Contents Location About the job Benefits Things you need to know Apply and further information Location Predominantly located at the SDA Bristol site but with requirement for regular travel to London and other DNE sites and occasionally internationally including regular overnight absences. About the job Job summary Thank you for expressing an interest in the Human Resources Director role at the Submarine Delivery Agency, part of the Defence Nuclear Enterprise (DNE). The DNE is the partnership of organisations that operate, maintain, renew and sustain the UKs nuclear deterrent. Our Agency is central to the UK Governments £242 billion equipment plan for the British Armed Forces, and is responsible for the procurement, in-service support and decommissioning of all UK nuclear submarines. The nuclear submarine portfolio is a national endeavour, one of the largest UK investment portfolios and of critical strategic importance. We work with our supply chain to design, build, support and dispose of a unique piece of military hardware which must take its crew to sea for months at a time, keeping them there in safety, whilst powered by a nuclear reactor. This is what makes a nuclear submarine the most complex machine that the United Kingdom makes and supports, and this means we need people with exceptional skills to successfully deliver in the most challenging environment. The DNE has a unique workforce and people are our most important asset. We need to be able to attract and retain the skilled personnel required by the SDA to deliver our outputs effectively, deepen our expertise and maintain our talent pipeline by investing in the capabilities needed now and in the future. We are looking to appoint an HR Director to lead this work, and to join our senior leadership team and Executive Committee. The role will lead, develop and deliver the human resources strategy and workforce plan for the SDA to ensure we have the depth and capacity we need and to manage the HR function to deliver the full spectrum of HR services. The role will also provide broader DNE personnel advice and support to Chief Defence Nuclear in supporting our strategic objectives. This includes fostering a positive, diverse, inclusive, capable and engaging working environment. As a leader, you will be inspiring, supportive of the people around you and constructively challenging, enabling everyone to deliver, meet their potential, and make each day count. Key to your success will be your ability to operate at Board level and take responsibility and accountability for delivering at pace. You will be able to think strategically, influence, drive performance and engage effectively with senior stakeholders across Government, the Defence Nuclear Enterprise, industry and our international partners at the most senior levels. Job description The Human Resources Director (HRD) role has two parts, a primary SDA component and a secondary DNE one to provide HR expertise and support to enable wider organisational effectiveness. As well as forming part of the senior SDA executive team, the purpose of the role is to develop and implement innovative HR strategies and workforce plans that align with our business goals and ensure we can deliver our outputs. This will encompass every aspect of personnel management from recruitment and skills development to talent and performance management, and compliance. You will own and drive an overall Employee Value Proposition that fosters a positive and inclusive workplace culture, makes the SDA a great place to work and ensures we are compliant with employment law and regulation and meet our public sector duties and responsibilities. The HRD is the lead on the SDA Executive Committee for all people matters, reporting directly to the SDA CEO, and will carry collective responsibility to effectively lead and govern the SDA as an ALB of the MOD. You will be accountable for the implementation of the SDA28 improvement strategy across your Directorate, but more importantly implementation of the People Strategy supporting SDA28. It is recognised across Government that the Defence Nuclear Enterprise (DNE) is a major national priority, and the construction and support of submarines are among the largest and most complex projects undertaken by MOD or UK industry. The DNE encapsulates the core elements of the MODs nuclear enterprise to deliver the capabilities we need and drive a 1-team, everyday counts approach. The SDA acts as the delivery agent for submarines through life and we work with our key industrial partners in industry BAE Systems (BAES), Rolls-Royce (RR) and Babcock Marine (Babcock) to effectively and safely deliver submarine capability to the Royal Navy. The SDA was established as an Executive Agency of the MOD on 1 April 2018 and operates as an Arms Length Body (ALB) of the MOD. It operates under a Corporate Framework and has an Advisory Chair and Board who support the CEO and Executive in managing performance. The CEO SDA is accountable directly to the Chief of Defence Nuclear (CDN) and functionally accountable to the First Sea Lord (1SL). Our position as an ALB gives us certain policy exemptions and freedoms. We need people with the right skills and expertise to deliver successful outcomes to our principal customers Defence Nuclear Organisation (DNO) and the Royal Navy. The HRD will also undertake wider engagement and as required, represent both SDA and the DNE on people related issues. This will require the ability to build effective networks, work effectively with MOD and Cabinet Office colleagues and to develop effective partnerships with external organisations. This includes industry partners, Trade Unions and legal departments to enhance our human resource and organisational capabilities. As the HRD, you will deliver a high quality, cost effective and business focussed HR function and service to the SDA, contribute to the effective running of DNE, and ensure the policies, frameworks and procedures we adopt enable the SDAs effectiveness, meet legal requirements, reflect good HR practice, and promote sound, fair and consistent management practices. The HRD will also be expected to ensure appropriate alignment and coherence with the DNE and wider MOD noting our pay freedoms as an ALB. Person specification Please provide evidence of the following Essential Criteria in your Supporting Statement Essential Criteria: 1. A proven track record of successful leadership and delivery at HR Director level with the ability to operate effectively as part of a senior and executive leadership team (including at Board level) that demonstrates organisational leadership, resilience, direction and strategic focus. 2. Demonstrable evidence of being able to convert strategies and to turn these into effective and workable plans that deliver outputs and promote organisational effectiveness, combined with the ability to operate agilely and at pace. 3. Provides authentic, inclusive, inspiring, and visible leadership of the function and wider organisation, with ability to lead and develop a diverse multi-disciplinary staff and teams through continual improvement and transformational change. 4. Proven ability to work in a complex interdependent organisational environment and to influence and build credible relationships with colleagues, external partners, and senior stakeholders. 5. Evidence of delivering improved organisational performance and cultural change with a focus on innovation, adaptation and consensus building to enhance operational performance, deliver continuous improvement and embed results. Desirable Criteria: 1. Experience of working at a senior level within a complex technical environment. 2. Experience of developing recruitment and retention strategies for niche skill specialisms. The successful candidate will hold the following qualifications/ memberships: The post holder is required to be a Chartered Fellow of the CIPD. Benefits Alongside your salary of £98,000, Ministry of Defence contributes £28,390 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides. Learning and development tailored to your role An environment with flexible working options A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97% Things you need to know Selection process details This is an external competition, and we welcome applications from candidates in both the public or private sectors. To apply for this role, please submit your full application by email to DESHR-SCSRecruitmentmod.gov.uk. All applications will be acknowledged. All applications must include the following: Please quote the role title Human Resources Director in the subject heading of the email. A CV (no more than 2 pages) setting out your career history, with key responsibilities and achievements. Please ensure you have provided reasons for any gaps within the last two years. A separate Supporting Statement of no more than 2 pages in a word document providing clear evidence of how you meet the Essential Criteria laid out in the Person Specification As part of the application process, you are asked to complete a Diversity Monitoring questionnaire provided. If you do not wish to provide a declaration on any of the characteristics, you have the option to select 'prefer not to say' but completion of the form is a mandatory part of the process, and your application will not be considered complete without it. Any data collected in this section will be reported in an anonymous and aggregate format and will not be seen by anyone assessing your application. Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment. This role has a minimum assignment duration of 4 years. An assignment duration is the period of time a Senior Civil Servant is expected to remain in the same post to enable them to deliver on the agreed key business outcomes. The assignment duration also supports your career through building your depth of expertise. As part of accepting this role you will be agreeing to the expected assignment duration set out above. This will not result in a contractual change to your terms and conditions. Please note this is an expectation only, it is not something which is written into your terms and conditions or indeed which the employing organisation or you are bound by. It will depend on your personal circumstances at a particular time and business needs, for example, would not preclude any absence like family friendly leave. It is nonetheless an important expectation, which is why we ask you to confirm you agree to the assignment duration set out above. 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 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. Diversity and Inclusion The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window). Apply and further information This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative. Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records. Contact point for applicants Job contact : Name : Nicholas Hamilton Email : DESHR-SCSRecruitmentmod.gov.uk Recruitment team Email : DESHR-SCSRecruitmentmod.gov.uk Further information In the unlikely event that you feel that your application has not been treated in accordance with the Commissions Recruitment Principles and you wish to make a complaint you should, in the first instance, contact DESHR-WSC-PMOCOMPLAINTSmod.gov.uk. If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the department you can contact the Office of the Civil Service Commissioners at infocsc.gov. Attachments SDA HRD Candidate Pack Opens in new window (pdf, 1725kB) Diversity Monitoring Questionnaire SDA Opens in new window (docx, 81kB) Disability Confident Scheme form CS Opens in new window (doc, 73kB) Share this page Print Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn GMail