Job description for Senior Operations Manager (Logistics Storage)

Are you an experienced operations leader looking to make a real impact? If so, Defence Munitions is offering an exciting opportunity to step into a pivotal role as a Senior Operations Manager.

Defence Munitions receive, store, maintain & issue a wide range of munitions that are used by the UK armed forces to train, protect, and serve anywhere in the world. Our Defence Munitions staff work closely with DE&S project teams and front-line commands to ensure our troops have the right items at the right time. We work as an important part of the wider MoD establishment that supports, procures, and supplies our troops, providing them with a range of munitions from bullets, shells, and flares up to and including and complex weapons such as high-calibre ammunition and guided or targeted weapons.

As a Senior Operations Manager at Defence Munitions, you will be responsible for the development and implementation of both current and future storage strategies and policies for Ordnance, Munitions, and Explosives (OME), as well as associated non-explosive inventory held across the organisation. This role is critical in ensuring that storage solutions are safe, efficient, and aligned with operational requirements.

A key aspect of the role involves managing munitions dispersal. You will be expected to balance the need for resilience and strategic dispersal with available storage capacity, while also planning for contingency scenarios and surge outload requirements. Your ability to anticipate and respond to dynamic operational demands will be essential.

You will also play a vital role in shaping the future of defence logistics by contributing to upcoming defence projects that impact logistics activities. This includes engaging with a wide range of stakeholders to understand evolving requirements and influence future options, ensuring that Defence Munitions remains agile and forward-looking in its logistics capabilities.

Please note:  You will be required travel to other Defence Munition and DE&S locations in the UK. Reasonable notice will be given, with flexibility and a family friendly approach in mind. Travel and subsistence costs will be covered.

You can base yourself from any following site locations:

MOD Abbey Wood, Filton, Bristol, Avon BS34 8JH,

Defence Munitions Gosport, Gosport, Hampshire PO13 0AH,

Defence Munitions Beith, Beith, Ayrshire KA15 1JT

Defence Munitions Kineton, Kineton, Warwickshire CV47 2UD

Defence Munitions Longtown, Carlisle, Cumbria CA6 5LX

Defence Munitions Crombie, Crombie by Dunfermline, Fife KY12 8LA

Defence Munitions Plymouth, Ernesettle Lane, Plymouth PL5 2TQ

Defence Munitions Glen Douglas PO Box 1, Arrochar, Argyll and Bute, G83 7BA

 What you’ll be doing

• Manage personnel within the Operations and Logistics functions, as directed by the Assistant Team Leader Munitions (ATLML).
• Lead the planning and execution of resilient munitions dispersal, including both general and complex weapons.
• Collaborate with subject matter experts (SMEs) and processing leads to ensure all Defence Lines of Development (DLODs) are considered.
• Act as the focal point for tracking and reporting progress against dispersal targets and identifying and highlighting areas of risk in current dispersal efforts.
• Support the development of Strategic Base Outload plans, focusing on commodity dispersal and DLOD requirements for rapid deployment.
• Coordinate Defence Munitions outloading capabilities and refine plans to support surge operations.
• Represent Defence Munitions in defence-wide stakeholder groups, capacity audits, and modelling workstreams.
• Ensure DM’s capabilities align with broader defence logistics strategies.
• Provide expert advice on OME logistics and storage to support ongoing operations, income generation, and future projects.
• Implement and develop rough-cut capacity planning across all DM sites to forecast logistics needs and resource impacts.
• Monitor and update site storage capacity data and advise on optimal use of storage assets.
• Assess storage performance and utilisation to support operational efficiency.
• Oversee updates to the Non-Explosive Capacity Tool to guide decisions on storage use for routine operations and income opportunities.
• Assist ATLML in reviewing and responding to income generation requests through the DM Form 5 and DE&S Initial Look processes.
• Monitor the effectiveness of logistics personnel training.
• Work with the Assistant Team Leader Business Operations to ensure staff maintain the required technical qualifications (Log SQEP).

Person specification

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

• Experience working in a Weapons Ordnance Munitions Explosive (WOME environment) or significant equivalent experience in military logistics at a managerial level including an appreciation of Hazard Class 1 within a logistics environment.
• Relevant experience in logistics planning/scheduling.
• Experience working in management in a delivery environment operating in a large, highly complex organisation.
• Experience of Continuous Improvement and Implementing change.
• Experience of Stakeholder and Relationship management.
• Experience in delivering Customer Service.

To benefit your application if you are able to demonstrate the following desirable criteria:

Must be willing to attend and successfully pass Defence Academy:

• OME Awareness within 12 months of appointment.
• OME Intermediate within 24 months of appointment.

National Occupational Standards, Explosive Substances Articles:

• WOME 7.11 Manage the storage of explosive substances and/or articles
• WOME 7.13 Manage stock levels and stock inventories of explosive substances and/or articles
• WOME 7.16 Maintain stock control systems for explosive substances and/or articles
• WOME 13.8.3 Provide technical or safety advice and/or guidance to others on explosives

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

• Stakeholder Management –Practitioner
• Service Delivery Planning – Practitioner
• Communicating and Influencing – CSBC 3
• Making Effective Decisions – CSBC 3

 Offered Benefits

• 25 days’ annual leave +1 day a year up to 30 days, 8 bank holidays and a day off for the King’s birthday
• Flexible and hybrid working options
• Market-leading average employer pension contribution of 28.97%
• Annual performance-based bonus and recognition awards
• Access to specialist training and funded qualifications
• Support for progression
• Huge range of discounts
• Volunteering days
• Enhanced parental leave schemes

Improving innovation and enriching our culture, diversity of thought is vital to our success. So whether you’re looking for a new opportunity, a next step, or a helping hand as you return from a career break, bring your experiences and help deliver for the defence of tomorrow. Here you’ll find a supportive, family-friendly organisation to be a part of – and if you need any assistance with your application, just let us know.

Further Information

• Civil Service Recruitment Principles: Recruitment Principles – Civil Service Commission
• Candidate Information Pack: https://bit.ly/DES-Candidate-Information-Pack
• Terms and Conditions: https://bit.ly/DES-Terms-and-Conditions
• Civil Service Code: The Code – Civil Service Commission

Any personal data that you provide during the Recruitment process will be treated in accordance with the MOD Privacy Notice which can be accessed here.

Please note as a Disability Confident Leader we want to ensure you receive any reasonable adjustments that you need throughout the recruitment process. If you do require any reasonable adjustments, you can let us know on your online application under the section ‘Please indicate and give details of any reasonable adjustments you may require during the recruitment process.

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.
3. Interview – If you’re invited to interview, you’ll be assessed against the Sift categories (CV Review) listed above, as well as the Technical Competences and Behaviours listed in the Person Specification section of this advert. 

Please Note: In the event of a tied score at interview, the Order of Merit will be distinguished based on the relative importance of the assessed competencies as per the hierarchy below:

• 1st: Core Behaviour 1
• 2nd: Core Behaviour 1
• 3rd: Technical Competencies
• 4th: CV Review

In the event of a further tie using the method above, we reserve the right to utilise an additional assessment.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview.

If you feel that your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles and you wish to make a complaint, in the first instance you should contact department via email: DESHR-WSC-PMOCOMPLAINTS@mod.gov.uk. If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Department, you can contact the Civil Service Commission: Recruitment Complaints – Civil Service Commission