SHIP SAFETY MANAGER

re you passionate about the defence of the United Kingdom, with a good moral compass and a drive to protect people? If so, we, at Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S), are actively looking for experienced Safety Engineers who are eager to make a difference, as intelligent decision makers, integral to supporting our Armed Forces.

As one of our Ship Safety Managers, you will join a highly skilled and motivated team whose work covers the whole portfolio of Royal Navy warships. As part of the team, you will provide safety support to specific project teams throughout the equipment and platform acquisition lifecycle, which may span requirement setting in the concept phase and design, through to in-service support of our current platforms and their eventual disposal. Due to increasing levels of investment in new build ships, some of these roles offer the unique opportunity to work on projects at such early stages of new procurement, which is not available elsewhere in the UK’s defence industry today.

By joining our team, you can expect to be assigned to a specific platform Class (e.g., our Type 26 Global Combat Ship or Fleet Solid Support ship procurements), or to a portfolio of equipment or systems (e.g., our Communications and Situational Awareness team).

Please note some attendance to the stated site may be required for this position.

We strongly recommend tailoring your CV in line with our CV guidance before applying, with specific sections to highlight Key Achievements, Relevant Experience, and Applied Skills & Knowledge.

Responsibilities for Ship Safety Manager

As a Ship Safety Manager with us, you will work to establish, implement and maintain appropriate safety systems through the application of DE&S policy. Your responsibilities may include, but will not be limited to, the following:

• Interpreting and applying safety policy for the design and support of platforms and equipment
• Developing and managing safety cases for platforms, systems or equipment
• Generating safety case reports and undertaking risk assessments
• Identifying opportunities for safety improvements and delivering against these
• Setting up, running and maintaining safety systems at project level, as well as overseeing and mitigating risks
• Implementing safety management systems and monitoring their effectiveness through governance and assurance
• Managing a team to deliver safety outputs
• Providing advice and support to colleagues, ensuring that appropriate safety requirements are correctly applied and delivered in contracts, as well as managing contractors who perform safety management activities on behalf of DE&S
• You may be required to act as a specialist member or secretariat of Safety Panels and Committees

What you will be assessed against

To be successful with your application you must demonstrate that you meet the following essential criteria:

• You will hold a Level 4 (e.g., HNC or higher) qualification in a relevant engineering or science discipline, or will demonstrate equivalent working experience
• You will demonstrate knowledge and experience in the implementation of a Safety Management System (noting that this is a systems safety role and not OSHE)
• You will have experience applying safety tools and techniques in a heavily regulated industry (e.g., automotive, aerospace, petrochemical, nuclear, rail, defence, maritime or similar)

It will also benefit your application if you are able to demonstrate the following desirable criteria:

• Experience in safety management activities, such as Hazard Log Management; Hazard Identification and Analysis; Risk Assessment and ALARP justifications; and Safety Audit
• Working knowledge of maritime safety policy and regulation

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

• Adoption of safety risk management
• Complies with System Safety Requirements
• Communicating and influencing
• Changing and improving

What’s in it for you?

Our careers offer stability, training, progression – and much more! Discover more about what we offer in our Little Book of Big Benefits. Find out more about our pension schemes.

We’re exploring future ways of working with a flexible and a family-friendly approach in mind. This means that successful candidates may be offered the option of hybrid working, combining working at home with working at their contractual location. Further information relevant to hybrid working will be discussed with you prior to you taking up your post, to find a balance that suits your needs and those of the organisation. Please note that employees are responsible for meeting the cost of their travel to and from work when attending site.

We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds and are dedicated to creating a great place to work that reflects the diversity of the society we serve. To help us do this, we particularly encourage applications from women, ethnic minorities, disabled people and people from LGBT communities. By bringing together different ideas, experiences and perspectives, we can achieve our ambitions, together.