Assistant Head of Commercial, Scrutiny and Data – Defence Nuclear Organisation in London

Department: GCF - Ministry of Defence - Defence Nuclear Organisation

Role: Assistant Head of Commercial, Scrutiny and Data – Defence Nuclear Organisation

Salary: £76,942 - £84,637 + GCO Pension, GCO Terms. Up to 15% performance-related-pay available on accreditation.

Locations: London, Aldermaston (Tadley) or Bristol Abbey Wood.

Regular travel between DNE sites including but not limited to: Bristol, London, Aldermaston, Sheffield, Faslane.

International travel to: Dijon (France) and United States

About the job

This is an important time to join the Defence Nuclear Organisation (DNO) within the Ministry of Defence (MOD). You will be at the heart of critical defence issues, delivering against one of the Department’s top priorities.

Established in 2016, the DNO oversees all nuclear activity across the Defence Nuclear Enterprise (DNE), working with partners including the Royal Navy, Submarine Delivery Agency, UK Strategic Command, Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE), and key industry suppliers such as BAE Systems, Rolls-Royce and Babcock.

An opportunity to work in DNO Commercial has arisen to lead the Scrutiny and Data capability of the DNE Commercial Portfolio. This will include leading on procurements, robustly managing contracts, and developing business cases to support the development of the nuclear warhead and submarines as well as developing data governance tools and commercial scrutiny enablement to ensure commercial strategies deliver for the public good.

The candidate will need to demonstrate strong internal and external stakeholder management skills, excellent negotiation skills, and be capable of motivating a small but agile team of commercial professionals focused on both procurement and commercial acquisition transactions. Successful candidates will access opportunities for commercial and professional development within the Defence Nuclear Enterprise.

Job Description

You will be an Assistant Head of Commercial, responsible for leading commercial assurance activity across the Defence Nuclear Enterprise, working closely with our Delivery Partners (AWE & SDG) and driving continuous improvement in their commercial capability.

You will lead a team of commercial professionals to provide strategic oversight, commercial assurance and evidence based commercial advice across the multi-billion-pound Defence Nuclear Enterprise portfolio, to assure commercial best practices are being applied, mitigating commercial risk and enable delivery of best value outcomes.

This role has significant strategic exposure, including regular briefings to the most senior leaders in the DNE.

You will be responsible for driving continuous commercial improvement within the DNE Commercial team, collaborating with AWE and SDG to upskill commercial capability across the Defence Nuclear Enterprise (DNE) through sharing of best practice.

You will lead relationship and engagement with AWE Supply Chain team, developing DNO and AWE commercial relationships with commercial colleagues across MOD and wider Government with particular focus on leveraging the commercial benefits of AWE’s transition to a Non-Departmental Public Body.

Eligibility and requirements

• This role is reserved for British nationals and requires Developed Vetting (DV) and additional security clearances, including read-on to classified communities.
• Ability to attend stakeholder sites (London, Reading or Bristol) two days per week to support classified programmes.
• Willingness to travel internationally to engage with suppliers and visit manufacturing sites.

Closing date for applications: 11:55 pm on Thursday 24th September 2026

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