Dstl
Range Safety Officer
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Dstl Porton Down, Salisbury, Wiltshire, SP4 0JQ
At Dstl, our vision is to have a modern way of working efficiently, accommodating and enabling our people to create, collaborate and deliver. To do this successfully in this job will require attendance at a Dstl location; Government Departments including wider MoD or Delivery and Mission Partner’s premises for 100% of your working time. Where business needs allow, and with the agreement of your line manager, there may be the option for a combination of workplace and home-based working. This is a non-contractual arrangement.
Job Summary
Are you an experienced safety professional with a passion for managing risk, influencing decision-making, and ensuring the safe delivery of complex trials and testing activities?
Dstl is seeking a Range Safety Officer to provide expert safety leadership, assurance and independent oversight across our test, trial and evaluation activities. As Dstl's senior specialist for range safety, you will play a key role in protecting people, assets and the environment while shaping the future of our range and trials capability.
Dstl recognises the importance of diversity and inclusion as people from diverse backgrounds bring fresh ideas. We are committed to building an inclusive working environment in which each employee fulfils their potential and maximises their contribution.
Job Description
What you'll do
- Act as Dstl's lead subject matter expert for range safety, providing trusted advice to senior leaders, Duty Holders and project teams.
- Oversee and continually improve the Range Safety Management System, ensuring compliance with Defence regulations and safety standards.
- Provide independent assurance that range activities are planned and delivered safely, with risks reduced to tolerable and ALARP levels.
- Review and challenge safety cases, risk assessments and safe systems of work to ensure robust decision-making.
- Lead investigations into significant incidents and drive organisational learning and continuous improvement.
- Identify emerging risks and provide evidence-based recommendations to support safe and effective trial delivery.
- Represent Dstl in engagements with regulatory bodies and support inspections, audits and assurance activities.
- Contribute to the development of future technologies, capabilities and innovative test and evaluation programmes
As a Dstl Leader you will:
- Confidently lead, with the ability to adapt quickly to changing direction and priorities. Positively, motivating, inspiring, encouraging and influencing others through effective communication and engagement.
- Maintain and Manage strong, effective relationships with peers, role modelling Enterprise Leadership to deliver the One Dstl vision ensuring collaboration on delivery outcomes and strategic direction.
- Create a positive working environment, aligned with Dstl Principles and Civil Service Behaviours, which supports diversity and inclusion, and enables people to excel.
- Consistently demonstrate and role model Dstl’s leadership behaviours to ensure our Dstl culture is maintained at all levels.
- Foster an inclusive working environment where open communication and psychological safety are prioritised to encourage constructive feedback and continuous improvement.
- Ensure that all team members understand and meet their defined accountabilities, regularly reviewing performance and providing necessary support and training to uphold Dstl’s standards, culture and values which aligns with the Civil Service Code and values.
- Actively endorse the Civil Service Line Management Standards to improve Line Management skills across the organisation.
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Person specification
Essential Qualifications
- NEBOSH National General Certificate in Occupational Health and Safety (or equivalent).
Essential Experience & Skills
- Significant experience in range safety, safety assurance or regulatory compliance within MOD or another high-hazard environment.
- Strong understanding of Defence Ordnance, Munitions and Explosives (OME) regulations and MOD safety frameworks.
- Experience developing and assuring safety cases, risk assessments and governance arrangements.
- Ability to provide independent professional judgement, challenge and assurance at senior levels.
- Expertise in trials, test and evaluation, ballistics, or a related technical discipline.
Why join Dstl?
This is a unique opportunity to influence some of the UK's most complex and innovative test and evaluation activities. You'll work alongside highly skilled specialists, contribute to critical national capability, and help shape the future of safety across Dstl's range and trials enterprise.
If you're ready to make a real impact in a challenging and rewarding role, we'd love to hear from you.
Safety at Dstl
- Accountable for ensuring safe and secure work;
- Must appreciate and be responsible for the health and safety of self and others; both understand and meet defined accountabilities as written in Dstl policy,
- Must demonstrate the expected HS (& EP) behaviours as defined by the Civil Service and Dstl and lead by example,
- Must ensure understanding and maintenance of appropriate training, experience and knowledge (i.e. competent / SQEP) for self and direct reports,
- Develop a working environment that is supportive of and champions the Dstl approach to security, health, wellbeing, safety and environmental (HSEP) management,
- Be aware of the downstream impact of their actions and the actions of their direct reports on those outside of their immediate control.
- Implement Dstl's policies and ensure compliance with the Management System
Important Information
Our work in defence, security and intelligence requires our employees to be UK Nationals who are able to gain a high level of security clearance to undertake the projects we are involved in to protect us from security threats. For this reason, only UK Nationals will be able to apply for this role. If you are an international or dual-national candidate, and you think you have the skills we need, please consider applying to any of our government, security or defence partners.
This role will require full UK security clearance and you should have resided in the UK for the past 5 years. For some roles Developed Vetting will also be required, in this case you should have resided in the UK for the past 10 years.
Qualifications
- NEBOSH National General Certificate in Occupational Health and Safety, or equivalent recognised health and safety qualification
Behaviours
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
- Seeing the Big Picture
- Changing and Improving
- Communicating and Influencing
Salary and Benefits
- Alongside your salary of £60,448, Defence Science and Technology Laboratory contributes £17,511 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).
- Benefits
- Financial: An excellent pension scheme starting from 26% employer contribution (find out more here). In Year Rewarding Achievement bonuses and thank you vouchers. Rental deposit scheme and cycle to work scheme.
- Flexible working: Options include alternative working patterns such as; compressed hours, job shares and annualised hours (agreed number of hours per annum paid monthly i.e. working term-time only).
- Working hours: Flexibility around your working day (e.g. start time, finish time). Ability to bank hours in a 12 month reference period including the ability to accrue and use 3 days per calendar month.
- Where you work: Depending on your role, blended working may be available including remote working to suit you and your team. This can be discussed at interview.
- Annual leave: 25 days pro rata (rising to 30 after 5 years) plus 8 public holidays with the ability to buy/sell 5 additional days per annum.
- Family: Maternity, adoption or shared parental leave of up to 26 weeks with full pay, an additional 13 weeks statutory pay and a further 13 weeks unpaid
- Learning and Development: Dstl encourages and supports charterships, accreditations and provides employees access to fully funded apprenticeships up to level 7 (Masters Degree). Dstl will pay for 2 memberships with relevant bodies/institutions. Employees also have access to Civil Service Learning.
- Facilities: Onsite parking, EV Charging points, restaurants, cafés and gyms.
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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
This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours and Experience.
We want you to have your best chance of success in our recruitment process, so If at any stage of the application process you would like help or assistance please contact the Dstl Recruitment Team dstlrecruitment@dstl.gov.uk and we will do all we can to support you.
Sifting will take place week commencing the 12th October with interviews to be arranged from the 9th November 2026, interview will consist of a behavioural & technical interview to include a 10 minute presentation entitled, "What are the challenges of delivering low-TRL trials on ranges in rapidly evolving disciplines?"
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours and Experience.
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 (opens in a new window). See our vetting charter (opens in a new window).
People working with government assets must complete
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