Barrow-in-Furness 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 (CASD), and delivering some of the most technically complex programmes in defence. At least one of four nuclear-armed submarines, supported by smaller attack submarines, is on patrol at all times: 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. At the SDA, we strive to Support, Deliver and Aspire and put our values at the heart of our recruitment process. We believe that everyone should feel comfortable to be themselves and be supported to do their best work. As part of a diverse and inclusive workforce, our team will find a community to belong to. We believe that, by celebrating different backgrounds and different perspectives, together we’ll achieve the extraordinary. Job Description The Chief Engineer is a critical member of the Alliance Management Committee and is Platform Authority for the Dreadnought Class. As Whole Boat Approving Authority with final sign off for the design and, ultimately, acceptance of performance of the Submarine, this role is vital to the delivery of the Dreadnought programme. Reporting to the Managing Director of the Dreadnought Alliance but taking direct safety delegation from SDA Technical Director, the Chief Engineer is responsible for bringing together the technological problem solving capability of engineering, including science and technology, and the organisational, administrative, and planning abilities of all parties within the Alliance to deliver the programme. Importantly, the Chief Engineer will be central to the decision making of the Alliance that must balance achieving performance within fixed time and cost parameters. They must also lead on characterising and managing a number of significant technical risks, which require leadership and strategy at the Enterprise level across many parties This is an exciting opportunity to create genuine value and be part of delivering a critical capability for the Royal Navy. It is a prestige appointment that offers an opportunity to do things differently through the Alliance organisation. The Chief Engineer manages the delivery of plans to meet the customer’s capability requirements, ensuring the submarines can deliver their operational mission safely and reliably, through life. The systems integration challenge is immense and the role demands strong technical expertise and delegation skills. The Chief Engineer will directly manage a team of over 100 engineers, derived from many parent organisations and located in different locations across the UK and in the US. In addition, the Chief Engineer must be a visible leader for the detailed design teams in each industrial party, making sure their work supports the overall intent. They will need high visibility within the team and be able to provide strong leadership and manage change and, indeed, contribute directly to that change. Formulation of strategy is integral to the role. Responsibilities Whole Boat Approving Authority, ensuring platform safety but also deliverability and operability, working with the Customer to trade requirements as necessary. Lead on developing clear mitigations for technical risks, working with each Alliance Partner to implement those. Lead the strategic direction and delivery of engineering aspects of the Dreadnought programme to deliver the programme objectives of performance, cost and time. Govern the framework within which technical requirements (definition, architecture, integration, contract assessment and management of change) are managed. Lead on establishing a clear and current view of the level of technical risk within the programme, enabling the Alliance Management Team to make balanced decisions. This will require close working with the Alliance Project Controls Director; Head of Dreadnought Design Authority, leading the multi-party client engineering team to ensure and deliver alignment of the design with the three risk cases (safety, security and environmental impact). Ensure that engineering decisions take into account cost and schedule and ensure, on behalf of the MD, that delegated decisions are managed within clear time and cost parameters. Manage complex systems integration to ensure delivery to performance, cost and time. Ensure that in-service availability, supportability and WLC are considered in the finalising of the design, and establish feedback from in-service support to design is operating. Ensure effective and robust configuration management for the Dreadnought class during build phase. The Chief Engineer is a critical member of the Alliance Management Committee and is Platform Authority for the Dreadnought Class. As Whole Boat Approving Authority with final sign off for the design and, ultimately, acceptance of performance of the Submarine, this role is vital to the delivery of the Dreadnought programme. Reporting to the Managing Director of the Dreadnought Alliance but taking direct safety delegation from SDA Technical Director, the Chief Engineer is responsible for bringing together the technological problem solving capability of engineering, including science and technology, and the organisational, administrative, and planning abilities of all parties within the Alliance to deliver the programme. Importantly, the Chief Engineer will be central to the decision making of the Alliance that must balance achieving performance within fixed time and cost parameters. They must also lead on characterising and managing a number of significant technical risks, which require leadership and strategy at the Enterprise level across many parties This is an exciting opportunity to create genuine value and be part of delivering a critical capability for the Royal Navy. It is a prestige appointment that offers an opportunity to do things differently through the Alliance organisation. The Chief Engineer manages the delivery of plans to meet the customer’s capability requirements, ensuring the submarines can deliver their operational mission safely and reliably, through life. The systems integration challenge is immense and the role demands strong technical expertise and delegation skills. The Chief Engineer will directly manage a team of over 100 engineers, derived from many parent organisations and located in different locations across the UK and in the US. In addition, the Chief Engineer must be a visible leader for the detailed design teams in each industrial party, making sure their work supports the overall intent. They will need high visibility within the team and be able to provide strong leadership and manage change and, indeed, contribute directly to that change. Formulation of strategy is integral to the role. Responsibilities Whole Boat Approving Authority, ensuring platform safety but also deliverability and operability, working with the Customer to trade requirements as necessary. Lead on developing clear mitigations for technical risks, working with each Alliance Partner to implement those. Lead the strategic direction and delivery of engineering aspects of the Dreadnought programme to deliver the programme objectives of performance, cost and time. Govern the framework within which technical requirements (definition, architecture, integration, contract assessment and management of change) are managed. Lead on establishing a clear and current view of the level of technical risk within the programme, enabling the Alliance Management Team to make balanced decisions. This will require close working with the Alliance Project Controls Director; Head of Dreadnought Design Authority, leading the multi-party client engineering team to ensure and deliver alignment of the design with the three risk cases (safety, security and environmental impact). Ensure that engineering decisions take into account cost and schedule and ensure, on behalf of the MD, that delegated decisions are managed within clear time and cost parameters. Manage complex systems integration to ensure delivery to performance, cost and time. Ensure that in-service availability, supportability and WLC are considered in the finalising of the design, and establish feedback from in-service support to design is operating. Ensure effective and robust configuration management for the Dreadnought class during build phase. Person specification Whilst not exhaustive, the following capabilities and demonstrable competence will be required for successful execution of the role: Intellectual capacity to understand, quickly, complex engineering issues with an ability to think strategically to shape the long term vision. Ability to manage change and ambiguity and effectively drive successful business outcomes. Natural leader who can negotiate with Industrial Partners collaboratively whilst also being demanding in the interests of the UK Government. Risk and Opportunity Management including effective control and mitigation, in both business and technical domains. Quality Management systems, policies, processes and assurance (including Health and Safety). Performance Management to deliver an agile, responsive, empowered and capable business unit and to build a high performing engineering team. Strong and effective stakeholder management and communications skills. Ability to operate in a complex environment and deal with uncertainty and ambiguity. As a member of the DNA Leadership Team and SDA SLG contribute to the leadership of the Alliance and Agency, promote standards and display core values. Essential Criteria: Experience in engineering leadership on large complex programmes with an understanding of design, build and commissioning and, critically, of complex systems integration. Knowledge of large-scale project delivery through experience in manufacturing engineering or operations. Demonstrable blend of delivery, engineering and commercial capabilities with a background in high complexity and high hazard products such as nuclear submarines, maritime platforms or similar domains/industries. The skills to apply Systems Thinking in a major delivery area and organisational life cycle management and the application of quality management and assurance in defence supply chains. Possess authority and credibility to inspire confidence and engage effectively with diverse stakeholders. Outstanding organisational and leadership abilities as well as evidence of delivering strategic direction through an inclusive approach. Desirable Criteria Ability to manage change and ambiguity and effectively drive successful business outcomes. A creative thinker, the successful candidate should not be afraid to question existing methodologies and be prepared to do things differently. Providing innovative solutions to complex problems and providing guidance at a strategic level; Ability to uphold policy and process and challenge leadership, deliver technical competence and demonstrate a commitment to excellence Ability to bring agility and innovation to their work in a fast-paced, challenging environment which attracts public interest. The Successful Candidate Will Hold The Following Qualifications/ Memberships: Chartered Engineer and Member of relevant engineering institution. Qualifications Chartered Engineer and Member of relevant engineering institution. Memberships Chartered Engineer and Member of relevant engineering institution. Alongside your salary of £81,000, Ministry of Defence contributes £23,465 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 role please provide your CV and personal statement through the application steps on the CS jobs website. All Applications Must Include The Following: A CV, 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 separate Supporting Statement, providing clear evidence of how you meet the Essential Criteria laid out in the Person Specification As part of the application process, you are asked to complete a Diversity Monitoring questionnaire provided. If you do not wish to provide a declaration on any of the characteristics, you have the option to select 'prefer not to say' but completion of the form is a mandatory part of the process, and your application will not be considered complete without it. Any data collected in this section will be reported in an anonymous and aggregate format and will not be seen by anyone assessing your application. Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment. This role has a minimum assignment duration of 5 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 undergo a criminal record check. 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. Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check. 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. 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). 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 : Natasha Senior Email : Natasha.Senior111@mod.gov.uk Recruitment team Email : SDA-HR-WorkforceResourcePlanning@mod.gov.uk