Head of Delivery Services

The role involves taking on a senior leadership position responsible for shaping and driving the delivery of complex portfolios that support the Royal Navy and wider UK defence. You will align strategic investment with operational delivery, ensuring governance, performance, and continuous improvement are embedded across the organisation.

Day‑to‑day, you’ll have the opportunity to influence large‑scale programmes, improve infrastructure and capability, and deliver measurable benefits in a safety‑critical, highly regulated environment. You’ll work at the forefront of defence delivery, contributing to long‑term national security while advancing your leadership career at a global organisation.

• Leading cross‑portfolio delivery, ensuring compliance, governance, and performance standards are consistently achieved.
• Driving strategic initiatives including digital transformation, knowledge management, and continuous improvement.
• Developing and implementing resourcing strategies to align future demand with operational capability.
• Managing interfaces, risks, and dependencies across complex programmes and stakeholder groups.
• Identifying opportunities to improve efficiency, reduce costs, and enhance delivery outcomes.

This role is full time, 35 hours per week and is based on site at either Plymouth, Bristol or Edinburgh and requires travel to the other sites.

Essential experience:

• Significant experience leading large, complex portfolios within defence, infrastructure, public sector, or regulated industries.
• Proven ability to oversee multi‑million‑pound programmes with complex interdependencies.
• Strong knowledge of portfolio, programme, and project delivery methodologies such as Managing Successful Programmes, Projects In Controlled Environments, or Agile.
• Demonstrated leadership and influencing capability at senior or executive level.
• Strong financial and commercial acumen, including business case development and benefits realisation.

Qualifications:

• Degree level qualification in a relevant discipline or equivalent experience.
• Additional qualifications in portfolio management, strategy, or programme leadership are desirable.

Security Clearance: The successful candidate must be a sole UK National who is able to achieve and maintain Security Check (SC) security clearance for this role.

What we offer:

• Generous holiday allowance.
• Matched contribution pension scheme, with life assurance.
• Access to a Digital GP, annual health check, and nutritional consultations through Aviva DigiCare+.
• Employee share scheme.
• Employee shopping savings portal.
• Payment of Professional Fees.
• Reservists in the armed forces receive 10-days special paid leave.
• Holiday Trading 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 to undertake volunteering work with their chosen organisation or registered charity.
• Excellent development opportunities and benefits package including an employee assistance programme supporting physical, mental and financial wellbeing.

We are 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.

Closing date: 05/07/2026