Director Warhead Capability & Strategy

Ministry of Defence

Apply before 11:55 pm on Sunday 17th November 2024

 
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Details

Reference number

376074

Salary

£98,000
A Civil Service Pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

Job grade

SCS Pay Band 2

Contract type

Permanent

Business area

MOD - Defence Nuclear Organisation

Type of role

Project Delivery
Senior leadership
Strategy

Working pattern

Flexible working, Full-time, Job share

Number of jobs available

1

Contents

MOD Main Building, Whitehall, London, SW1A 2HB, AWE Aldermaston, Reading, Berkshire, RG7 4PR or MOD Abbey Wood, Bristol, BS34 8JH.

Job summary

The nuclear deterrent and delivery of the Continuous at Sea Deterrent is Ministry of Defence’s top priority.

This Director Warhead Capability & Strategy role is a new position within the Warhead Group (WHG) in support of ensuring a credible warhead capability is developed and managed in line with and influencing current/future government strategy, whilst delivering a warhead portfolio management capability that drives optimised enterprise-focused decision-making and exploits the latest science & technology.

You will have a central role in bringing together activity from across WHG into a coherent whole and leading strong and effective relationship development within Defence Nuclear Organisation, Defence Nuclear Enterprise, across Ministry Of Defence and government and importantly leading the relationship management of our international partners and technology stakeholders so that the enterprise is seen as a valued and expert adviser, both nationally and internationally.

Job description

People and Leadership

  • Lead a multidisciplinary team of 60 to 80 people, including four deputy directors, consisting of technical, capability, portfolio, strategy and policy skill sets. Develop individuals both personally and professionally through academic, professional bodies and industry best practice, ensuring the team develops into a centre of excellence.
  • Promote an energised culture focused on collaborative working in the interests of the organisation, the portfolio and the enterprise.
  • Own the Warhead Group Operating Model, making sure it continuously improves and evolves to the DNE, including reviewing/establishing the right organisational design, governance, competence and capabilities to deliver the warhead programme.

Capability Management

  • Direct/develop capability management strategies, user requirements and develops strategic options for the delivery of the warhead stockpile, Nuclear Threat Reduction services and builds the long-term resilience and capacity in the warhead portfolio.
  • Lead the complex warhead capability & strategy development and delivery, bringing clarity that supports and aligns with government and defence policy and builds long-term resilience, translating Science & Technology strategies into meaningful and actionable activities and exploring future options.
  • Responsible for the long-term financial planning of the Warhead portfolio and developing future and in-year measures that align risk to portfolio performance.

Strategic Alignment    

  • Develop and deliver the Warhead strategy that is aligned with government and defence strategy/policy and built on deliverable Warhead portfolio strategic choices.
  • Connect and influence the DNE portfolios by working closely with the relevant enterprise directors to bring coherence, integration and balance, ensuring the “Golden Thread” from warhead capability through warhead requirements to delivery is enduring.

Portfolio Management

  • Management of the warhead portfolio consisting of current and future requirements, including strategic options development, initiating programmes/projects into the portfolio as required and ensuring it is balanced, affordable, meets our strategic objectives and that risks remain acceptable.
  • Ensure robust governance and reporting drives the warhead portfolio by bringing together nuclear performance information from across the WHG, the portfolio and delivery partners to enable decisions based on high-quality information.

Stakeholder Management

  • Active member of the DNO and WHG senior teams supporting ongoing growth and maturing of the organisation, working across the enterprise to ensure cohesion and alignment.
  • Lead cross-government and international engagement on technology and capability. Working across the civil and defence nuclear sectors on integrated capability development, including identify and addressing capability shortfalls.

Person specification

The successful candidate must be able to demonstrate their experience and skills against the following essential criteria:

  • A demonstrable senior professional in a relevant domain with proven experience in leadership roles which have required you to develop a vision that drives forward the organisation’s work and its future; motivating, enabling and empowering diverse teams to deliver, with experience of leading organisational change across boundaries in a dynamic, high-pressured environment whilst creating a lasting legacy.
  • The ability to think strategically and analytically; responding quickly to complex changing circumstances and high-pressure situations, maintaining integrity and a clear view of overall priorities and maintaining the view over the long term. Comfortable making risk-based decisions and setting direction without having the full picture and re-focusing as detail emerges.
  • A confident, highly capable and persuasive communicator who can command the confidence of a range of senior stakeholders with credibility, including Ministers and Senior Officials. Displays professional courage with authority to articulate, challenge and justify decisions to stakeholders, whilst remaining resilient in the face of pressure.
  • Well developed understanding of project/programme delivery and the key interfaces in complex portfolios with experience of influencing strategically and tactically to maintain successful delivery through others.
  • Knowledge of the essential practices required within a safety, security or regulatory environment that necessitates putting safety as a fundamental priority and ensures the commitment to all in protecting people and the environment.
  • Functional knowledge of at least one of the following areas with the ability to bridge the spectrum: the defence landscape, nuclear deterrence, nuclear science, complex weapons, complex security environments, multi-industrial domains.
Alongside your salary of £98,000, Ministry of Defence contributes £28,390 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.
  • Learning and development tailored to your role
  • An environment with flexible working options
  • A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
  • A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

Selection process details

To apply for this post, you will need to complete the online application process by no later than 23:55 on Sunday 17th November 2024 and will involve providing the two documents outlined below via the Civil Service Jobs portal:

  • A CV (no more than 2 pages) setting out your career history, with key responsibilities and achievements. Please ensure you have provided reasons for any gaps within the last two years.
  • A Personal Statement (no more than 2 pages) explaining how your personal skills, qualities and experience provide evidence of your suitability for the role. 

Both documents are weighted equally in their scoring, so it's important to consider this when uploading your application. Failure to submit both documents will mean the panel only have limited information on which to assess your application against the criteria in the person specification.

For further information about the role and full application process, please refer to the candidate pack attached below. If you wish to receive any material in a different format for accessibility, then please contact People-CivHR-SCSCandidateSupport@mod.gov.uk.

Dr Rebecca Weston will also be offering an online Q&A session on Tuesday 12th November between 15:15 - 16:00 to provide an overview of the role and welcome any questions you may have. Candidates can access the meeting by clicking here. Please note this is not part of the formal assessment process.



Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
This role has a minimum assignment duration of 3 years. An assignment duration is the period of time a Senior Civil Servant is expected to remain in the same post to enable them to deliver on the agreed key business outcomes. The assignment duration also supports your career through building your depth of expertise.

As part of accepting this role you will be agreeing to the expected assignment duration set out above. This will not result in a contractual change to your terms and conditions. Please note this is an expectation only, it is not something which is written into your terms and conditions or indeed which the employing organisation or you are bound by. It will depend on your personal circumstances at a particular time and business needs, for example, would not preclude any absence like family friendly leave. It is nonetheless an important expectation, which is why we ask you to confirm you agree to the assignment duration set out above.

Security

Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is developed vetting (opens in a new window).

See our vetting charter (opens in a new window).
People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

Open to UK nationals only.

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).
The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.
The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).
This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.
Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

  • Name : SCS Recruitment Team
  • Email : People-CivHR-SCSCandidateSupport@mod.gov.uk

Recruitment team

  • Email : People-CivHR-SCSCandidateSupport@mod.gov.uk

Attachments

SCS2 Director Warhead Capability and Strategy Candidate Pack Opens in new window (pdf, 2516kB)

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