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This range is provided by Met Office. Your actual pay will be based on your skills and experience — talk with your recruiter to learn more.
Base pay range
We're looking for a Head of Defence Business to help us make a difference to our planet.
As our Head of Defence Business, the job may be suitable for hybrid working, which is where an employee works part of the week in the office and part of the week from home. This is a voluntary, non-contractual arrangement and the location advertised will be your contractual place of work.
Our opportunity is full time, 37 hours per week, based in Exeter or Reading. Our people are at the heart of what we do and we'll do our best to agree a working pattern that works for everyone.
World changing work
From science to technology, from meteorology to management, and from planning to communication, our expertise helps us stand out as the authority on weather accuracy and climate prediction. We help individuals, industries and government to make better decisions to stay safe and thrive. This is the Met Office. This is who we are.
* We're a force for good - focusing on our environmental and social impact
* We're experts by nature - always learning and developing to do things better
* We live and breathe it - putting our purpose at the heart of decision-making
* We're better together - understanding partnerships and inclusivity make us greater
* We keep evolving - pushing boundaries to make tomorrow better for our customers
Your world of expertise
You will lead the Defence Business Team, providing overall strategic leadership and direction to Defence activities across the Met Office. You will represent the Met Office with senior level engagement across key defence stakeholders and customers including MoD, NATO and the Five Eyes (FVEYs) community.
You will be based in Exeter or Reading, with frequent travel to Exeter, London area and internationally.
Your key duties:
* Build and maintain strategically important relationships with key Defence customers such MOD, NATO, US Dept of Defence (notably US Air Force and Navy) and the broader FVEY's group of nations.
* Own the business performance and contractual delivery of all Defence and Security contracts, expertly influencing and negotiating to deliver mutually beneficial outcomes.
* Represent the voice of the Defence customer within the Met Office to support the development of internal activities and customer engagement strategies.
* Develop and inspire a high performing Defence Business team and act as a member of the Extended Leadership Team for the Markets directorate.
Why join us
Our work is life-changing, often life-saving and always life-enhancing. The Met Office is Great Place to Work UK certified. We are also featured on their 'Best Workplaces in Tech' 2023 and 2024 lists, as well as their '54 Best Workplaces for Women' 2023 list.
As our Head of Defence Business, your total reward package will be up to £89,943 annually, which includes:
* £64,846 base pay
* An outstanding Civil Service pension, with an average employer contribution of 28.97%
* Relocation assistance maybe available
* Annual Leave starting at 27.5 days (plus Bank Holidays) rising to 32.5 days (plus Bank Holidays) after 5 years and option to buy or sell up to 5 days per year of annual leave
Essential Criteria, skills and experience:
1. You're an expert by nature withexperience inDefence or Security sectors and/or experience of operating across government and industry customers and stakeholders. Must have Developed Vetting (DV) or be able to attain DV clearance on appointment, which will require you to be a UK National and following which there will need to be a successful result. Lead Criteria
2. You work better together with expertise in identifying, developing, and managing interactions with key and influential external parties to benefit the organization. This includes the ability to build trust and foster long-term relationships.
3. You live and breathe it with a proven ability to negotiate agreements with customers, ensuring mutually beneficial outcomes. This involves understanding the needs and interests of all parties and reaching agreements that align with organisational goals.
4. You're an expert in communicating technical and non-technical information to all levels inside and outside the organisation and the ability to logically assess problems and identify solutions.
5. You're proficient in managing customer information, building strategic account plans, and understanding customer needs. Expertise in planning activities to reach strategic goals and developing strategies to ensure alignment with organizational objectives.
6. You work better together with teams, fostering a collaborative environment and facilitating effective outcomes. Expertise in logically assessing problems and identifying solutions.
7. You lead and inspire teams, fostering a collaborative and high-performing work environment. This includes setting clear goals, leading change, and empowering team members to achieve their best.
The panel may perform a preliminary sift of the lead criteria as indicated above.
How to apply
If you share our values, we'd love to hear from you! Click apply to begin your application. Please complete your career history and provide evidence against each of the essential criteria in the supporting statement questionnaire. We recommend candidates use the CARL method (Context, Action, Result and Learning) for presenting evidence of experience and skills.
Closing date 07/07/2025 at 23:59 with first stage interviews commencing from 21/07/2025. You will hear from us once the closing date has passed.
Using AI in your application
We welcome applications that use AI tools for support in drafting or refining, as long as they accurately reflect your own skills and experience. All hiring decisions at the Met Office are made by people, not AI. For more details, visit our approach to recruitment.
How we can help
If you have any questions or would like to discuss this opportunity further, please contact us at .
If you're considering applying and need support to do so, please get in touch. You can request adjustments either within your application or by contacting us. Should you be offered an interview, please be aware there may be a selection exercise which could include a presentation, written test or a scenario-based activity. You can select in your application to be considered under the Disability Confident Scheme. To be invited to interview/assessment under this scheme, your application must meet the essential criteria for the role.
We understand that great minds don't always think alike and as an equal opportunities employer we welcome applications from those with all protected characteristics. We recruit on merit, fairness, and open competition in line with the Civil Service Code.
We can only accept applications from those eligible to live and work in the UK - please refer to GOV.UK for information. We require Security clearance, for which you need to have resided in the UK for at least 3 of the last 5 years to be eligible. You will need to achieve full security clearance within your first 6 months with us.
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