HQ Armed Forces Recruiting – Safety, Health, Environment and Fire (SHEF) Lead

Are you passionate about creating safe, sustainable, and compliant environments and ready to make a difference? This is a unique opportunity to manage safety, health, environmental and fire protection across a nationwide recruitment estate, shaping standards that impact thousands of personnel across Defence.

Play a key role in creating safe, sustainable, and compliant environments across a nationwide recruitment estate. If you thrive on responsibility, collaboration, and impact, this role offers the perfect platform to showcase your expertise.

You will be involved in the start of an exciting new way to deliver recruitment of Armed Forces personnel, for the Royal Navy, Army, and the Royal Air Force.

Headquarters Armed Forces Recruiting (HQ AFR) will deliver integrated tri-service recruitment for the Armed Forces to build and maintain force levels able to meet Defence outputs. The Armed Forces Recruiting Service (AFRS) contract has recently been awarded to Team Serco and collaborative transition activity has now commenced.

A role in HQ AFR is a superb opportunity. You will be at the forefront of a significant change, shaping the future recruitment for all three Services into a tri-Service delivery from 2027 and into steady state.

This is a high profile, collaborative and engaging environment with keen interest from senior staff across Defence. You will be working within a diverse team, including military personnel, civilians, and external providers, which provides opportunities for learning and networking. The role offers a real chance to develop skills and demonstrate capabilities, which will provide clear tangible evidence to support you to potentially fulfil your career progression ambitions in the future.

You'd be contributing to the Armed Forces' ability to attract and retain the best talent, ultimately supporting national security.

If you're looking for a challenging, rewarding, and transformative role, this could be a great fit for you.

This position is advertised at 37 hours per week.

Due to the nature of the role, part time and job share arrangements may be considered, subject to the requirement that full-time hours are fully covered (or business needs are met).

The post holder will sit within the Command Support Unit (CSU) team within in HQ AFR and will provide Safety, Health, Environment and Fire (SHEF) advice, direction, and support in relation to the Armed Forces Recruiting estate.

Key responsibilities:

• Manage with Impact: Act as the Authority’s expert on safety, health, environmental and fire protection, ensuring compliance with MOD standards and national regulations.
• Shape Policy: Develop and maintain Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), produce annual SHEF statements and plans, and set the strategic direction for safety and sustainability.
• Drive Assurance: Monitor compliance and performance across the estate, prepare governance reports, and lead initiatives that enhance safety culture.
• Collaborative Working: Work closely with AFR business areas, the Supplier, Heads of Establishment, and specialist departments in Defence Fire & Rescue Service, Defence Safety Authority, and DSTL to influence best practice.
• Investigate and Innovate: Support high-level incident investigations, ensuring lessons learned drive continuous improvement.
• Make a Difference Nationwide: Oversee outreach activities across the UK, liaising with the Supplier and local authorities to ensure safe and compliant engagement.
• Why Join Us?
• Strategic Influence: Your expertise will help shape safety standards across a critical Defence function.
• Professional Growth: Engage with variety of stakeholders and various levels and specialist teams, gaining exposure to complex compliance and governance frameworks.
• Nationwide Impact: Travel across the UK (expenses covered) and contribute to projects that matter.
• Dynamic Environment: No two days are the same—this role combines leadership, policy development, and hands-on assurance.

Travel Requirements

Travel across the recruiting estate is required (claimable expenses). Some locations may not be accessible via public transport.

• IOSH qualification or equivalent.

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, Experience and Technical skills.

Candidates will be required to provide CV details to include job history, qualification details and previous skills and experience.

Candidates will be required to provide a statement of suitability in no more than 500 words.

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

Behaviours

• Making Effective Decisions
• Communicating and Influencing

Technical Skills

• Safety & Environment Professionals in Defence Competency Framework - Regulations and Permissions, intermediate level (see attached document)

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

At interview, you will be assessed against the following:

Behaviours

• Making Effective Decisions
• Communicating and Influencing
• Managing a Quality Service
• Working Together

Technical Skills

• Safety & Environment Professionals in Defence Competency Framework - Regulations and Permissions, intermediate level

Further information:

A minimum of 3 full working days’ notice will be provided for interviews.

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.