About the job

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, and delivering some of the most technically complex programmes in defence.

Here you’ll find a community to belong to – whether that’s alongside project teams with a shared vision or as part of an employee network of like-minded individuals. We believe that, by celebrating different backgrounds and perspectives, together we’ll achieve the extraordinary.

Discover more about our work:

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 work work for you.

Nationality, visas, and vetting: For security reasons this role is open to sole UK nationals only. A ‘sole UK national’ refers to an individual who holds citizenship solely in the UK, without dual citizenship or nationality from another country. We’re unable to offer visa sponsorship.

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or is obtained but with caveats that prevent you from carrying out the role, any conditional offer made to you will be withdrawn.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

Elevate your career to new depths with the Submarine Delivery Agency (SDA) as an Operations Manager!

Are you a dynamic trailblazer with a proven record in operational delivery or a related field? Do you have an insatiable desire for growth and a relentless pursuit of excellence? If so, we invite you to dive into an exciting opportunity with us at the SDA and make waves in the industry!

As an Operations Manager, you won’t just be a part of our mission—you’ll be at its core. You’ll spearhead the delivery of state-of-the-art capabilities, equipment, and services to meet the critical needs of our armed forces. Your expertise in contract management, and project coordination will be pivotal in orchestrating a cross-functional team and consulting with various stakeholders, ensuring seamless, integrated, and coordinated support throughout the life cycle of our projects.

Embrace challenges with tenacity, delivering a spectrum of time-sensitive outputs while forging robust relationships with a diverse range of stakeholders. Your actions will be the backbone of military front-line operations. With a proactive mindset and a steadfast commitment to continuous improvement, you’ll harness management information to provide insightful data that propels our collective performance forward.

At the SDA, we don’t just offer a job—we offer a journey. We’re deeply committed to your professional growth, providing a wealth of training and development opportunities to help you navigate a rewarding career path with us. Immerse yourself in our vibrant community that champions learning, innovation, and quality. Connect with like-minded individuals, exchange ideas, and celebrate diversity through our extensive range of staff networks.

We champion a balanced approach to work at the SDA. While regular in-person attendance is required for at least 3 days per week to foster the benefits of face-to-face collaboration, we also offer flexibility in hours to support a healthy work-life balance. Initially, you may be expected to attend more frequently to familiarise yourself with the site, the team, and your role.

What you’ll be doing

• Supporting the delivery of projects and leading in-service support for equipment used by the armed forces.
• Collaborating with a range of internal and external stakeholders to implement solutions through a cross-team effort.
• Monitoring and controlling supplier delivery and performance, monitoring key performance indicators in terms of the quality, timeliness and reliability of goods or services, taking appropriate action where these requirements are not being met.
• Supervising resources, monitoring actual spend and updating forecasts accordingly to ensure the support meets our military customer requirements fully and within the agreed budget.
• Utilising Management Information to identify trends, risks and issues, and continuous improvement opportunities.

Person specification

To be successful with your application, you'll need to show that you meet the following essential criteria:

• Evidence of leading a team.
• Experience working within at least one of the following fields: Operations Management, Project Management, , Engineering, Through Life Support.
• Proven ability to manage contract delivery and budgets including monitoring actual spend and updating forecasts accordingly.
• Experience of coordinating a cross functional team and other stakeholders to deliver goods or services.
• Demonstrable organisational, influencing and communication skills.

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

• Contract Management – Practitioner level
• Governance and performance reporting – Practitioner level
• Leadership – CSBC3
• Making effective decisions – CSBC3

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £42,600, Ministry of Defence contributes £11,502 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. When two (or more) candidates are on equal interview scores, positions will be offered based on the scores assessed at interview, in this order – 1st) Technical competence, 2nd) CV Review, 3rd) Behaviour one, 4th) Behaviour two.

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.