Your decision to become a part of MBDA marks the beginning of an exciting journey with opportunities for growth, innovation, and collaboration.
We are confident that your unique skills and experience, combined with those of your new colleagues, will mean we can continue to effectively support our Armed Forces and help to deliver the future of defence.
Welcome to MBDA!
Receiving a job offer is an exciting time, we want to help you understand what happens next in order to make it as simple as possible.
This page contains details of what needs to happen before you can start, how the security clearance process works and most importantly, what is required of you.
But, before you read on, watch this video of our employees explaining what they love about working at MBDA.
It can feel like information overload when you’ve accepted a job offer and have various tasks to complete; please see below a summary of what to expect, please note this is not in chorological order.
We will open an account on your behalf with Sterling (the company who complete ID, Right to Work Check, employment and or gap references, background checks and criminal record checks) Please note you may receive correspondence from a @fadv.com or @sterlingcheck.com email domain, as Sterling has been acquired by First Advantage. To ensure you receive all communications, please update your email filters accordingly.
You will receive an introduction email and link from Sterling/First Advantage, to begin your pre-employment application. Sterling/First Advantage are a third party company working on behalf of MBDA completing HMG BPSS checks (Baseline Personnel Security Standard), which consists of; ID, Right to Work, activity history, criminal record and education (where relevant). The link will take you to a system called Yoti, where you will go through a digital identity check and you will need to share your results with Sterling. The system will then load the pre-employment application form for completion and all supporting documents must be uploaded at the end. Please have your passport and proof of current residence to hand before you start your application.
Please refer to our 'Document Library' on the bottom of the main page; this has 3 documents which will guide you through the HMG BPSS and ID checks.
You will shortly be allocated an MBDA Vetting Officer who will be your point of contact for any questions relating to the security clearance process. When contacting them please also CC your MBDA Recruiter.
Please access your Sterling/First Advantage account as soon as possible as the link will expire within 7 days. You will need to complete your application form as well as completing a Digital ID Check. Please note: it is mandatory that all candidates supply a gap/personal referee when completing your application (even if you don’t have an employment gap) this is to avoid a delay in case a gap is identified in your 3 year history or if a personal referee is required to complete all checks.
At this stage when asked for references, in most cases this is completed via document collection so Sterling/ First Advantage will not contact your current employer.
Please follow the instructions for the Digital ID and Right to Work Check carefully, as the system only allows three attempts to verify. Ensure you have your passport and proof of current residency to hand before you begin your application and you allow Yoti access to your camera function on your device.
Sterling will process and review your application when submitted. They will contact you directly via email for any missing or additional documents required. The emails may go to your ‘junk folder’.
Once your BPSS is nearing completion you will receive a copy of your DBS certificate (Disclosure and Barring Service) also known as a criminal record check. This is your copy to keep, we do not need sight of this (the MBDA Security Vetting team may request a copy, they will reach out to you if they need this), but it is useful for us (your HR Recruiter) to know that you have received it - please send us an email to let us know.
Please respond to Sterling/First Advantage emails promptly and should you have any queries in relation to the Sterling application, please email UKcandidatecare@sterlingcheck.com or contact 0800 072 7047 (opening hours 9am-5pm) in the first instance. If your query is not resolved, please email SecurityVetting.Stevenage@mbda.co.uk (and cc your HR Recruiter); the MBDA Security Vetting team will be your point of contact for any questions relating to the clearance process.
Once you have verbally accepted your offer within 3 working days you’ll receive a conditional offer letter and Terms and Conditions of employment from MBDA. You’ll be notified of this via email containing a link to mbda@myworkday.com. This will allow you to sign in to your candidate home page using the username and password you set up when you initially applied. This is where you can download and read a copy of your offer and formally acknowledge acceptance of your offer online.
If you are joining MBDA through a recruitment agency and you haven’t already done so it is really important for you to create a candidate home page (As per your interview invite confirmation). Without this you will not be able to view your terms and conditions of employment. Please reach out to your Recruiter if you have any problems with this.
Please note:
We recommend you do not resign from your current role until the clearance processes are complete.
You will receive an email from Cority, this is an online medical portal where you will complete a medical form, this is designed to assess the level of support you may require once in the business.
*Please note if you haven’t received this in your inbox please check your junk mailbox.
Once you sign our conditional offer, you will be invited to join our Meet & Engage platform.
We know starting at a new place of work can be daunting, which is why we introduced our Meet & Engage platform. Throughout your on-boarding with us, your Meet & Engage ‘Timeline’ will provide you with short introductions to key aspects of life at MBDA; including our directorates, people, benefits and more.
Many of our new starters have told us how helpful the platform has been for them, helping to welcome them to the business and to make the information received during inductions, easier to digest.
Once your Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) application is nearing completion, your MBDA Vetting Officer will email you with login details to activate your UK Security Vetting application. This will allow you to apply for your Security Clearance.
If you already hold the required level of security clearance, your MBDA Vetting Officer will initially request a share of your clearance followed by a complete transfer from UKSV. At this stage, you may be asked to complete a change of circumstances form. MBDA Security Vetting team will only apply for the level of clearance required for the job role you have been offered.
Please note: There is not a tick box for you to select to ensure UKSV will not contact your current employer. However, UKSV do not always need to contact current employers as it is on a case-by-case basis. UKSV recommend adding a note to the “Other information” box, which will prevent them from contacting your current employer. Wording similar to the following will be sufficient:
“Do not contact my current employer without my prior consent”
It is recommended before you begin the application process, that you read the information and guidance found here.
If you are applying for a new clearance (not transferring a current clearance) and your email address on file ends in either @ntlworld.com or @icloud.com please reach out to your MBDA Vetting Officer and provide an alternative email address, as these are not compatible with the Cabinet Office system (NSVS).
Things will go a little bit quiet here whilst UKSV process your new clearance or transfer, whichever is applicable.
New clearances can take on average 44 working days and clearance transfers can take on average 28 working days. Please look out for any emails with queries and respond to Sterling and UKSV as soon as possible to avoid delays.
Please note: These are approximate time scales and can vary.
Due to GDPR, we will not get any updates on your case. For a new clearance, you can see when your status changes from “in progress” to “complete” on the UKSV portal. Please notify your MBDA Recruiter if you see your status change. Further checks within MBDA may still be ongoing.
MBDA VettingTeam contact information; 01438 755000 securityvetting.stevenage@mbda.co.uk
Once your security clearance (BPSS or SC whichever is appropriate) is fully completed, we will be in touch to confirm and discuss a start date; at this point, you will be able to give notice to your current employer.
We will send you a firm offer letter, confirming your start date which will be available to view and sign virtually in the same way your conditional offer was sent to you.
At this stage you’ll be asked to upload a photo for your personal identity tag (PIT), instructions on how to do this will be within the request. There will also be a request to add in all of your personal information including your bank details for our payroll system on to your workday account.
Please note: You will not need to send in your P45 to us until your first day, please email this to our Admin team resourcing@mbda.co.uk
On your first day with MBDA, you are required to bring the original version of the approved Identification (ID) document (e.g., passport, driving license) produced for your Sterling/First Advantage Right to Work check, to complete the full security on-boarding process. Without this, it may impact your access to our sites and information causing unnecessary delay.
These are the teams that will be supporting you during your joining process:
Your MBDA Recruitment Advisor – is your first point of contact if you are unsure about the joining process.
Resourcing Administration Team - will process your offer and onboarding paperwork and will be there for support should you need it.
MBDA Security Vetting Team - will manage the security vetting process and will support you with any questions you may have about the security process. You will be allocated an MBDA Vetting Officer.
Sterling and UKSV (UK Security Vetting Services) - external companies that process your background checking and National security clearance.
Line Manager/Team – you may be invited for an onsite visit, coffee, or to meet the team.
Contact details can be found in our FAQs at the bottom of the page.
Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) - The BPSS is the recognised standard for the pre-employment screening of individuals with access to government assets. It is not a formal security clearance but its rigorous and consistent application underpins the national security vetting process.
Whilst you are on boarding please contact your MBDA Recruiter with any questions relating to your offer documents or general queries.
For queries on your security clearance contact your MBDA Vetting Officer directly or via the general Vetting email address: SecurityVetting.Stevenage@mbda.co.uk
For anything relating to your workday account contact our HR Systems Team on hrsystems@mbda.co.uk
To contact UKSV directly via email: UKSV-contactus@mod.gov.uk . When emailing UKSV you will need to include your full name and date of birth to them. You can also call them on 01904 662644.
To contact Sterling please contact the MBDA UK Personnel Risk Security Team: UKcandidatecare@sterlingcheck.com
Depending on your personal circumstances, relocation support may be provided. If this is required and has not yet been discussed with you, please contact your MBDA Recruiter as soon as possible after verbally accepting your offer.
Clearance can take approximately 6-12 weeks but, each case is unique so we are unable to provide timescales.
The questions in this form are designed to assess the level of support that might be necessary to support you, if you have a health condition or disability.
Once you have completed the form, send it back to the address given on the form for a member of the Occupational Health team to review, there is no further action required for you.
You will only be contacted after you have submitted this form if the team need to discuss how MBDA can support you based on the information you have provided.
This is a copy for your own records, no further action is needed from you.
Depending on your situation, your MBDA Recruitment Advisor will discuss this with you at the appropriate time.
