HERA Strategy and Solution Lead

A vacancy may arise for a Wing Commander (Any Profession) to serve as the Project HERA Strategy and Solution Lead at RAF Cranwell on Full Time Reserve Service (Limited Commitment) Terms and Conditions of Service (TCoS), with an initial proposed start date of 03 May 2027.

Alternative Working Arrangements (AWA) may be available to allow Remote Working from a location other than RAF Cranwell, but the successful applicant will be expected to regularly attend meetings and workshops face-to-face with the rest of the team; AWA will be open to negotiation, depending upon the needs of the Service and the individual.

This is a Project Delivery role in the Project HERA team, a Whole Force team within the Air Support Portfolio working for Air Director Support.

Over the last three decades the RAF has elected to out-source a variety of support service functions on stations through different contractors via Multi-Activity Contracts (MACs). These were consolidated through Programme HADES, three airfield enabling and support services contracts to 15 RAF (and one Army and 2 CSOC) units. The remaining MAC was replaced by the RAF Brize Norton Support Contract (BSC). The threes HADES contracts and the BSC must be replaced by a new outsourced delivery solution in 2028.

The role of Project HERA is to replace the HADES contracts and the BSC. It may also provide the opportunity to broaden and deepen the scope of current outsourced services and the potential for geographic expansion.

HERA is a complex project; individuals will be expected to grasp this complexity and rise to the challenge of delivering an enduring, value for money solution that is both robust and capable of supporting the RAF’s operational outputs over the next decade.

As a staff officer role, the HERA Strategy and Solution Lead will be responsible to the Project Team Leader and will be involved with progressing the HERA solution to meet the requirements in the HERA project mandate, support the completion of the Full Business Case approvals process to allow the contract award, expected mid-2027, support the Contract Mobilisation and Transition phases, and lead any potential Requirements discovery work for future phases of HERA.

To enable the selected individual to perform this role, involvement in a wide set of project activities will be crucial. Throughout the progressing phases of the procurement process, the HERA Strategy and Solution Lead will be specifically responsible for:

• Ownership of the Statement of Requirement and control of the Day One amendment incorporation, including development and approval of the Day One amendment Business Cases;
• Providing or sourcing subject matter expertise regarding the safety, security, certifications, performance and scalability of the technical elements of the HERA solution to the Project Team and Functional Delivery Agents during the Project’s delivery;
• Supporting the development of the Final Business Case (FBC) and providing supporting evidence;
• Supporting the development and implementation of the Unit military transition plans;
• Continuation of the HERA Organisational Safety Assessment phases, through FBC, Mobilisation and Transition, to Project Closure.
• Coordinating Supplier access to all in-scope Unit locations in support of preparation for mobilisation activities;
• Leading the requirements discovery phase for the potential Service Line development plans.
• Supporting the development of the Project closure documentation;
• Line management responsibility for the military personnel within the Requirements Team;
• Any other Project related tasks as directed by the Project HERA Senior Military Advisor and/or the Project HERA Team Leader.