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or is obtained but with caveats that prevent you from carrying out the role, any conditional offer made to you will be withdrawn.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

The Submarine Delivery Agency (SDA) is currently seeking a Project Risk Manager to join the Submarine Disposal and Devonport Infrastructure (SDDI) team. The SDDI is responsible for the decommissioning, defueling, and dismantling of the UK’s legacy nuclear submarines. Additionally, the team is involved in delivering major infrastructure upgrades in Devonport to support maintenance of the Astute-class submarines.

As a Project Risk Manager, you will utilise and develop your excellent leadership and communication skills and be proactive in explaining risk management processes. Working closely with project managers and the rest of project team, you will support and guide people with the pro-active identification and on-going management of risks, both threats and opportunities, to enable the successful delivery outcomes required. You will be given the opportunity to develop your risk management skills and knowledge within the nuclear submarine environment.

This is a dynamic and forward-thinking role as you engage with stakeholders at different levels within our organisation. You will broaden and share your experience within the project risk environment with the opportunity for personal development.

Working at Devonport, the largest naval base in Western Europe, you will be able to witness first-hand the output of your project. All whilst utilising and developing your knowledge and experience in line with business needs to support our armed forces. If you have the pride, passion and commitment, with the drive to develop your skills and experience of leadership and delivering successful outcomes, then you will find yourself in good company in the SDA. 

At the SDA, we champion flexible ways of working. Regular in-person attendance of approximately 60% of your working week 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

• Facilitating risk workshops on projects to identify and manage specific project / programme related threats opportunities and issues.
• Overseeing the risk tool project and / or programme activities to ensure quality and accuracy of data therein.
• Providing the project team with pro-active risk information to allow project team to understand current risk position, risk proximity and pro-active management actions.
• Communicating key project threat and opportunity management data to key members of the project, programme, and leadership team, and to be able to recommend key items for escalation within the business.
• Communicating and influencing leadership within the SDA projects and portfolios and supply chain within the risk technical field.

Person specification

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

• Demonstrable stakeholder management skills, both internal & external at various levels in an organisation
• Experience of risk and assumptions management
• Experience of Risk (threats and opportunities) management in a project environment
• Experience of interpreting supplier risk & modelling data

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

• Stakeholder Management
• Project Risk

• Working Together
• Communicating and Influencing 

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.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview.

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.