About the job

Job summary

At Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S), we supply and maintain vital equipment and services for the Royal Navy, British Army and Royal Air Force. Together, we deliver a vast range of essential defence programmes, and strive for what's next. Because it helps keep our military at the top of their game and our nation safe – for today, and tomorrow.

We offer 25+ days’ holiday, flexible and hybrid working, enhanced parental leave schemes, shopping discounts, and an exceptional employer pension contribution of around 27%, to help make work work for you.

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or is obtained but with caveats that prevent you from carrying out the role, any conditional offer made to you will be withdrawn.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

Do you have experience in Naval Architecture and would be enthused by the chance to support the delivery of ships into operation for the Royal Navy? If so, we are seeking focused and motivated Naval Architects to Help deliver safe, capable, and available ships for operation by the Royal Navy and other vital services.

As one of our Senior Naval Architects, you’ll use your exceptional leadership, communication and influencing skills to build strong working relationships with both internal and external stakeholders, to obtain and relay information critical to these projects.

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 Naval Ships Support (NSS) or Ships Acquisition teams. NSS are tasked with the delivery of agreed ship availability and capability through the provision of engineering support for the Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary. Some of the ships that you could be providing vital support for include Mine Counter Measure Vessels (MCMV), Type 23 Frigates, Type 45 Destroyers and Queen Elizabeth Class (QEC) aircraft carriers. Ships Acquisition are responsible for the delivery of complex warship design and build programmes. You could be a key stakeholder conducting design and production activities for Type 26 City Class and Type 31 Inspiration Class Frigates being delivered into service.

You’ll benefit from job stability and the chance to work on high profile projects with the opportunity to travel to other UK sites, warships and dockyards. At DE&S, we are passionate about professional development and welcome applications from those that hold or are currently working towards their IEng qualification. If you have not yet had the opportunity to pursue this, we are keen to support you in your continued professional development.

The successful applicants will have the opportunity to travel to various UK locations, including naval vessels and military facilities as part of their role.

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

In this role, you’ll have wide exposure with other areas of our business (both industry and Royal Navy) allowing you the opportunity to develop your skills and advance your career with us whilst supporting us to maintain defence standards, operational guidance, and analysis tools. Key responsibilities will include:

• Reviewing technical artefacts, models, layouts and reports as part of the assurance and acceptance process
• Leading and developing Junior Naval Architects
• Utilizing technical software such as Paramarine, to support stability plan approval and generate stability operator guidance
• Providing shore-based emergency response to incidents such as collision or grounding
• Collaborating with the Naval Authority and Technology Group (NATG) and Lloyd’s Register to maintain certification
• Serving as the Point of Contact for Naval Architecture inquiries, attending working groups, and providing feedback to stakeholders, industry partners, and senior management
• Visiting shipyards for inspections, surveys and meetings as required by the business.

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 Naval Architecture or have equivalent relevant experience
• Have experience of using Paramarine or another similar Naval Architecture software
• Understand and have experience in the application of ship classification rules and regulations
• Have evidence of leading a team which involves a variety of stakeholders to make technical decisions
• Have experience of delivering across different stages of the ship’s lifecycle

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

• Technical Requirements, Evaluation & Acceptance – Practitioner
• Technical Decision Making – Practitioner
• Leadership
• Communicating and Influencing

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £44,500, Ministry of Defence contributes £12,015 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

Things you need to know

Selection process details

Your application will go through the following stages of assessment:

1. 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.
2. 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.

1. 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

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

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.