Head of delivery services

Head of Delivery Services

Location: Plymouth, Bristol or Edinburgh. Full time / Permanent. Role ID: SF74412.

At Babcock we’re working to create a safe and secure world, together, and if you join us, you can play your part as a Head of Delivery Services at our Plymouth, Bristol or Edinburgh sites.

The role

As a Head of Delivery Services, you’ll take on a senior leadership role responsible for shaping and driving the delivery of complex portfolios that support the Royal Navy and wider UK defence. You will align strategic investment with operational delivery, ensuring governance, performance, and continuous improvement are embedded across the organisation.

Day‑to‑day, you’ll influence large‑scale programmes, improve infrastructure and capability, and deliver measurable benefits in a safety‑critical, highly regulated environment. You’ll work at the forefront of defence delivery, contributing to long‑term national security while advancing your leadership career at a global organisation.

• Leading cross‑portfolio delivery, ensuring compliance, governance, and performance standards are consistently achieved
• Driving strategic initiatives including digital transformation, knowledge management, and continuous improvement
• Developing and implementing resourcing strategies to align future demand with operational capability
• Managing interfaces, risks, and dependencies across complex programmes and stakeholder groups
• Identifying opportunities to improve efficiency, reduce costs, and enhance delivery outcomes

This role is full time, 35 hours per week and is based on a site at either Plymouth, Bristol or Edinburgh and requires travel to the other sites.

Essential experience of the Head of Delivery Services

• Significant experience leading large, complex portfolios within defence, infrastructure, public sector, or regulated industries
• Proven ability to oversee multi‑million‑pound programmes with complex interdependencies
• Strong knowledge of portfolio, programme, and project delivery methodologies such as Managing Successful Programmes, Projects In Controlled Environments, or Agile
• Demonstrated leadership and influencing capability at senior or executive level
• Strong financial and commercial acumen, including business case development and benefits realisation

Qualifications for the Head of Delivery Services

• Degree level qualification in a relevant discipline or equivalent experience
• Additional qualifications in portfolio management, strategy, or programme leadership are desirable

Security Clearance

The successful candidate must be a sole UK National who is able to achieve and maintain Security Check (SC) security clearance for this role.

Many of the positions within our company are subject to national security clearance and Trade Control restrictions. This means that your eligibility for certain roles may be affected by your place of birth, nationality, current or former citizenship, and any residency you hold or have held. Further details are available at United Kingdom Security Vetting: clearance levels - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

What we offer

• Matched contribution pension scheme, with life assurance
• Access to a Digital GP, annual health check, and nutritional consultations through Aviva DigiCare+
• Employee share scheme
• Employee shopping savings portal
• Payment of Professional Fees
• Reservists in the armed forces receive 10‑days special paid leave
• Holiday Trading is a benefit that allows UK Babcock employees to buy additional leave or to sell up to one working week of annual leave from their annual entitlement. There is an annual Window to request this benefit.
• ‘Be Kind Day’ enables employees to take one working day’s paid leave a year (or equivalent hours) to undertake volunteering work with their chosen organisation or registered charity
• Excellent development opportunities and benefits package including an employee assistance programme supporting physical, mental and financial wellbeing.

Babcock

We’re Babcock — a global FTSE 100 organisation with over 26,000 people working together to make a difference.

Here, you’ll be part of something bigger. From initial design to final decommissioning, your work will contribute to products and services that are essential to national security and public infrastructure. Together, we’re building a future that lasts — not just through the impact we make, but through meaningful careers that respect your work‑life balance.

We call that lifetime engineering.

Join us and see how far we can go, together.

We are a disability confident committed employer. If you have a disability or need any reasonable adjustments during the application and selection stages, please email careers@babcockinternational.com with the subject header ‘Reasonable adjustments requirement’. We’re committed to building an inclusive culture where everyone’s free to thrive. We are happy to talk about flexible working – please ask about alternative patterns of work at interview.