Defence Accident Investigation Branch - Deputy Head

The Defence Accident Investigation Branch (DAIB) conducts independent, impartial and expert no-blame safety investigations across Defence. The Deputy Head is a senior leadership post that supports Head DAIB by keeping Branch delivery on track, assuring the quality and timeliness of investigation outputs, and overseeing the business management activity needed to run the Branch effectively.

This position is advertised at 37 hours per week.

The postholder will report to Head DAIB and work across DAIB, DSA headquarters, Defence Safety stakeholders, Front-Line Commands, Service Inquiry and Non-Statutory Inquiry panels, and external partners. The role requires sound judgement, strong leadership and credibility, alongside excellent senior stakeholder engagement skills and the ability to give clear, well-judged advice in a demanding safety environment.

The role keeps day-to-day senior delivery moving, supports staff, maintains standards, oversees business management activity and raises issues to Head DAIB when a senior decision is needed. The postholder also deputises for Head DAIB when required, representing DAIB and making decisions within delegated authority, while ensuring significant risks, new Branch positions or sensitive issues are escalated to Head DAIB.

Key Responsibilities:

• Support Head DAIB by turning Branch direction into clear priorities, delegated decisions and practical delivery.
• Deputise for Head DAIB as required, representing DAIB at senior DSA, MOD, commercial, assurance and stakeholder engagements within delegated authority and agreed Branch positions.
• Review and assure Service Inquiry and Non-Statutory Inquiry outputs, ensuring reports are clear, evidence-based, consistent and delivered to the required standard.
• Support DAIB’s contribution to coronial activity, legal proceedings, HSE investigations, Crown Censure activity and other sensitive external processes by ensuring timely, accurate and well-judged Branch input.
• Support the effective running of the Branch by providing senior oversight of the support functions that enable DAIB delivery, including business planning, business cases, workforce planning, recruitment, finance, commercial activity, risk, governance, performance reporting and the working relationship with DSA headquarters. The Business Manager leads day-to-day delivery; the Deputy Head provides senior direction, prioritisation and escalation where needed.
• Ensure evidence, information and process risks are identified and managed where they could affect investigations, legal or coronial activity, DAIB’s reputation or delivery of safety-critical outputs.
• Act as DAIB’s senior point of contact with DSA headquarters for delegated matters, including communications, governance, reporting and engagement activity.
• Support improvements to DAIB processes, SOPs, digital working and information management where senior direction or prioritisation is needed.
• Line manage a team of 3 SEO and 2 HEO posts, CSO for 2 EOs, providing clear direction, support, objective-setting and performance management.
• Participate in the DAIB duty coordinator rota, normally for one week in four. This supports DAIB’s 24/7 accident notification and response arrangements and may involve out-of-hours activity in accordance with local arrangements. An on-call allowance is payable for this duty commitment.

Open to UK nationals only.

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours and Experience.

Candidates will be required to provide CV details to include job history.

Candidates will be required to provide a statement of suitability (750 Word count). Assessment elements are ranked in the following priority order: statement of suitability, CV, Delivering at Pace behaviour.

At sift, you will be assessed against your CV, Statement of suitability and the following Behaviour:

• Delivering at Pace

Applications will be sifted on all Success Profile elements, but in the event of a high number of applications, the sift will be conducted on your statement of suitability only.

At interview, candidates will be assessed against the following Behaviours:

• Leadership
• Working Together
• Communicating and Influencing

Interviews will take place at Boscombe Down week commencing 9 November.(subject to change)

Further information:

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.

As a result of the changes to the UK immigration rules which came into effect on 1 January 2021, the Ministry of Defence will only offer sponsorship for a skilled worker visa under the points-based system, where a role has been deemed to be business critical. This role does not meet that category, and we will not sponsor a visa. It is therefore NOT open to applications from those who will require sponsorship under the points-based system.

Should you apply for this role and be found to require sponsorship, your application will be rejected and any provisional offer of employment withdrawn.

The Ministry of Defence requires all candidates who are successful at interview to declare any outside interests. These declarations will be discussed with successful candidates following the interview process and before a formal offer of employment is made, as some outside interests may not be compatible with MOD civilian roles. This will not, in the majority of cases, prevent employment in MOD, but it is a measure that must be taken to ensure that appropriate mitigations can be put in place to manage any potential, perceived or actual conflicts of interest from the first day of employment.

The Ministry of Defence adopts a zero-tolerance approach to unacceptable behaviours, which includes bullying, harassment, sexual harassment, discrimination, and victimisation. You will not be eligible and will not be considered for this post if you have been dismissed from a role for such unacceptable behaviours within the last five years. This will also apply if you resign or otherwise leave a role but, because of an adverse decision, would have been dismissed for gross misconduct had you continued in that employment. Pre-employment checks will be carried out.

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