Navy Command- Project Director (Finnart), Clyde Transformation Programme

At Navy Command, we lead, support, and sustain the Royal Navy across every theatre of operations. We coordinate the people, platforms, and missions that keep the Fleet ready for today’s challenges and tomorrow’s opportunities. Together, we uphold centuries of naval tradition while driving innovation that ensures the Royal Navy’s readiness to protect our nation and secure our future.

As the authority for the Royal Navy’s nuclear submarine capability, the Submarine Directorate oversees one of the most complex and critical elements of UK defence. Covering everything from in‑service management to long‑term fleet modernisation, the directorate ensures the Submarine Flotilla remains safe, reliable, and ready to meet national security requirements.

Clyde Transformation Programme is a Navy Command programme delivering critical infrastructure at His Majesty’s Naval Base Clyde to support the Royal Navy’s current and future submarine fleet. The programme includes new-build facilities, refurbishment of existing assets, and delivery of a resilient out-of-water engineering capability.

You’ll be based at Kentigern House in Glasgow, a key Ministry of Defence hub in the west of Scotland. It provides a central location for a range of defence teams, supporting critical programme delivery and collaboration across the organisation. Its position in the heart of Glasgow offers strong links to wider defence activity, enabling effective engagement with stakeholders while contributing to the city’s vibrant professional community. There will be some requirements to travel to Finnart Oil Terminal and HMNBC.

For security reasons this role is open to sole UK nationals only. A ‘sole UK national’ refers to an individual who holds citizenship solely in the UK, without dual citizenship or nationality from another country.

This position is advertised at 37 hours per week.

Are you ready to lead some of Defence's most significant infrastructure investments? As Project Director (Finnart), you’ll shape and oversee a portfolio of three major projects that will modernise critical Defence facilities, strengthen operational capability and support long-term Royal Navy objectives. Working with senior stakeholders across government and Defence, you’ll set the vision, secure investment and guide delivery of projects that will have a lasting impact on the future of the Defence estate.

As Project Director (Finnart), you will lead a portfolio of major infrastructure and capability projects that support the long-term transformation of Defence operations in Scotland. Working as part of the Clyde Transformation Programme (CTP) Senior Leadership Team, you will translate strategic priorities into a clear, affordable and deliverable programme of investment, ensuring projects are aligned to operational needs and deliver lasting benefits.

You will provide leadership across a portfolio that includes the development of a new Oil Fuel Depot at Finnart, the future development of Finnart as a strategic Defence asset, and improvements to Glen Mallan to support submarine operations. This will involve shaping requirements, developing investment strategies, securing business case approvals and working with delivery partners to ensure projects are delivered successfully.

The role requires you to balance competing priorities, resources, timelines and budgets across multiple projects while maintaining a clear focus on strategic outcomes. You will oversee governance, assurance and performance across the portfolio, ensuring informed decisions are made and risks are effectively managed throughout project delivery.

You will build strong relationships with senior stakeholders across Defence and government, bringing together a wide range of organisations to achieve shared objectives. Acting as the senior client representative, you will work closely with delivery partners and other key stakeholders to align priorities, resolve challenges and maintain momentum across the portfolio.

As the portfolio grows, you will lead and develop a multidisciplinary team, creating the structures, capabilities and ways of working needed to support successful delivery. You will provide clear leadership, foster collaboration and ensure the team is equipped to meet both current and future demands.

The role offers a unique opportunity to influence significant investment decisions, shape the future use of strategically important Defence sites and play a leading role in one of Defence's most complex and high-profile transformation programmes.

We value flexible ways of working. This role requires regular onsite attendance (around 60% of the working week) to benefit from face-to-face collaboration, while offering flexibility of hours to support work life balance and business needs. During the initial period, you may be asked to attend more frequently to get familiar with the site, team, and responsibilities

Open to UK nationals only.

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

As part of Defence Reform, Navy Command continues to review and evolve its Target Operating Model to support more agile ways of working. In this context, the role and responsibilities of this role may develop over time to reflect changing business priorities and opportunities.

At Sift, you will be assessed against the following;

• 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 personal statement. This should be a maximum of 500 words that sets out your motivation for applying and shows how your skills and experience meet the essential requirements for the role.

At Interview, you will be assessed against the following;

Strengths and the following behaviours

Behaviours:

• Leadership
• Seeing the Big Picture
• Communicating and Influencing

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.