About the job

Job summary

We’re looking for a self-motivated, hardworking explosives engineers to support our role in the maintaining, storing and processing of explosive substances and articles in support of the UK military and other customers.  Working as a valued member of the Special Projects Group you will apply your explosives knowledge practically to provide applied technical advice to government departments.    
You will be joining a team that has a broad range of skills including munition inspection and repair, disassembly and trials preparation, dynamic weapons firing and logistic disposal of surplus stocks.  
Your role will include short term overseas visits in support of UK Military elements.

Dstl recognises the importance of diversity and inclusion as people from diverse backgrounds bring fresh ideas. We are committed to building an inclusive working environment in which each employee fulfils their potential and maximises their contribution.

We particularly welcome female and ethnic minority applicants and those from the LGBTQI community, as they are under-represented within Dstl at these levels.

Job description

In this role you will:
•    Carry out ammunition processing and disassembly in order to inform and support customer projects. 
•    Prepare reports and presentations that are impactful and appropriate to the audience, so that the research conducted is exploited for the maximum benefit to defence.
•    Interpret customer requirements and design studies to meet those requirements through the application of specialist scientific skills.

Leadership - Senior Explosives Engineer - Dstl Level 6

As a leader in Defence you will help shape, role model and bring to life the ‘One Defence’ mindset that will enable us to deliver our vision and strategic objectives. Your leadership style must be inspiring, confident and empowering. Working at every level of our organisation to break down silos, unite teams and create a culture that is trusting, collaborative, innovative, diverse and inclusive. Enabling us to deliver with pace and agility through the skills, commitment and empowerment of our employees and military colleagues.

Person specification

We are looking for someone who has:
•    A Masters or relevant equivalent experience in explosive processing, storage and logistic disposal.
•    A working knowledge of explosives legislation and regulations.
•    A competence in the use of hand and power tools - especially in an explosive environment.
•    Experience in instructing and presenting as well as mentoring junior members of the team.
•    Proactive approach to explosive safety.
•    Good verbal communication skills, able to convey messages to specialists and non-technical customers.
•    Patience and a keen eye for detail.
•    Good problem solving skills. 
•    A methodical approach to their work, able to prioritise and re-focus where required.

Important Information

Our work in defence, security and intelligence requires our employees to be UK Nationals who are able to gain a high level of security clearance to undertake the projects we are involved in to protect us from security threats. For this reason, only UK Nationals will be able to apply for this role. If you are an international or dual-national candidate, and you think you have the skills we need, please consider applying to any of our government, security or defence partners.

This role will require full UK security clearance and you should have resided in the UK for the past 5 years. For some roles Developed Vetting will also be required, in this case you should have resided in the UK for the past 10 years.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £35,970, Defence Science and Technology Laboratory contributes £9,712 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 and Experience.

We want you to have your best chance of success in our recruitment process, so If at any stage of the application process you would like help or assistance please contact the Dstl Recruitment Team dstlrecruitment@dstl.gov.uk and we will do all we can to support you.

Sifting will take place week commencing the 19th Feb 24 with face to face interviews to be arranged from the 18th March 24

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check. Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is developed vetting (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.

This job is not open to candidates who hold a dual nationality.

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.