The Head of Combat Ships role has the following areas of responsibility: Delivery of the DE&S Scope of the Royal Navy Combat (Complex Warship) Shipbuilding Government Major Projects Portfolio (GMPP) and for consultancy across the Areas of the National Armaments Director Group (NAD Group) for Combat Ships NAD Group Shipbuilding Portfolio Delivery Agent for the acquisition and introduction to operational service of: 8 Type 26 Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) Frigates for the Royal Navy 5 Type 26 ASW Frigates for the Royal Norwegian Navy 5 Type 31 General Purpose Frigates for the Royal Navy The Thales TACTICOS Combat Management System for the Royal Navy Deliver and sustain a complex portfolio of projects, including influencing early concept work. H igh-profile work under significant Ministerial, Parliamentary, Media and Stakeholder scrutiny, requiring personal resilience, and senior stakeholder management. Contribute to Maritime Industrial Strategy as required, and understand Industry capability to deliver, and influence the longer-term Industrial Plan. Monitor and develop Supply Chain Resilience. Lead change management and look for ways to continuously improvement. Provide support to the Senior Safety Responsible appointees within the Combat Ships area. *Please see candidate pack for more information on DE&S and the role* Person specification To be successful with your application, you'll need to be able to demonstrate the following 6 essential criteria: Behavioural: Being Accountable - Evidence of accepting and responding to challenges from stakeholders and colleagues in a constructive manner. Fostering Autonomy and Choice - Demonstrable evidence of encouraging measured risk taking and innovation and encouraging staff autonomy to allow them to work in a way most suitable and productive for their work to deliver better approaches of services. Leading Through Change - Demonstrable experience of proactively championing and leading change by seeking innovative new approaches, policies and systems that add value to the organisation. Technical: Demonstrable experience of acquisition, in-service support, logistics and supply chain management. Evidence of refined stakeholder engagement that will elicit the confidence of Ministers and senior stakeholders. Experience of driving delivery performance whilst operating in a highly regulated and safety focused environment. Benefits Alongside your salary of 90,900, Ministry of Defence contributes 26,333 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% Things you need to know Selection process details This is an external competition and we welcome applications from candidates in both the public or private sector. To apply for this post, you will need to submit the following documents, via the link by 23:55 on Sunday 4th January 2026. A copy of CV in PDF format setting out your career history, with key responsibilities and achievements. Please ensure you have provided reasons for any gaps. A Supporting Statement in PDF of no more than 1500 words (font Arial, size 11), outlining how you consider your personal skills, leadership attributes, qualities and experience match the essential criteria listed in the attached candidate pack. Applications that exceed the word limit will not be considered. For assistance with Supporting Statements or if you experience any technical issues with submitting your application, please do reach out to our executive search provider Veredus prior to the closing deadline. Late submissions will not be considered. Key Dates: Closing Date - 04/01/2026 Staff Engagement Exercise - 21/01/2026 Interviews - 29/01/2026 After you've applied: Shortlist All submissions will receive an email acknowledgement from upon application. If you do not receive confirmation of receipt of your application 3 working days post-closing date, please contact us at DESHR-SCSRecruitment@mod.gov.uk. The panel will consider the evidence you have provided against the essential criteria set out at page 11 of this candidate pack to determine their shortlist. Staff Engagement Exercise & Individual Leadership Assessment If you are found successful at shortlist you will be invited to attend a staff engagement exercise (SEE). This involves a 10 min presentation to a small group of DE&S employees followed by a Q&A session. Following the SEE the Employee Panel will provide feedback and scores to support the interviewing panel. Alongside the SEE, you will also be required to undertake an Individual Leadership Assessment (ILA). The ILA is completed by an occupational psychologist who will ask you questions around your leadership style and abilities. The ILA is not scored but is used as additional information for the panel. Interview Shortlisted candidates will be asked to attend a panel interview for an in-depth discussion of your previous experience and professional competence in relation to the essential criteria. Full details of the interview process will be made available to shortlisted candidates. The Panel will consist of Keith Bethell(Director Maritime), Rear Admiral Ivan Finn (Director Acquisitions, Navy Command), and a DE&S HR Business Partner. Offer We will notify all candidates of their outcome, as soon as possible after the final interview. DE&S reserves the right to make any offer of appointment conditional upon references and satisfactory conclusion of security enquiries. In the event that you meet the requirements for the role, but you are not offered the position, we will be pleased to retain your application for a 12-month period in case another suitable role arises. *Please see candidate pack for more information* 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. 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). Apply and further information 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 : Stephen Womersley Email : andra.parvu@veredus.co.uk Telephone : 07763 202 178 Recruitment team Email : andra.parvu@veredus.co.uk Attachments Final Candidate Pack_Head of Combat Ships Opens in new window (pdf, 2001kB) Apply at advertiser's site