SDA Safety Engineer

Ministry of Defence

Apply before 11:55 pm on Monday 25th November 2024

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Details

Reference number

376639

Salary

£37,100 - £39,000

A Civil Service Pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

Job grade

Other

Senior Technical Specialist I

Contract type

Permanent

Business area

MOD - Submarine Delivery Agency

Type of role

Engineering

Working pattern

Flexible working, Full-time, Part-time

Location

MOD Abbey Wood, Filton, Bristol, Avon BS34 8JH

About the job

Job summary

The Submarine Delivery Agency (SDA) is a part of the Ministry of Defence responsible for the procurement, in-service support, and disposal of the UK’s nuclear submarines. Our work is of unparalleled strategic importance nationally and internationally, ensuring the security of the UK’s continuous at-sea nuclear deterrent, and delivering some of the most technically complex programmes in defence.

Here you’ll find a community to belong to – whether that’s alongside project teams with a shared vision or as part of an employee network of like-minded individuals. We believe that, by celebrating different backgrounds and perspectives, together we’ll achieve the extraordinary.

Discover more about our work:

We offer 25+ days’ holiday, flexible and hybrid working, enhanced parental leave schemes, shopping discounts, and an exceptional employer pension contribution of around 28.97%, to help make work for you.

Nationality, visas and vetting: For security reasons this role is open to UK nationals only. A ‘sole UK national’ refers to an individual who holds citizenship solely in the UK, without dual citizenship or nationality from another country. We’re unable to offer visa sponsorship.

This role requires you to have lived in the UK for the last 5 years and obtain Security Check (SC) security clearance. Clearance must be obtained without any caveats that prevent you from carrying out the role you’ve been recruited for. If it isn’t obtained, or is obtained but with caveats that prevent you from carrying out the role, any conditional offer made to you will be withdrawn. Obtaining SC security clearance can be a lengthy process, and we reserve the right to withdraw any conditional offer made if the necessary security clearance isn’t obtained within 12 months.

Job description

Are you a Safety Engineer ready to tackle some of the most complex engineering challenges in the world? Do you want to play a crucial role in ensuring the safety and success of the Royal Navy’s nuclear submarines? If so this may be the perfect new role for you.

If you have a desire to learn, make a difference and begin a long and varied career, you could be deployed to deliver within our busy and dynamic Nuclear Propulsion Project team (NPPT). NPPT are tasked with delivering efficient and effective management of submarine reactor plants, ensuring they are safe and available for the Royal Navy’s strategic defence tasks. Combining a nuclear reactor, service personnel, and explosives in a hazardous environment, we ensure that systems and equipment meet design intent and are always operationally safe and functional. Our commitment to safety engineering is key to our success.

You will act as a Safety Case Manager within a collaborative team and you will work independently and autonomously, fostering personal and professional growth. You will build strong working relationships with both internal and external stakeholders and industry partners to maintain regular engagement with our industry regulator.

You will be inducted into a hybrid working, fair, and ethical environment that promotes personal development and career progression, enriching your future and career in engineering. Our more senior engineers will also be on hand to mentor and develop you, helping you to improve your skills and progress your career.

Successful applicants may have the opportunity to travel to various UK locations, including shipyards, dockyards, suppliers’ sites, and submarines. You may also get involved in trials, international engagement, and collaboration as part of your role.

This post may be eligible for the NSQEP Recruitment Retention Allowance of up to £12000 per annum. This allowance is discretionary and will be dependent on a candidate's ability to successfully demonstrate the necessary competency, qualifications, and experience to an independent panel of Subject Matter Experts.

At the SDA, we champion flexible ways of working. Regular in-person attendance is required to promote the benefits of face-to-face collaboration alongside flexibility of hours to support work-life balance. Initially, you may be expected to attend more frequently to familiarise yourselves with the site, the team, and your role.

What you’ll be doing

As a Safety Engineer, you will have engineering responsibilities relating to submarine safety across all phases of project lifecycles. You will work as a project authority to provide subject matter expertise, ensuring existing systems and equipment undergoing change remain safe. You can expect to work in a multi-disciplinary team of engineers as well as project managers, commercial cost engineers, scientists, and deep technical specialists.

Key responsibilities will include:

Reviewing and assessing new and existing safety documentation against Safety Policy, including safety case reports and safety management plans
Assessing impact of equipment changes, safety alerts and safety justifications to support the commissioning and approval of equipment
Providing specialist advice on the application of safety arrangements
Advising internal personnel, industry safety teams and senior management on safety matters.
Representing the team at internal and external meetings, for example change boards, safety related working groups, safety committees, and other safety meetings

Person specification

To be successful with your application, you'll need to show that you meet the following essential criteria:

Hold a relevant HNC (i.e. Level 4 or higher) qualification in Engineering or have equivalent relevant experience
Have experience of providing technical advice and delivery of safety products or services
Have experience of working in a highly regulated industry (such as nuclear, oil and gas, energy, rail, automotive, defence, maritime OR a similar industry)

In addition to the responsibilities above, the following technical competences and behaviours will be assessed at interview:

Technical Decision Making (Supervised Practitioner)
Applies knowledge and complies with safety requirements, procedures and regulations (Practitioner)
Communicating and Influencing
Changing and Improving

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £37,100, Ministry of Defence contributes £10,747 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

25 days’ annual leave +1 day a year up to 30 days, 8 bank holidays and a day off for the King’s birthday
Flexible and hybrid working options
Market-leading average employer pension contribution of 28.97%
Annual performance-based bonus and recognition awards
Access to specialist training and funded qualifications
Support for progression
Huge range of discounts
Volunteering days
Enhanced parental leave schemes

Improving innovation and enriching our culture, diversity of thought is vital to our success. So whether you’re looking for a new opportunity, a next step, or a helping hand as you return from a career break, bring your experiences and help deliver for the defence of tomorrow. Here you’ll find a supportive, family-friendly organisation to be a part of - and if you need any assistance with your application, just let us know.

#LI-Hybrid

Further Information

Candidate Information Pack: http://bit.ly/SDA--Candidate-Information-Pack
Terms and Conditions: https://bit.ly/DES-SDA-Terms-and-Conditions

Things you need to know

Selection process details

Your application will go through the following stages of assessment:

Pre-sift - We will check that you meet any essential or eligibility criteria that are listed in the Person Specification section of this advert. On your CV, please clearly show how you meet the essential criteria.
Sift - Your CV will be assessed against the following categories, using a simple numerical scoring system: Key Achievements; Relevant Experience; Applied Knowledge and Skills. Please follow our guidance on CV writing for best chance of success.
Interview - If you're invited to interview, you'll be assessed against the Sift categories listed above, as well as the Technical Competences and Behaviours listed in the Person Specification section of this advert.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check (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.