Defence Accident Investigation Branch - Recommendations Lead

The Defence Accident Investigation Branch (DAIB) conducts independent, impartial and expert no-blame safety investigations across Defence. The Recommendations Lead is responsible for supporting the effective management, scrutiny and progression of Defence Safety Authority (DSA) safety recommendations, ensuring that recommendations are clear, evidence-based, properly tracked and progressed to closure to reduce future risk and support organisational learning.

This position is advertised at 37 hours per week.

The postholder will report to the Deputy Head DAIB and work closely with Head DAIB, investigation teams, recommendation reviewers, implementation managers, Defence Safety Authority stakeholders and Front-Line Commands. They will maintain oversight of the Recommendations Implementation Tracker, support recommendation socialisation, review and closure meetings, prepare recommendation updates and statistics for senior review, and provide advice on the recommendation process. This will include ensuring that recommendation owners’ agreement and acceptance are evidenced and recorded appropriately.

The role includes line management responsibility for the DAIB Investigation Support Manager, an Executive Officer post. It also includes participation in the DAIB duty administrator rota. The expected commitment on appointment is approximately one week in two, although this may reduce to approximately one week in three if rota capacity allows. 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.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and coordinate DAIB recommendation management activity, supporting the progression of recommendations from socialisation through publication and to final closure.
• Maintain oversight of recommendation data, including the Recommendations Implementation Tracker, recommendation status, ownership, review activity and closure evidence.
• Prepare clear recommendation updates, briefings and management information for Head DAIB, DG DSA and other senior Defence stakeholders.
• Support and facilitate recommendation review and closure meetings, including agendas, briefing material, follow-up actions and records.
• Engage with recommendation owners, implementation managers, reviewers and Safety Centres to support timely, evidence-based recommendation closure, including advising on escalation requirements where progress or engagement is insufficient.
• Provide advice and constructive challenge to investigation teams on recommendation wording, rationale, traceability, evidence and closure requirements.
• Line manage the DAIB Investigation Support Manager, providing clear direction, support, objective-setting and performance management.
• Contribute to continuous improvement of DAIB recommendation processes, guidance, SOPs and user material.
• Participate in the DAIB duty administrator rota. The expected commitment on appointment is approximately one week in two, although this may reduce to approximately one week in three if rota capacity allows. An on-call allowance is payable for this duty commitment.

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)

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

This vacancy will use Civil Service Success Profiles and will assess Behaviours and Experience. Candidates will be asked to provide a CV detailing their employment history, skills and experience and a statement of suitability of no more than 750 words.

Your statement of suitability should provide evidence against the essential criteria and should specifically address:

• how they have managed complex information, records, recommendations, actions or decisions through to completion;
• how they have engaged, influenced, briefed or presented to senior stakeholders, including where they have had to explain risk, evidence or progress clearly;
• how they would maintain grip of DAIB recommendations, including data quality, closure evidence, outstanding actions and senior reporting;
• any experience they have of investigations, Service Inquiries, Non-Statutory Inquiries, safety, assurance, governance, lessons or recommendations work;
• their approach to line management and supporting a team member working in a specialist support role.

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

• Communicating and Influencing
• Making Effective Decisions

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.

At interview, you will be assessed against the following:

Behaviours

• Leadership
• Delivering at Pace

Presentation

• The interview will include a short presentation to assess the candidate’s ability to explain recommendation information clearly to a senior audience. The topic and preparation requirements will be provided in advance.

Candidates should note that interviews are currently scheduled to be held in person at MOD Boscombe Down during the week commencing 21 September 2026, although this is 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.