Assistant Head of Supply Chain - Defence Nuclear Organisation

• Details
• Reference number
• 475698
• Salary
• £74,340 - £81,774

GCO Pension, GCO Terms. Up to 15% performance-related-pay available on accreditation.

GBP

• Job grade
• Grade 7
• Commercial Lead
• Contract type
• Permanent
• Business area
• GCF - Ministry of Defence
• Type of role
• Commercial
• Working pattern
• Flexible working, Full-time, Job share, Part-time, Compressed hours
• Number of jobs available
• 1
• Contents

• Location
• About the job
• Benefits
• Things you need to know
• Apply and further information

Location

London SW1A 2HB (Whitehall)

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

International travel to Dijon (France) and US.

Full time hours, compressed hours, flexible working

Office: 3 days a week regular with UK and international travel as required.

About the job

Job summary

Welcome message from Rob Holland, Head of DNE Commercial Function

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, UK Strategic Command, Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE), Sheffield Forgemasters and key industry suppliers such as BAE Systems, Rolls-Royce and Babcock.

An opportunity to work in DNO Commercial has arisen within the Markets and Suppliers team, a dynamic and talented team working at the heart of the DNE to identify and mitigate supply chain risks, strengthening resilience, and driving collaboration across the DNE, MOD and wider Government. The role will include leading commercial activity across supply chain resilience and supplier fragility, using evidence and insight to assess exposure, mobilise mitigations, and coordinate timely interventions with delivery teams and partners. You’ll help shift the enterprise from a reactive posture to a more proactive, intelligence-led approach. Alongside this, you will manage the customer sponsor role for sponsored organisations—helping to provide a clearer demand signal, supporting cross-MOD business development, and ensuring robust governance and value-for-money oversight where the Department has a sponsor/ownership interest.

The candidate will need to demonstrate strong internal and external stakeholder management skills, excellent analytical and relational skills, and enjoy operating in complex environments and working across organizational boundaries. Successful candidates will access opportunities for commercial and professional development within the Defence Nuclear Enterprise.

The role will be based in London with regular weekly attendance in office and will require travel between the sites (London, Bristol, and Reading), and, with notice, some wider UK and international travel. The role will also require CIPS or working towards accreditation within two years of appointment plus an additional commitment to additional professional development as required.

This position will require individuals to hold DV or be willing to undergo the process of obtaining it before an appointment is made.

Job description

• Become an active member of DNO Commercial’s Senior Management Team.
• Lead an intelligence-led approach to identifying and mitigating supply chain risk, drawing on enterprise-level products and insights (e.g., risk & resilience dashboards and related analytics).
• Drive improved visibility and mapping of supply chains (including sub-tier dependencies), ensuring insights are usable for decision-making and interventions
• Support the formation and running of case groups, ensuring clear triage, action tracking, and proportionate escalation where senior/Ministerial decisions are required
• Build strong working relationships across MOD and wider Government to share intelligence and coordinate actions on shared supplier concerns
• Lead the customer relationship for sponsored organisations to help them become “best-for-enterprise” suppliers—working with the organisation, its major customers, partners, and MOD programme teams.
• Build commercial capability across the DNE Commercial function, working closely with the Commercial teams based in the National Armaments Directorate.

Desirable

• Demonstrate working knowledge of Single Source Contracting Regulations and Intellectual Property Rights, and the Procurement Act 2023.

Locations

The successful candidate(s) will be able to agree a contractual workplace from those locations listed in this advert. When selecting your location listed in this job advert please be aware that this will be your contractual base location with a requirement to spend a minimum of 60% of your working time in this organisational workplace.

Your time spent on official duties at workplace locations other than your contractual office such as supplier, customer or partner locations required to perform your role is included in the 60% attendance.

This requirement will however take into consideration any reasonable adjustments agreed upon appointment for people with a disability, flexibilities agreed for those with specific caring responsibilities, or other similar temporary flexibilities.

Person specification

The successful candidate will be expected to:

• Operate effectively in a high-pressure national security environment and delivering against the UK’s most critical defence priorities.
• Build senior level credibility, with demonstrated effectiveness engaging at Board, Permanent Secretary, and Ministerial levels, and navigating complex stakeholder environments to secure decisions and approvals.
• Assess complex supplier and supply chain risks, weighing evidence from multiple sources and making proportionate recommendations.
• Act as a credible commercial practitioner who can lead cross-functional activity, drive outcomes, and operate effectively with senior stakeholders.
• Work with industry stakeholders with an understanding of the wider national security context relevant to the programme.
• Show data-to-decision capability – comfortable turning imperfect information into structured assessments (exposure, severity, options, and mitigations) and communicating it clearly
• Manage competing priorities, land actions at pace, and keep interventions moving through governance and reporting routes.

Eligibility and requirements and important information

• This role is reserved for British nationals and requires Developed Vetting (DV) and additional security clearances, including read-on to classified communities. Existing Civil Servants may take up the post with SC clearance and CV obtained whilst in post. External candidates must obtain full DV before taking up the post.
• The role holder will be expected 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, typically US and France

Technical skills

We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:

• Leads identification and management of complex risks. Uses data, judgement and scenario analysis to prioritise interventions, balances risk with delivery demands, and enables timely, evidence-based decisions.
• Analyses complex commercial and supply chain data to generate actionable insight on risk, performance and value. Integrates multiple data sources to inform strategic decisions, identify issues and drive target interventions
• Applies strong commercial judgement to complex programmes, balancing risk, value & delivery. Understands market dynamics, shapes commercial strategies & balances cost, risk & performance to secure long-term value in complex & sensitive environments.
• Mentally agile and resilient, you will have a demonstrable ability to deliver results at pace in a demanding situation or environment.
• Communicates clearly and with impact across diverse audiences, shaping decisions and securing buy-in. Influences stakeholders across government, industry and multidisciplinary teams to deliver successful outcomes.
• Able to build strong, trusted and constructive relationships at the most senior levels, gaining credibility with senior government and industry stakeholders.

Benefits

As a valued employee of the Government Commercial Organisation (GCO), you will have access to all the benefits the centre has to offer; including flexible working, generous benefits, Career Coaches, Mentors, L&D, a Commercial College, active talent management and, most importantly, access to commercial projects that will far exceed the scale and complexity on offer elsewhere in the UK.

For existing Civil Servants: For full details of the impact on any move across the civil service on your existing terms and conditions, please read the candidate pack. Please note that any move across the Civil Service may have implications on your ability to continue to claim childcare vouchers.

Kindly refer to the following link for the GCF Rewards and benefits page.

• https://www.civil-service-careers.gov.uk/gcf-benefits/
• Things you need to know
• Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles , and will assess your Experience and Technical skills.

Your application will be reviewed by a panel and should you be successful at sift we will invite you to attend a Virtual commercial Assessment and Development Centre (VADC). The panel will review results of the VADC and determine which candidates will go through to a subsequent final panel interview. Please note: Only candidates that achieve an A grade at ADC will be invited to interview for this role.

Please be advised that the Virtual ADC is taking place on Wednesday 16th September 2026 and will require a full day's attendance.

If you are invited to attend a virtual ADC, but for any reason are unable to meet the date outlined then please get in touch with the team on commercialresourcinghub@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible. The ADC is booked and paid for in advance by departments, therefore it is only in certain circumstances we are able to accommodate alternative dates.

For full details of our process, and a likely timeline, please read the attached candidate pack.

Throughout our selection process, we will make decisions about your capability to do the job, based on evidence you provide against the Technical Skills (essential criteria) and your Job History (CV) that you will be asked to provide during the application process. Further help and advice on our application and selection process can be found at this web address https://www.civil-service-careers.gov.uk/gcf-how-to-apply/

Artificial Intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action.

Please see our candidate guidance for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

https://www.civil-service-careers.gov.uk/artificial-intelligence-and-recruitment/

IMPORTANT: If you do not receive an acknowledgement of your application within 2 working days please contact: commercialresourcinghub@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a basic (or equivalent) criminal record check.

Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check .

See our vetting charter .

People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

Open to UK nationals only.

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles .

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy .

Apply and further information

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans initiative.

The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window).

Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

• Name : Marina Dura
• Email : commercialresourcinghub@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : commercialresourcinghub@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

Further information

If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles, and you wish to make a complaint, you should direct this to the Head of Commercial Resourcing Hub at the following email commercialresourcinghub@cabinetoffice.gov.uk quoting the vacancy reference number (if applicable) and the details of your complaint. If you are not satisfied with the response you receive, you can contact the Civil Service Commission via the following web page: http://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk/civil-service-recruitment/complaints/