Head of Supply Chain Architecture

Job summary

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) is seeking a senior manager to serve as Head of Supply Chain Architecture.

This is an exciting opportunity to join the largest and most complex Commercial and Supply Chain function in government, at a time of fundamental change and reform when the focus is on designing a new future state and making a real difference in creating and delivering value for the MOD, to support in protecting the nation and helping the UK prosper.

The MOD spends over £20bn per year across 6000+ contracts ranging from large equipment platforms such as ships, aircraft and vehicles to critical support contracts and property and FM, corporate services, complex IT and infrastructure, food, clothing and medical supplies.

This crucial role sits within the Supply Chain Directorate (operating pan MOD) reporting into the Deputy Director of Supply Chain Architecture. This role will establish a new capability that will enable the direction & principles to build supply chains which meet Defence’s strategic & operational needs though:

• Inform & Understanding Supply Chain Policy & Strategy
• Setting Supply Chain Performance Outcomes
• Influencing Options Development
• Generating Supply Chain Design Principles
• Identifying Supply Chain Design Requirements
• Ensure Supply Chain Design Implementation

The capabilities will be enabled through 3 service offers which cover the full capability lifecycle. This team will work across Military Strategic Headquarters (MSHQ), National Armaments Headquarters (NAHQ) and Delivery Organisations depending on the service being provided.

This is following delivering a successful Supply Chain design pilot with the Complex Weapons Strategic Programmes Team and Industry to help identify the design principles for the future Complex Weapons supply chain.

Job description

In this role you will provide Supply Chain Architecture expertise for the MOD and play a key part in the broader Supply Chain Directorate Leadership team.

You will lead part of the MOD Supply Chain design and architecture service and the delivery responsibilities for developing and embedding it, providing senior level leadership and experience across the department on the future state. You will support the Deputy Director of Architecture in developing the maturity and performance of the MOD Supply Chain Capability in terms of processes, technology and people.

Locations:
The successful candidate(s) will be able to agree a contractual workplace from those locations listed in this advert. When selecting your location listed in this job advert please be aware that this will be your contractual base location with a requirement to spend a minimum of 60% of your working time in this organisational workplace.

Your time spent on official duties at workplace locations other than your contractual office such as supplier, customer or partner locations required to perform your role is included in the 60% attendance.

This requirement will however take into consideration any reasonable adjustments agreed upon appointment for people with a disability, flexibilities agreed for those with specific caring responsibilities, or other similar temporary flexibilities.

Person specification

You will work across Military Strategic Headquarters (MSHQ), National Armaments Headquarters (NAHQ) and Delivery Organisations to:

• Shape Supply Chain design principles for future capabilities:

o Shape the supply chain design & strategy through influencing concept and capability options development & setting design priorities and principles.

• Enable the implementation of Supply Chain design requirements:

o Translating design principles into supply chain requirements then securing, evaluating & assuring their implementation through the Capability Acquisition phase

• Redesign & Optimise Supply Chains to meet future needs:

o Enabling the optimisation or redesign of the supply chain design to address the impacts of changing requirements & mitigate risk

The successful candidate will:

• Act as an internal consultant to deliver a new capability across Defence, to:

o Define supply chain strategies.

o Generate and assess supply chain options.

o Identify and assure supply chain requirements.

o Analyse and optimise existing supply chains.

• Provide a tailored Supply Chain Architecture service across all aspects of the capability lifecycle:

o Early conceptual development

o Detailed capability design and procurement

o In-service operation and support

• Contribute to the development of the Supply Chain Architecture best practice processes and toolkits.
• Cultivate and manage a range of relationships and key strategic alliances with internal and external stakeholders.
• Maintain awareness of MoD and wider HMG/industry policy pertaining to supply chains
• Maintain engagement with programmes within own portfolio of responsibility to understand when and where the Supply Chain Architecture service is required.
• Manage and support several concurrent projects/programmes within own portfolio.

Technical skills

We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:

• A highly resilient, decisive team player with a focus on collective goals. Experienced at decision making at senior levels with minimal direction and is an excellent problem solver.
• Experience in leadership roles in complex organisation transformations, with demonstrable knowledge and successful change delivery across the end-to-end lifecycle.
• Experienced and successful leader, with outstanding relationship and stakeholder management ability with suppliers, clients and colleagues alike. A confident, adaptable communicator able to achieve effective, efficient outcomes.
• A strategic thinker, successful track record in operational delivery, financial control and strategic risk management at senior levels. Experience of implementing Supply Chain Architecture.
• Practical knowledge and understanding of; tech/capability requirements process, early market engagement, supply chain/industry shaping opportunities and the relative linkages to the acquisition process.

Benefits

As a valued employee of the Government Commercial Organisation (GCO), you will have access to all the benefits the centre has to offer; including flexible working, generous benefits, Career Coaches, Mentors, L&D, a Commercial College, active talent management and, most importantly, access to commercial projects that will far exceed the scale and complexity on offer elsewhere in the UK.

For existing Civil Servants: For full details of the impact on any move across the civil service on your existing terms and conditions, please read the candidate pack. Please note that any move across the Civil Service may have implications on your ability to continue to claim childcare vouchers.

Kindly refer to the following link for the GCF Rewards and benefits page.

https://www.civil-service-careers.gov.uk/gcf-benefits/

Things you need to know

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 Experience and Technical skills.

Your application will be reviewed by a panel and should you be successful at sift we will invite you to attend a Virtual commercial Assessment and Development Centre (VADC). The panel will review results of the VADC and determine which candidates will go through to a subsequent final panel interview.

Please be advised that the Virtual ADC is taking place on either the 23rd of February 2026 or the 6th of March 2026 and will require a full day's attendance.

If you are invited to attend a virtual ADC, but for any reason are unable to meet the date outlined then please get in touch with the team on commercialresourcinghub@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible. The ADC is booked and paid for in advance by departments, therefore it is only in certain circumstances we are able to accommodate alternative dates.

For full details of our process, and a likely timeline, please read the attached candidate pack.

Throughout our selection process, we will make decisions about your capability to do the job, based on evidence you provide against the Technical Skills (essential criteria) and your Job History (CV) that you will be asked to provide during the application process. Further help and advice on our application and selection process can be found at this web address https://www.civil-service-careers.gov.uk/gcf-how-to-apply/

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 for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

https://www.civil-service-careers.gov.uk/artificial-intelligence-and-re…

IMPORTANT: If you do not receive an acknowledgement of your application within 2 working days please contact: commercialresourcinghub@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

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

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a 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 baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

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)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).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.The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see theCivil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

Apply and further information

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window).Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

• Name : Ashlene Doherty
• Email : commercialresourcinghub@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : commercialresourcinghub@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

Further information

If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles, and you wish to make a complaint, you should direct this to the Head of Commercial Resourcing Hub at the following email commercialresourcinghub@cabinetoffice.gov.uk quoting the vacancy reference number (if applicable) and the details of your complaint. If you are not satisfied with the response you receive, you can contact the Civil Service Commission via the following web page: http://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk/civil-service-recruitm…

Attachments

Guaranteed Interview Schemes (GIS) Opens in new window (pdf, 70kB)20260109 - 444046 - ACS1321-2 and ACS1322-2 - Candidate Pack - Head of Supply Chain Architecture Opens in new window (pdf, 572kB)Supply Chain Architecture Summary Slide Opens in new window (pdf, 159kB)