FLM Welding in Devon

Location: Devonport, Plymouth, GB, PL1 4SG

Onsite or Hybrid: OnSite

Compensation: £33,900 - £42,400 Depending on Experience + Benefits

Role Type: Full time / Permanent

Role ID: SF73751

Lead skilled trades that keep the Royal Navy operational. At Babcock we’re working to create a safe and secure world, together, and if you join us, you can play your part as a Welding First Line Manager at our Devonport Royal Dockyard site.

The role:

• As a Welding First Line Manager, you’ll take responsibility for leading and coordinating welding activity within the Warships Production Hub.
• You’ll manage skilled welding teams working across multiple vessels, ensuring work is delivered safely, efficiently and to the highest quality standards.
• Day‑to‑day, you’ll balance productivity, safety and quality while supporting the development of your team, contributing technical input to schedules and ensuring welding work aligns with project priorities.

The role offers exposure to large‑scale naval refit programmes and the opportunity to build a strong leadership career within a highly respected engineering environment.

Key responsibilities include:

• Leading and supervising welding teams, allocating labour to meet cost, time and quality targets.
• Coordinating welding activity across multiple vessels, prioritising resources to meet delivery milestones.
• Ensuring welding work complies with quality management systems, procedures and safety standards.
• Monitoring productivity and progress, reporting rework, additional tasks and team performance.
• Supporting team development, ensuring appropriate welding qualifications and training are in place.

This role is full time, 35 hours per week and is based on site at Devonport Royal Dockyard.

Essential experience:

• Strong experience in welding or fabrication environments, including hot work activities.
• Proven supervisory or first‑line management experience within a trade setting.
• Ability to manage labour across multiple work areas or platforms.
• Good communication skills, both verbal and written.
• Confidence using IT systems to record labour, progress and performance data.

Qualifications:

• Level 3 NVQ in Welding, Fabrication, or a completed welding‑based apprenticeship (or equivalent experience).

Security Clearance:

The successful candidate must be able to achieve and maintain Security Check (SC) security clearance for this role. Many of the positions within our company are subject to national security clearance and Trade Control restrictions.

What we offer:

• Matched contribution pension scheme, with life assurance.
• Access to a Digital GP, annual health check, and nutritional consultations through Aviva DigiCare+.
• Employee shopping savings portal.
• Payment of Professional Fees.
• Reservists in the armed forces receive 10-days special paid leave.
• Holiday Trading is a benefit that allows UK Babcock employees to buy additional leave or to sell up to one working week of annual leave from their annual entitlement.
• ‘Be Kind Day’ enables employees to take one working day’s paid leave a year (or equivalent hours) to undertake volunteering work with their chosen organisation or registered charity.

We’re a disability confident committed employer. If you have a disability or need any reasonable adjustments during the application and selection stages, please email careers@babcockinternational.com with the subject header ‘Reasonable adjustments requirement’. We’re committed to building an inclusive culture where everyone’s free to thrive. We are happy to talk about flexible working – please ask about alternative patterns of work at interview.