UK Ministry of Defence
Head of Uncrewed Air Systems
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South West England
Job Summary
The Head of Uncrewed Air Systems (UAS) is an exciting role with responsibility for procuring and sustaining the UK’s core suite of UAS to cost, time and performance, meeting safety and environmental protection standards and maintaining availability through life. In this role you would provide strategic leadership of this full range of project delivery within National Armaments - Materiel works in concert with the wider Air – Rotary Wing & UAS senior leadership team and is a key member of the senior uncrewed and autonomous community across the wider Defence Industrial Enterprise.
The Head of Uncrewed Air Systems carries out high profile work under significant Ministerial, Parliamentary, media and wider stakeholder scrutiny, requiring personal resilience and good senior stakeholder management. Uncrewed and autonomous systems is a rapidly growing Defence field that is driving the evolution of procurement practices and regulatory requirement, and as an SCS1 Head you will play a pivotal role in promoting that culture by championing efficiency and pace whilst safeguarding essential rigour.
At its heart this role is about people and as a member of the Air-RWUAS Senior Leadership Team you would have the responsibility to inspire people to achieve the NAD objectives to deliver for Defence. If this sounds exciting to you, we look forward to receiving your application.
Job Description
The Head of Uncrewed Air Systems has the following areas of responsibility:
- Deliver and sustain the complex suite of Uncrewed Air Systems (UAS) projects, informing early concept work with UK Defence Innovation and NAD Plans & Portfolios to ensure deliverability, coherence and through-life planning.
- Provide leadership to enable UAS Senior Safety Responsible and Senior Environment Responsible delegation holders so that the products, systems and services they deliver are acceptable, safe to operate, environmentally sound and compliant with the relevant Health and Safety, Environmental and Defence Regulations.
- Be accountable for the technical integration of equipment and systems provided by other areas into UAS and support integration with other platforms/systems within Defence to ensure optimum military capability.
- Contribute to Strategic Defence Review (SDR) outcomes, Defence Investment Plan (DIP), Defence Industrial Strategy (DIS) as required, providing insight into industry capability to influence Industrial planning.
- Balance available resources against the suite of projects, prioritising as requires across Front Line Commands and Centre, whilst optimising delivery, implementing change to deliver ongoing operational sustainment capabilities and support to operations.
- Develop Commercial and Procurement Strategies to deliver Defence Industrial Strategy (DIS) including Category Management strategies for the suite of projects.
- Monitor and develop Supply Chain resilience to assure equipment supply.
- Act as the principal interlocutor with relevant Senior Responsible Owners and Programme Directors to align procurement activity, capacity and the delivery of capability that meets the needs of the warfighter.
Person specification
To Be Successful With Your Application, You’ll Need To Be Able To Demonstrate The Following 5 Essential Criteria (please Reference Each Of These In Your Supporting Statement)
- Experience of delivering complex programmes within the Defence or other technology and support focussed sectors, including instances of international cooperation.
- Evidence of engaged and visible leadership, and of a proactive commitment to diversity and inclusion with demonstrable experience of creating and maintaining a psychologically safe and inclusive environment.
- Good understanding of leading teams through complex change to adapt and optimise whilst continuing to deliver seamless acquisition, in-service support, logistics and supply chain management services.
- Demonstrable experience of engaging with broad customer and senior stakeholder communities, along with an ability to embed partnering and promote constructive challenge in the interests of common goals.
- Demonstrable experience in safety & risk management, the use of standard programme management techniques and financial control within a Defence or similar industry context.
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Essential Qualifications
- Chartered Projects Professional or equivalent experience
Alongside your salary of £93,600, Ministry of Defence contributes £27,115 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
How To Apply
This is an external competition, and we welcome applications from candidates in both the public or private sector. To apply for this post, you will need to submit the following documents, via the link by 23:55 on Sunday 4th October 2026.
- A copy of your CV preferably in MS Word format setting out your career history, with key responsibilities and achievements. Please ensure you have provided reasons for any gaps.
- A Supporting Statement of no more than 1500 words (font Arial, size 11), outlining how you consider your personal skills, leadership attributes, qualities and experience match the essential criteria on page 7 of the attached candidate pack. Applications that exceed the word limit will not be considered.
AFTER YOU’VE APPLIED
Shortlist
All submissions will receive an email acknowledgement upon application. If you do not receive confirmation of receipt of your application 3 working days post-closing date, please contact us at DESHR-SCSRecruitment@mod.gov.uk. The panel will consider the evidence you have provided against the essential criteria set out at page 7 of the attached candidate pack to determine their shortlist.
Interview
Shortlisted candidates will be asked to attend a panel interview for an in-depth discussion of your previous experience and professional competence in relation to the essential criteria. Full details of the interview process will be made available to shortlisted candidates. The Panel will consist of Mark Langrill (Director Air Rotary, Uncrewed Air Systems & Air Enablers), a second SCS2 panel member, and a HR Business Partner.
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Offer
We will notify all candidates of their outcome, as soon as possible after the final interview. We reserve the right to make any offer of appointment conditional upon references and satisfactory conclusion of security enquiries. In the event that you meet the requirements for the role, but you are not offered the position, we will be pleased to retain your application for a 12-month period in case another suitable role arises.
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
Security
Successful candidates must undergo a standard (or equivalent) criminal record check.
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
This Job Is Broadly Open To The Following Groups
- UK nationals
- nationals of the Republic of Ireland
- nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
- nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
- nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
- individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
- Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service
Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)
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 may want to save a copy for your records.
Contact point for applicants
Job Contact
- Name : DESHR-SCSRecruitment@mod.gov.uk
- Email : DESHR-SCSRecruitment@mod.gov.uk
Recruitment team
- Email : DESHR-SCSRecruitment@mod.gov.uk
Further information
In the unlikely event that you feel that your application has not been treated in accordance with the Commission’s Recruitment Principles and you wish to make a complaint you should, in the first instance, contact DESHR-WSC
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