Job summary
Are you looking to work in a modern, patient-focused dental practice that prioritises quality care and professional development? At Defence Primary Healthcare, we are intent on providing excellent care in a friendly and encouraging environment.

When it comes to delivering outstanding patient care, our motivated dental hygienists make all the difference. We know just how valuable your skills are, so come join the wonderful team at dental centre Minley.

This role is a part time fixed term appointment which is for 2 years until January 2029 working 18.75 hours per week and all requests to work flexibly will be considered, allowing for business needs, and reviewed annually. The salary will be pro-rata where part-time hours are undertaken.

As a valued member of the team, you will receive access to outstanding rewards and employee benefits, including:

• Access to the NHS pension scheme
• On-call allowance, if applicable
• Inclusive working environment
• Discount fee to access on-site fitness facilities
• Onsite Free parking
• General Dental Council (GDC) Annual Fees are currently reimbursed
• Paid holiday entitlement
• Continuous professional development (CPD) training supplied
• Career development training available
• On-site free laundry for clinical clothing & free clinical footwear

Main duties of the job
Defence Primary Healthcare (DPHC) is a vibrant and fast paced organisation which aims to provide the absolute best primary healthcare to members of the Armed Forces and other entitled personnel.

DPHC delivers a clinical service in accordance with National Health Services (NHS) Standards and Ministry of Defence (MoD) policies.

You will primarily provide dental treatment, oral hygiene instruction and education, administration, enhancing force generation and operational capability and minimising dental morbidity on operations. While also providing, if requested, clinical and administrative support for the provision of dental care in other local DPHC sites or health fairs.

About us
Here at Defence Primary Healthcare (DPHC), we are an inclusive and dedicated organisation working to provide excellent care to our entitled personnel.

Our success depends on our people, our Whole Force regular and reservist military, civil servants, and contractors, all working as one, working together seamlessly to deliver for us.

Our civil servants are a central part of this Whole Force, developing strategy, making policy, supporting ministerial decision-making and Parliamentary processes. In fact, with over 2,000 distinct roles working across 650 sites around the world, now really is an excellent time to join one of the largest, most exciting departments in government.

The Ministry of Defence is committed to attracting and retaining people from across the full range of backgrounds and enabling flexible ways of working as the norm. We offer maternity, adoption, or shared parental leave of up to 26 weeks full pay followed by 13 weeks of statutory pay and a further 13 weeks unpaid, and paternity leave of 2 weeks full pay.

In return, you can expect a department that helps you learn and develop that recognises your expertise and contribution, both as an individual and part of a team.

If you've ever wanted to do more, see more, go further or be better, we have roles in more professions and vocations than ever before. Let's see where your future will take you, together.

Job responsibilities
Main duties of the job:

• Provide dental hygiene treatment in line with their approved scope of practice as per General Dental Council guidelines and in accordance with agreed patient group directive (PGD).
• Maintain immunological protection against Hepatitis B in accordance with current guidelines, advising the Line Manager (LM) of any change to immunological status.
• Manage electronic health records, ensuring the correct hastening, receipt, despatch, registration, and filing as with correct policy and process.

It is important that you read the attached job description and person specification prior to applying to fully understand all the duties required by Civilian Dental Hygienist within DPHC.

Selection Process:
The sift will be completed within 10 working days of the vacancy closing date. Interviews will be held on a date to be confirmed.

The Selection at sift stage will be based on your CV application, once copied, and pasted onto your application. Ensure you prove that you have the required skills, knowledge, experience, qualifications, and memberships in your CV, max 3 pages.

At interview you will be assessed via the NHS Knowledge and Skills Framework (KSF):

• NHS Core NHSC1 Communication
• NHS Core NHSC2 Personal & People Development
• NHS Core NHSC3 Health, Safety & Security
• NHS Core NHSC4 Service Improvement
• NHS Core NHSC5 Quality
• NHS Core NHSC6 Equality and Diversity

Please see the attached link to the NHS Framework for advice preparing your best responses with some hints and tips on answering behaviour-based questions. Hints and tips such as: The Framework can be based on situations from work, volunteering or home; match your situation to the framework requested.

Additional Information
This is a Fixed-term Appointment as a Band 5 Dental Hygienist. Your responsibilities will be as described in this job advert. The reason why you are appointed for a fixed period is due to a need to support resilience at the Minley Dental Centre. This post will therefore begin on your appointment and will end on 01/01/2029. You should be aware that when your Fixed-term Appointment at MOD comes to an end, arrangements will be made in line with the FTA policy.

If you are a permanent MoD civil servant and are found successful for an advertised Fixed-term Appointment (FTA) you should move into the post under a Temporary Transfer (for up to a maximum of 2 years). At the end of the posting, you will return to your previous MoD Business area. If this posting is at a higher grade, your promotion will be temporary, and you will return to your substantive grade at the end of the Temporary Transfer. If a Temporary Transfer cannot be agreed between all parties, then a transfer on an FTA contract is possible, read the FTA and Change of Work Location in the UK policy for further information.

If you are transferring to MoD from another government department (OGD) you should join the MoD on an inward loan. At the end of the loan, you will return to your home (OGD) department. If a loan cannot be agreed between all parties, then a transfer on an FTA contract is possible, read the FTA policy for further information.

Please ensure you demonstrate that you have the required skills, knowledge, experience, qualifications and memberships in the CV section of the application form.

Please provide information of how you meet the criteria set out in the Job Description. You may wish to further include examples of how you have tackled similar tasks or demonstrated the skills outlined in the job advert.

Artificial Intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance at https://www.civil-service-careers.gov.uk/artificial-intelligence-and-recruitment/ for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Artificial intelligence and recruitment | Civil Service Careers Artificial Intelligence and Recruitment

Please see the link to our YouTube channel for advice preparing your best responses with some hints and tips on answering behaviour-based questions. Hints and tips such as: Your behaviours can be based on situations from work, volunteering or home; match your situation to the behaviour requested and how to use your 250-word limit. https://www.youtube.com/@DMS_MilMed

All employees joining Ministry of Defence who are new to the Civil Service will be subject to a 6-month probation period (unless otherwise advised) effective from the employment start date.

Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed.

The level of security needed is security check.

To be considered for this role, qualifications and memberships detailed must be held in full, prior to submitting your application.

If found successful for this position, you will be required to provide evidence of your immunity to Hepatitis B. Failure to provide evidence of your immunity may result in the offer of employment being withdrawn.

We encourage all our employees and prospective ones to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 subject to any exemptions that may apply. Please see the attached further information document for full details.

There is no requirement to deploy as this is met by our uniformed personnel, but you will form the continuity of care required by our patients when based at home.

As a result of the changes to the UK immigration rules which came into 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. The role currently being advertised has not been assessed as business critical and 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.

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 dbscivperssgdmsresourcingteam@mod.gov.uk.

This vacancy is part of the A Great Place to Work for Veterans initiative, https://www.gov.uk/government/news/making-the-civil-service-agreat-place-to-work-for-veterans

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 Ministry of Defence adopts a zero-tolerance approach to unacceptable behaviours, which includes bullying, harassment, sexual harassment, discrimination, and victimisation. You will not be eligible and will not be considered for this post if you have been dismissed from a role for such unacceptable behaviours within the last five years. This will also apply if you resign or otherwise leave a role but, because of an adverse decision, would have been dismissed for gross misconduct had you continued in that employment. Pre-employment checks will be carried out.

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. 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.

Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential

• Experience working as a Dental Hygienist or Therapist within a busy clinical practice, delivering patient care independently within the GDC Scope of Practice and in accordance with NHS/BSP periodontal care guidance and protocols.

Memberships
Essential

• Certificate/Diploma in Dental Hygiene
• BSc (Bachelor of Science) in Dental Therapy or GDC recognised international equivalent.

Provide a CV
Essential

• Please copy and paste your full CV as your response to this question; you will not be able to upload your CV as an attachment. Please ensure to refer to the essential criteria where applicable as your application may be rejected should insufficient information to shortlist be included. Please use double spacing where possible.

Behaviour Statement
Essential

• Have you been dismissed for gross misconduct relating to bullying, harassment, discrimination or victimisation from any role in the past five years, or resigned or otherwise left a role but would have been dismissed for such gross misconduct because of an adverse decision, had you continued in that employment? Please respond with Yes or No as appropriate.

Experience
Desirable

• A Full United Kingdom driving licence to enable working from another local military dental centres, if required.
• Evidence of current practice as a registered dental hygienist.
• Evidence of indemnity cover for general dental practice (candidates are strongly encouraged to have personal professional indemnity).
• Evidence of currency with GDC Continued Professional Development requirements.
• Confidence in using Information Technology.

Registrations
Essential

• Registered with the General Dental Council (GDC) with no current, spent, or impending restrictions to practice.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Certificate of Sponsorship
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).

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.