UK Ministry of Defence
Deputy Director International Programmes and Exports Delivery
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Regular attendance at MOD Main Building London and MOD Abbey Wood Bristol is required although contractual location can be any main MOD site within the UK (subject to line manager agreement and site capacity). There is an expectation that a minimum of 60% of working time will be spent in the office.
Job Summary
The National Armaments Group (NAD Group) brings together the people, organisations and expertise responsible for delivering the UK’s national arsenal — from science and innovation, through acquisition and delivery, to sustainment and support. Led by the National Armaments Director, the Group exists to strengthen how Defence works with industry and allies, simplify complex systems, and ensure the right capabilities are available when they are needed most. By operating as one integrated group, NAD is designed to reduce duplication, improve decision‑making, and create clearer accountability across Defence. In this role, you will be working in a part of Defence that sits at the heart of national security, with a clear mission and growing influence over how Defence operates, invests and delivers.
The Deputy Director International Programmes and Exports Delivery is responsible for leading the delivery of exports and capability programmes, including collaborative programmes involving technology sharing, equipment projects, and multinational partnerships. You will negotiate, establish and manage the frameworks for Government-to-Government (G2G) agreements and support Government-to-Industry (G2I) contracts, shaping customer requirements, negotiating with partners and setting commercial conditions to ensure delivery aligns with the UK Government’s priorities and strengthens the UK's international partnerships and prosperity.
This is a unique leadership role at the heart of the UK's international defence relationships, where you will help shape and deliver programmes that strengthen partnerships with allies and enhance military capability around the world. If you are passionate about leadership, motivated by complex challenges, and excited by the prospect of working in an international environment where your contribution truly matters, we'd love to hear from you.
Job Description
The current responsibilities of the role include:
- Lead and deliver international programmes, including multi-nation exports, early science and technology projects, and collaborative shared initiatives.
- Act as the contracting authority for Government-to-Government (G2G) agreements, support Government-to-Industry (G2I) contracts, and provide international engagement assistance to Portfolios managing sales of existing platforms, systems, and inventory.
- Proactively manage programmes and contracts to ensure effective fulfilment of all deliverables. Where necessary, establish and safely operationalise an effective G2G provision, coordinating activities across Defence Lines of Development (DLODs), such as training and logistics support.
- Negotiate and secure programme opportunities, engaging with customers to define requirements, develop solutions, and refine offerings. Lead negotiations with partners on terms and conditions, commercial arrangements, contract preparation, Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs), workshare agreements, industrial (offset) offers, and intellectual property (IP) generation and exploitation.
- Build and maintain strong relationships with the Director General National Armaments Plans & Portfolios teams and support NAD delivery functions. Contribute to options development, commissioning, and delivery, ensuring export programmes are prioritised and aligned with the UK’s Programme of Record and wider defence priorities.
- Ensure compliance with relevant legal and government commercial policies, seeking and securing expertise in export controls, MOUs and capability protection measures to safeguard UK national security interests, protect sensitive technologies, and uphold the UK’s reputation as a responsible global actor.
- Manage stakeholder relationships by fostering trust and collaboration with international governments, companies and industry partners to ensure that programme delivery remains aligned with HMG’s strategic objectives, and international commitments.
- Be accountable for programme budgets, approvals and contribute to the management of a self-funding (Customer-funded) resourcing model for programme delivery, enabling the financial sustainability of programme delivery whilst ensuring compliance with financial policies and protecting the taxpayer from the costs of supporting export programmes.
- Provide strong leadership to a mixed team of civil servants and military personnel. Promote continuous improvement, learning, diversity, and an inclusive, safe working environment. Build team capability to deliver high-quality advice to Ministers and collaborate effectively with other government departments, industry, and international partners.
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Person Specification
- Extensive experience leading complex international programme delivery in an ambiguous and maturing environment, with clear understanding and experience of negotiating and managing contracts, budget management and ensuring legal compliance.
- Demonstrable experience of shaping and leading high-performing programme delivery teams, with evidence of driving continuous improvement and building capability, promoting diversity and creating a safe and inclusive work environment.
- Experience working with UK and international industrial partners, with a deep understanding of industry and a proven ability to navigate the complexities of working across boundaries to enable successful delivery.
- Demonstrable ability to build and maintain successful relationships with a complex set of stakeholders across a variety of organisations, with evidence of aligning strategic objectives and achieving outcomes through strong relationships, persuasion and influencing rather than positional power.
- Strong commercial acumen, with clear evidence of understanding and balancing risk to identify the right solution and influence stakeholders to buy into this solution.
- Experience and understanding of Government-to-Government (G2G), Government-to-Industry (G2I) contracting mechanisms, or equivalent partnering agreements and long-term partnerships.
Salary and Benefits
Alongside your salary of £86,000, Ministry of Defence contributes £24,914 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).
- Learning and development tailored to your role
- An environment with flexible working options
- A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
- A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%
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 (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.
Selection Process Details
To apply for this post, you will need to complete the online application process no later than 23:55 on Sunday 30 August 2026. This will involve providing the two documents which are weighted equally:
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- A CV (no more than 2 pages) setting out your career history, with key responsibilities and achievements. Please ensure you have provided reasons for any gaps within the last two years.
- A Personal Statement (no more than 2 pages) providing tangible examples that clearly evidence how you meet the essential criteria for the role.
External candidates who join the MOD and are new to the Civil Service will be subject to a six-month probation period.
For further information about the role and full application process, please refer to the candidate pack attached below. If you wish to receive any material in a different format for accessibility, then please contact People-CivHR-SCSCandidateSupport@mod.gov.uk
Candidate Drop-In Session
Lisa Cuthbertson will be hosting an online Q&A session on Wednesday 26 August at 15:30pm - 16:30pm to provide an overview of the role and answer any questions you may have. You can join the session by clicking here.
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
Assignment Duration
This role has a minimum assignment duration of 3 years. An assignment duration is the period of time a Senior Civil Servant is expected to remain in the same post to enable them to deliver on the agreed key business outcomes. The assignment duration also supports your career through building your depth of expertise.
As part of accepting this role you will be agreeing to the expected assignment duration set out above. This will not result in a contractual change to your terms and conditions. Please note this is an expectation only, it is not something which is written into your terms and conditions or indeed which the employing organisation or you are bound by. It will depend on your personal circumstances at a particular time and business needs, for example, would not preclude any absence like family friendly leave. It is nonetheless an important expectation, which is why we ask you to confirm you agree to the assignment duration set out above.
Security
Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is developed vetting (opens in a new window). See our vetting charter (opens in a new window).
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 (opens in a new window) 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 (opens in a new window).
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 (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).
This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.
Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You
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