About the job

Job summary

DE&S Deca is a specialist part of Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S) tasked with supporting a vast range of defence avionics,  electronics and components to provide high-quality, cost-effective support to the UK Armed Forces. We have a rich heritage as the MOD’s in house repair, maintenance, overhaul and upgrade service  provider by offering innovative solutions to guarantee best value for Defence. 

Responsible functional specialist for the project and engineering management of systems, equipments, and spares deployed globally by the Ministry of Defence (MOD).

Project Engineers are assigned product groups reflecting products with common engineering or support characteristics.

The managed services team undertakes the role of Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S) Business Teams (BT) focused largely on the “in-service” and “disposal” phases of the CADMID cycle. The role requires travel to MOD and supplier sites when business dictates.

Being mindful of the scrutiny on Public Sector pay and in accordance with Civil Service Terms and Conditions, salary on appointment is normally at the minimum point of the salary range and this should therefore be the expectation. Existing Civil Servants will be appointed in line with the normal Civil Service pay rules.

Job description

Project Engineers are accountable in accordance with Knowledge in Defence (KiD) and the DECA Business System procedures for their product groups:

• Regulatory Compliance. Maintain compliance, where required, in accordance with Military Aviation Authority (MAA) Regulatory Publications, applicable Safety and Environmental Management Plans (SEMP).
• ALARP. Maintain safety risk as low as reasonably practicable (ALARP).
• Fit for purpose. Maintaining products fit for purpose to meet operational requirements.
• Technical Working Groups. Chair technical working group meeting with Maintenance Repair & Upgrade (MROU), Post Design Support (PDS), and Technical support suppliers. MOD Financial Management. Support product Forecast of Outturn (FOO), In-Year Management (IYM), accruals and Annual Business Cycle (ABC) reporting.
• Update Contracting Purchasing & Finance, requisitions, receipting and raising Request for Contract Action (RCA). Acquisition. Project Engineers are accountable for:
• Working Project Management knowledge
• Working Requirements Management knowledge
• Business Case awareness
• Investment Appraisal awareness
• Supplier Selection (engineering and technical evaluation)
• Tender Evaluation (engineering and technical evaluation)
• Equipment Trials

Person specification

Knowledge and experience of the UK MoD CADMID Acquisition Life Cycle Communications. Excellent written, verbal, and presentations skills. IT Systems. Must be highly numerate and a competent user of IT systems, including MS Office applications. Must be competence in managing projects using and Microsoft Project and analysing data using Microsoft Excel.

Essential Criteria:

• Electronics or electrical engineering apprenticeship or equivalent.
• Ordinary National Certificate (ONC) or other equivalent qualification in a relevant discipline.
• Demonstrable avionic and/or electronics engineering experience.
• Full UK Driving License.

We will also consider the following desirable criteria:

• Higher National Certificate or other an equivalent or higher level qualification in a relevant discipline.
• APM Project Management Qualification (PMQ), Prince2 Practitioner.
• Willingness to undertake funded training and achieve Prince2 Practitioner or equivalent formal project management qualification within 6 months.
• Willingness to undertake fully funded functional training and development to achieve the role specific minimum certification and competence in a reasonable timescale.
• Membership of an appropriate Licensed Member Engineering Institution. e.g. Institute of Engineering Technology (IET), Royal Aeronautical Society and attainment of professional registration to Incorporated Engineer (IEng) level.

Please note travel between sites will occasionally be a requirement based on business needs.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £34,678, DE&S Deca contributes £9,363 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

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Experience and Technical skills.

At application stage you will need to provide a CV and Personal Statement of up to 500 words evidencing how you meet the essential criteria of the role, as well as your overall suitability for the role.

At interview you will required to provide specific examples against the following Behaviours:

• Communicating and Influencing
• Leadership
• Working Together

As well as the following Technical Skills:

• Knowledge of Contract Purchasing and Finance (CP&F)
• Demonstrable knowledge of project management, including business case awareness, project planning, Forecast of Outturn (FOO), and Project Cost Review (PCR)

All employees joining DE&S Deca who are new to the Civil Service will be subject to a six-month probation period, which will be effective from the employment start date.

A smoke-free organisation as of 31st December 2022, we’re a completely smoke-free organisation, with the use of all tobacco products, e-cigarettes and vaping devices prohibited on DE&S Deca sites.

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.