or accepting employment with the Ministry of Defence should be aware of this policy and that it is already in place at a number of Defence Establishments. 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 Policy Notice sets out how we will use your personal data and your rights. Kennel assistants are responsible for supporting the ongoing welfare, care and management of military working dogs, ensuring high standards of animal wellbeing are being consistently maintained. The key duties are as follows: Maintain the highest standards of animal welfare and hygiene in line with the 5 freedoms, including awareness of bio-security and spotting signs of poor health or stress. Carry out thorough cleaning of kennels, surrounding kennel areas, and associated equipment, ensuring a consistently high standard of hygiene is maintained. Feed and exercise Military Working Dogs at set times, understanding the unique behaviours and needs of each dog. You'll prepare meals, follow routines, and support dogs of all sizes and temperaments across different terrains. Spot and report any health issues or changes in a dog's behaviour to your Chain of Command and Veterinary Training Squadron without delay. Confidently handle, restrain, and assist dogs during veterinary inspections and when giving medication or treatment. Play an active role in maintaining a culture of safe working practices, raising concerns or suggestions as soon as they arise. Use your time and resources wisely-always looking for ways to improve how we work and deliver value across the Defence estate. Attend and successfully complete any relevant military working dog or veterinary-related courses as required, with full support to enhance your professional development and contribute to the continual upskilling of our team. \"Please note, due to the nature of this role, individuals who have had a splenectomy are not eligible to apply. This is due to the increased risk of infection associated with the absence of a spleen.\" To be considered, you must have a background in customer service or security. These environments provide valuable transferable skills-such as staying calm under pressure, following procedures, and communicating effectively-which are essential to success in this position. I f you can demonstrate this from past or current experiences, we want to hear from you and see this detailed in your CV. At Sift, you will be assessed against the following Experience: Candidates will be required to provide CV details to include job history and previous skills and experience. At I nterview, you will be assessed against the following Behaviours: Working Together Managing a Quality Service Communicating and Influencing Application sifting is scheduled to take place on week commencing 07/07/2025. Interviews are due to take place via Microsoft Teams and will be conducted week commencing 21/07/2025. We want to offer opportunities to all who are successful at interview for our roles, but this isn't always possible, so we do hold candidates on an active reserve list for 12 months. It is also possible that we may offer similar lower graded role/s to reserve candidates or, if no reserves are appointed, candidates that meet the lower grade criteria in merit order. The Ministry of Defence requires all candidates who are successful at interview to declare any outside interests. These declarations will be discussed with successful candidates following the interview process and before a formal offer of employment is made, as some outside interests may not be compatible with MOD civilian roles. This will not, in the majority of cases, prevent employment in MOD, but it is a measure that must be taken to ensure that appropriate mitigations can be put in place to manage any potential, perceived or actual conflicts of interest from the first day of employment. The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equality of opportunity. There is a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria. If you need to advise us that you need additional help or reasonable adjustments for the recruitment process, please contact:. As a result of the changes to the UK immigration rules which came in to 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. This role does not meet that category and we will not sponsor a visa. It 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.