Head of Production (S&T)

Job Title: Head of Production (S&T)

Global Grade: GG15

Location: Farnborough - minimum 3dpw

Role Type: Permanent – Full Time

Role ID: 20706

Salary: c.£100k + car allowance + bonus

Role Purpose

The Science & Technology (S&T) business is transitioning selected technologies from research and development into operational capability, enabling the delivery of advanced defence products to UK and international customers.

As a member of the S&T leadership team, the Head of Production will establish a high-performance manufacturing organisation capable of delivering production excellence, operational readiness and through-life support in highly regulated defence and aerospace environments.

The Head of Production is responsible for defining and delivering the manufacturing strategy for the S&T business, establishing and scaling manufacturing operations, facilities, quality systems and organisational capability required to industrialise advanced technologies. This will begin with development of a capability for Low-Rate Initial Production of Laser Sources, Advanced Stealth Materials and Autonomy products (hardware and software).

Operating in both an operations and project based budgetary framework, the Head of Production will be responsible for creation of standardised tools and processes to ensure successful delivery to all Production requirements across various levels of Product lifecycle, whilst maintaining conformance to various levels of governance.

The position has direct leadership responsibility for Manufacturing Operations, Production Engineering and Integrated Logistics Support (ILS), working closely with Specialist Engineering, Product Quality, Supply Chain, Programme Delivery, and Commercial functions.

Key Accountabilities

Manufacturing Strategy and Industrialisation

• Develop and own the Manufacturing and Industrialisation Strategy for the S&T business.
• Establish manufacturing capability to support the transition of advanced technologies from development into operational service.
• Define and implement industrialisation frameworks supporting technology maturation, production readiness and operational deployment.
• Lead production readiness activities and Manufacturing Readiness Reviews (MRRs) across all programmes.
• Develop manufacturing roadmaps supporting LRIP, Full Rate Production and export growth opportunities.
• Define make-buy-partner strategies aligned with programme, customer and sovereign capability requirements.
• Establish manufacturing governance and assurance processes appropriate to defence and aerospace environments.
• Develop and maintain manufacturing capability across multiple sites and international service operations.

Manufacturing Operations Leadership

• Provide end-to-end ownership of manufacturing performance across all production activities.
• Build and develop a world-class manufacturing organisation, defining organisational structures, workforce plans and future capability requirements.
• Establish production systems capable of delivering predictable performance against cost, schedule and quality objectives.
• Develop operational performance frameworks using meaningful KPIs and management information.
• Lead operational excellence initiatives using Lean, Six Sigma and continuous improvement methodologies.
• Ensure production operations support programme delivery commitments and customer requirements.
• Drive improvements in productivity, yield, throughput and operational efficiency.
• Develop resilient manufacturing capabilities capable of supporting growth, surge and future operational requirements.
• Promote a culture of accountability, collaboration, operational excellence and continuous learning.

Production Engineering and Industrialisation

• Lead the Production Engineering function, ensuring Design for Assembly (DfA), Design for Test (DfT) and Design for Support are promoted throughout the product lifecycle.
• Develop scalable manufacturing processes, tooling, fixtures and test solutions.
• Establish production acceptance, verification and qualification processes.
• Drive manufacturing innovation, automation and digital transformation initiatives to improve productivity and drive operational improvements throughout the business.
• Adopt and embed robust configuration control and production change management processes.

Facilities, Infrastructure and Manufacturing Capability Development

• Develop and implement the manufacturing facilities strategy supporting current and future programme requirements.
• Define facility, equipment and infrastructure requirements for advanced manufacturing environments.
• Establish specialist manufacturing, integration and test facilities where required.
• Lead capacity planning, factory layout optimisation and infrastructure expansion programmes.
• Develop and manage capital investment plans to support capability growth.
• Ensure manufacturing facilities and processes meet customer, regulatory, safety and security requirements.

Quality, Production Assurance and Governance

• Partner with Product Quality to establish and maintain an effective Production Assurance framework.
• Ensure compliance with ISO 9001 and relevant defence, aerospace and customer-specific standards.
• Promote a culture of right-first-time manufacturing and continuous quality improvement.
• Ensure effective control of configuration, product baseline management and change management activities.
• Lead manufacturing quality improvement initiatives and reduction of non-conformances.
• Ensure effective management of corrective and preventive actions.
• Support customer audits, regulatory inspections and production assurance assessments.

Integrated Logistics Support and Sustainment

• Establish and lead the Integrated Logistics Support function, developing supportability strategies throughout the product lifecycle.
• Work with relevant Engineering functions to ensure products are designed and manufactured to support through-life capability management.
• Establish processes supporting spares provisioning, repair capability, maintenance planning and obsolescence management.
• Ensure alignment between production and sustainment strategies.
• Support customer readiness and operational availability requirements.

Financial and Programme Performance

• Manage manufacturing budgets, investment plans and operating expenditure.
• Develop manufacturing business cases and investment proposals.
• Drive improvements in Cost of Goods Sold (COGS), inventory performance and operational efficiency.
• Support programme teams with manufacturing cost, schedule and capacity planning.
• Ensure manufacturing performance supports wider programme and business objectives.

Supply Chain and Industrial Partnerships

• Work closely with Supply Chain and Procurement functions to develop resilient and secure supply chains.
• Support strategic sourcing, supplier selection and industrial partner management.
• Drive supplier capability development where required.

• Ensure alignment between production plans and supplier performance. Collaborate on materials planning and inventory management.
• Support outsourced and international manufacturing arrangements where appropriate.
• Contribute to supply-chain resilience and sovereign capability strategies.

Safety, Security and Regulatory Compliance

• Lead manufacturing compliance with all applicable health, safety and environmental requirements.
• Ensure appropriate governance for hazardous equipment, specialist facilities and regulated activities.
• Ensure manufacturing operations comply with relevant security, export control and customer requirements.
• Foster a proactive safety culture across all production activities.

Key Capabilities/Knowledge

The successful candidate will typically demonstrate:

Essential Experience

• Senior leadership experience within defence, aerospace, space, complex electronics, autonomous systems or advanced engineering environments.
• Experience establishing or scaling manufacturing capability for highly engineered products.
• Proven delivery of industrialisation and production readiness activities.
• Experience transitioning products from R&D, development or prototyping into production.
• Experience leading Manufacturing Operations and Production Engineering functions.
• Experience operating within highly regulated environments.
• Strong understanding of quality management systems, manufacturing execution systems, configuration management and production assurance.
• Demonstrable success delivering organisational transformation and operational improvement.

Highly Desirable

• Experience leading manufacturing organisations across multiple sites and functions.
• Experience with complex defence platforms, weapons systems, sensors, autonomous systems, ISR technologies, electronic warfare systems or aerospace products.
• Knowledge of Defence Standards (DEF STANs), Military Aviation Authority (MAA) requirements or equivalent regulated frameworks.
• Experience supporting UK MOD, NATO or international defence customers.
• Experience of LRIP and Full Rate Production transitions.
• Experience working within security-cleared environments.

Experience & Qualifications

• The ideal candidate will have a proven track record leading teams to meet business objectives effectively and efficiently on complex, large scale projects. We are looking for knowledge and depth of experience in the following areas:
• Hazard Identification, Risk Assessments, Safety Cases & Safety Management systems.
• Specification and development of manufacturing hardware and software solutions.
• Optimising production workflows, defining and reporting on key production metrics.
• Proven ability to manage people, budgets and production schedules.
• Short and long-term operational capacity planning.

Qualifications

• Degree qualified in Engineering, Manufacturing, Operations Management or a related discipline.
• Chartered Engineer (CEng) status would be advantageous.
• Lean Six Sigma qualification desirable.
• Advanced leadership, programme management or business qualifications desirable.
• Or equivalent level and depth of experience and training.

Why Join QinetiQ?

As we continue to grow into new markets around the world, there’s never been a more exciting time to join QinetiQ. The formula for success is our appetite for innovation and having the courage to take on a wide variety of complex challenges.

As a QinetiQ employee, you’ll experience a unique working environment where teams from different backgrounds, disciplines and experience enjoy collaborating widely and openly as we undertake this exciting and rewarding journey. Through effective teamwork, and pulling together, you’ll get to experience what happens when we all share different perspectives, blend disciplines, and link technologies; constantly discovering new ways of solving complex problems in a diverse and inclusive environment where you can be authentic, feel valued and realise your full potential. Visit our website to read more about our diverse and inclusive workplace culture. www.qinetiq.com/en/careers/life-at-qinetiq

Our Benefits

• Matched contribution pension scheme, with life assurance
• Competitive holiday allowance, with the option to purchase additional days
• Options to join Health Cash Plan, Private Medical Insurance and Dental Insurance
• Employee discount portal: Personal Accident Insurance, Travel Insurance, Restaurants, Cinema Tickets and much more
• We are proud to support the Armed Forces community by honouring the Armed Forces Covenant and maintaining our Gold Award standard in the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme
• Volunteering Opportunities - helping charities and local community

Our Recruitment Process:

Please note that applications are reviewed as they are received, so we encourage early applications. This vacancy will be closed when sufficient suitable applications are received.

We want to make sure that our recruitment process is as inclusive as possible and we aspire to bring out the best in our candidates by creating an environment where everyone feels value, heard and supported. If you have a disability or health condition that may affect your performance in certain assessment types, please speak to your Recruiter about potential reasonable adjustments.

Many roles in QinetiQ are subject to national security vetting being completed, applicants who already hold the appropriate level of vetting may be able to transfer it upon appointment. A number of roles are also subject to additional restrictions, which mean factors such as nationality or previous nationalities may affect the roles that you can be employed in.

Please note that all applicants for this role must be eligible for SC clearance, as a minimum.

UKSV National Security Vetting Solution: guidance for applicants - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)