Thank you for your interest in the Head of Lethality 2 – Gunnery Systems and Munitions role: 

We are delighted that you are interested in the Head of Lethality 2 – Gunnery Systems and Munitions role within DE&S.

We are delighted to be offering this exciting opportunity to join us and the DE&S leadership team working at the heart of the Ministry of Defence delivering essential support to the UK armed forces.  DE&S plays a vital role in the security of the UK, we employ 11500 people from Engineers, Project Managers to Logisticians and Commercial specialists.  This is a key senior leadership role that will help shape the strategies needed to deliver critical capabilities to the UK military.

As Head of Lethality 2 you will be leading a diverse group of 400 people delivering a suite of outputs focussed on four key areas: General Munitions; specialist ordnance inc Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) / special projects; Dismounted Close Combat capabilities and guns (inc artillery, maritime and personal guns).  Spending c£650M a year (inc support to Ukraine) you will be an effective and inspiring strategic leader who will drive the culture and behaviours needed to allow your people thrive and be successful.  You will be a natural influencer able to work across complex Government and Industry boundaries with a successful track record of delivering large complex projects and service-based outputs.  With DE&S and Defence going through a period of significant change you will comfortable dealing with uncertainty and ambiguity.

These are uncertain yet exciting times, we look forward to receiving your application.

Job description

Head of Lethality 2 – Gunnery Systems and Munitions has the following areas of responsibility: 

• The delivery of DE&S’ guns, explosives, munitions, and soldier systems portfolio, sustaining the following capabilities through life: general munitions, specialist EOD, guns (inc. artillery, naval and personal weapons), missiles, rockets, and dismounted close combat capabilities across the Maritime, Land and Air environments.
• Deliver and sustain a complex technology and systems portfolio, whilst applying influence early, to inform concept work within the DE&S Gateway and System Integration areas to sway future capability strategies.
• Being accountable for technical integration of equipment and systems provided by other parts of DE&S to Lethality 2 programmes, support the integration of systems into and onto other platforms/systems across the wider Core technology and environmental pillars.
• Set the operational intent to enable the successful delivery of the Lethality 2 programme of work (including project delivery and sustainment).
• Report into Director Lethality & Protect as the Deputy Director.
• Contribute to the Defence Industrial Strategy as required, understand Industry capability to deliver, and influence the longer-term Industrial Plan. Monitor and develop Supply Chain Resilience.
• Re-balance the approved work programme where required whilst delivering change management and operational sustainment.  Inform the Category Management strategy for the Lethality 2 portfolio.
• Provide support to the Senior Safety Responsible delegation holders within the Lethality 2 programme.

To be successful with your application, you will need to be able to demonstrate the following 6 essential criteria:

Behavioural:​

• Being Accountable – Evidence of accepting and responding to challenges from stakeholders and colleagues in a constructive manner.
• Fostering autonomy and choice – Demonstrable evidence of encouraging measured risk taking and innovation and encouraging staff autonomy to allow them to work in a way most suitable and productive for their work to deliver better approaches of services.
• Positive Role Model – Evidence of embodying a servant leadership approach, with evidence of empowering your teams, providing clear direction and respecting the valuable contributions they make.

Technical:​

• Substantial experience of delivering complex major programmes, projects, in-service support solutions, logistics and supply chain management in defence or other capital-intensive sector.
• Demonstrable experience of leading large, diverse teams, customer and senior stakeholder engagement and successfully developing strong partnering relationships with industry.
• Demonstrable experience at a senior leadership level in risk management, strategic capability planning & financial management.

Desirable Qualifications / Criteria:

• Experience in safety management
• International and Co-operation Experience
• Experience in weapon design and explosive engineering.

For full information on the role please see the candidate pack.